Barbancourt 3 Stars 4 Years

Barbancourt is Haiti's best known distillery, and this 3 Stars is its four year rum, made not from molasses but from cane syrup, the concentrated cane honey that gives Barbancourt its particular character. Distilled on a column still and aged in Ex-Bourbon wood, it is unsweetened and bottled at 43%, a straightforward, widely available bottle pitched at mixing and easy sipping.

The profile is dry and on the lighter side, with vanilla, light fruit, a touch of chocolate and oak, and a faintly bitter, peppery finish. There is some alcohol bite, and drinkers often note it would carry a higher strength well. The cane syrup base gives it a cleaner, gentler character closer to a light Jamaican than to a grassy agricole. For drinkers who want a dry, honest Haitian rum mainly for cocktails, and do not mind a lighter flavour and a little heat, this is a sound, affordable choice for the home bar.