Plantation Grande Réserve

Planteray Grande Reserve is a Barbados rum from Maison Ferrand, the Cognac-based house formerly known as Plantation, drawing on Bajan pot and column distillate aged in ex-bourbon oak. It sits at the young, accessible end of the range, an everyday bottle rather than one of the house's aged showpieces, and reflects the brand's open use of dosage.

The profile is light and easygoing: vanilla, banana and tropical fruit with caramel and coconut beneath and a soft, lightly peppery finish. It is a sweetened rum and drinks that way, gentle and rounded at 40% rather than dry or spirit-forward. For a drinker who likes soft, sweet styles or an uncomplicated Cuba Libre, it offers a lighter, more affordable Barbados take with plenty of vanilla and fruit, though without much complexity to unpack. It works happily as a relaxed neat pour for sweeter palates or as a mixer, and represents strong value for casual drinking.