About the Brand
In 1862, Dupré Barbancourt founded a rum distillery in Haiti bearing his name. He applied the traditional French distillation method to sugar cane juice and the aging process in oak barrels from Limousin, as practiced in the production of cognac in his native Charente. The grand specificity of Rhum Barbancourt comes from its use of sugar cane juice (excluding molasses, a residue from the sugar-refining process which is used by other rums from the region). Sugar cane juice has a much richer flavor (wider diversity of aromas) than molasses, and that difference in the raw material distilled translates in the taste of the distilled rum.
To ensure freshness, sugar canes harvested from a 600-hectare plantation are delivered directly to the distillery. Half of it (those growing in fields around or close to the distillery) reach it by mules only. The other half (coming from other parts of the islands) are transported by mules to the tractor, then on the tractor cart to the distillery. The canes are immediately crushed to obtain sugar cane juice, called vesou. This juice is then fermented with an exclusive Barbancourt yeast that brings out fruity aromas. After distillation, the resulting rum is then left to age in oak barrels.
The Barbancourt Estate Reserve is made from pure sugar case juice, distilled and aged in French Oak barrels for 15 years. Once intended for the Gardere family, it is released each year in limited quantities to the public since 1960.
TASTING NOTES
COLOR: Amber-hued
NOSE: Hints at vanilla with dried fruits, such as grapes and prunes.
PALATE: Fruity, with prune notes dominating in a fine and elegant manner.
FINISH: Long, Rich, and complex, but not overbearing. Notes on dried fruits.
This amber rum is best consumed neat, like a fine cognac.