Agricole Recommendations

I've been traveling this rum journey for quite some time and one of the 1st rums I encountered that has stood it's ground but is a real hard find, at least in NY, is J Bally. Although that was directly frm the distillers private stash I would definitely jump on his rhum instantly. I had found it, but not his private stash, by a UK mail order company a few years back but got notified they were bought out and lost their export license. So, I'm still hunting.🙏 Unfortunately research on the internet says the distillery closed in 1989. I'm surprised cause I was there in November of 89? But the J Bally label continues on from another distillery and if the closing is true then it's still up to par seeing only a few years ago my purchase of that was mighty fine.

stefan, i tried stuff from martinique and guadeloupe, was there (december 2018 martinique and january 2020 guadeloupe just before covid), and now i m curious about mauritius and reunion rum, i know they do more traditionnel than agricole, will try both categories if we go ... in my wishlist i have penny blue rums, they are not agricole

bar la moura,

That will be a nice trip, but you should know that most of the rum produced in Reunion and Mauritius isn't Agricole's. Instead most of the produced rum is molasses based or Rhum Traditionnel as they say.

Most of this rum doesn't taste like other molasses based rum, instead they taste a little in between most molasses based rum and Agricole in my opinion.

agricole rums from guadeloupe and martinique are all good and well known, if you find, you can try and buy something from reunion (isautier, savanna, riviere du mat) and mauritius (chamarel, labourdonnais, st aubin), islands in the indian ocean. Probably my next vacation trip will be in one of those so i ll try them all ...

Hi .. my first Agricole was a Depaz VSOP. A very nice agricole. Love it now. Could not understand it 2010 because i was still drinking Zacapa, Centenario and more.

So i think starting with a white agricole is not so good. Had a white HSE and it  was nothing like the XO. And i love the HSE XO.

I would agree that the JM XO is maybe the best rum to start with agricole.

@Yohobro: a white Clement will be quite different than an aged Clement. This white is mostly for mixing.

But have fun. You can learn a lot about how aging in a barrel changes a rum, while drinking it against an aged agricole.

Stefan: it may be generational difference then, tbh, because I was born in 1985, so I first started drinking anything at all in the 2000's. Different times. But even when you start a 'second journey' as you call it, into sipping, people in the Netherlands usually start out sipping the young, cheap stuff. No Dutchie is going to spend more than 30 euro on something they don't know well. They'll try a blanc for 15, and if they like it they may update to something a bit more expensive. That's how it works here. Same with Whisky: first the cheap blends, than some cheap malts, than the more expensive ones. We're a stingy lot. ;)

Wolfe Tone,

 I wasn't referring to what I drank as a youngster back in the 70:ties, cause then it was Bacardi, RonRico, Carioca or sometimes Negrita or Western Pearl and always as a mixer with Coke.

So what I was referring to in my last post was how I started my second journey (sipping journey) into rum. And at that time the only available rum in Sweden was the Spanish styled more or less.

My first rum, not Spanish styled, was English Harbour which I still love even if my main focus now is on Agricole's.

Stefan: maybe it's different in different social circles or countries, but here in the Netherlands people usually start their journey into any drink by trying the cheap, young ones. Most people are not willing to spend more than the minimum amount of money on something they don't know they're gonna like. So people new to agricole's usually try a young blanc first, not an aged one which costs three times as much.

Stefan: It really depends, my first entry was a blanc at cask strength and I loved it. If I had been introduced to a mild, aged agricole first I wouldn't have been as blown away and in love. Some people need to dip a toe into the water first, others need to dive in head first and get to the subtle stuff later on.The first alcohol I ever actually enjoyed was an Aberlour single malt at 60%. That said I love the JM XO, it's one of my favorites now, but I needed the headbutt of a strong white agricole first.

Stefan:

I absolutely agree with J.M. XO as your initial recommendation.  I now always keep this one on hand from whereever I can find it. Their 2006 is more available and at twice the cost, but I still prefer the subdued taste of their XO. Another good entry level agricole is the Select Barrel from Clement.

Jarkkokoo,

Prepare yourself for a chock then.

The best entry to the Agricole world is J.M. XO or a La Mauny XO.

@Wolfe Tone @Stefan Persson

Hoping for the best, fearing the worst (not really fearing). I hava no clue what I'm in for but I'm keeping my mind open. My biggest shock so far has been opening and smelling the Wray & Nephew White Overproof. I think that's going to be hard to beat as an experience, ha ha.

Jarkkokoo,

It's just like Wolfe Tone writes.

Try to find someone of the members with a taste similar to your own. That will help you more.

Hope you like the Clement Blanc 40. I haven't tasted it and I'm not sure it's the best entry to the, in my opinion, fantastic world of Agricole.

@Jarkkokoo: don't pay too much attention to the ratings for Agricoles, they always get rated low by loads of people who are not used to Agricole flavours and only drink sugarsweet rums.

I just ordered my first agricole (Clement Blanc 40) and look forward to tasting it. It's gotten 6.2/10 on this site which I interpret as ok, although not great. I've only been into rums less than 6 months so I'm very much in the learning stages but I like reading your comments on this site.

Here in Finland the taxation on booze is so ridiculous that I get my rums and other boozes from Germany at half or a third of the price including freight, but that's an issue for a whole separate discussion.

Damoiseau is another great option, especially the millesimmes.

Arcane Extraroma. Get back to Canada (Quebec) and grab 2 bottles for 99$. You won't be disappointed.

Nice, thanks Rene. I couldn't tell if the Canne Bleue was more of a gimmick kind of thing or not. Good to know. I think the rhum JM is a must buy from what I've read so far. 

Yohobro,

Rhum from Martinique are always a good choice. I would choose Rhum JM. VSOP/XO or Clement XO. If you like white rhum, neat or to mix, I suggest a bottle of Canne Bleue.

Have fun in London.

Ahhh I see. That's good information, thank you. Might have to up my limit. 

Yohobro,

The three brands you mentioned are all three good entrance brands to Agricole's. They are all three from Martinique and another good entry brand from Martinique is La Mauny.

 I also think that you should look for rum from Guadeloupe, which I think is great. I would say that all the brands from Guadeloupe are good entry brands.

The problem I can see is your price limit, cause Agricole isn't very cheap in Great Britain. I believe that you should raise it to 70GBP.

I for example buy most of my Agricole in France, Spain or Italy where it's cheaper.