Plantation Barbados 5-Year

It’s a little burny neat but when you add some ice the tropical flavors really shine.

You can not go wrong with Plantation rums.

A decent rum for the price! I tend to prefer spiced rum and have not yet tried many standard ‘aged’ rums, so that may have some bearing on my review. Although this rum is very smooth and does have a nice taste, I found it a little heavy on the whiskey/bourbon flavor for my rum preference. Granted, like many rums, it is aged in bourbon casks so it should be expected that the flavor would come through. It could also just be the Cognac notes that threw me slightly off, or just my inexperienced palate, but I would take almost any spiced rum over this any day. Still not a bad choice for the price, though!

My enjoyment score would be 7.5. And the fact it's available at 1/2 the price of it's big brother, the XO makes it a solid 8 for me!

If I should characterize this rum with one word, I would say: Coconut! But a LOT of coconut. This rum has a very sweet smell of coconut and other tropical fruits, which gives this rum a special character from the first sniff. The taste of it is similarly fruity with some hazelnut flavor in addition. Luckily, even though this rum contains a bit of added sugar, it does not taste sweet at all - I guess the sugar added is used for the smoothness of the rum, which is quite nice for a 5 year old. Very exotic bottle with a sugarcane net, and a real shredded cork closing.

Bon Plantation, sucré mais bien balancé. Goût de chêne et facile à boire sans glace.

Without question, in terms of value, this ranks near the top. I found this for $20 / 750 online, but it can be found at WalMart of all places for around $22.50 / 750. The packaging is pure overdone bearded pirate, and I could do without the gimicks because the juice in the bottle is excellent.

The flavor flirts with the bourbony notes, but still retains a clear rummy presence. It is a incredible versatile spirit for all manner of mixing when you want a rum that adds character without going full rage power on your drink.

There's a heavy hand of dosage here, to the point where the sugar borders on cloying. It's manageable and as a mixer you'll appreciate the added flair, but as a sipper the sugar hides the finish. The oak is medium, and body medium, and the aroma clean and inviting.

Have nothing to say at the moment.
It’s simple, little bit sweet, and little bit alcohol burn. Do not get some special enjoy from this one.

As a tiki fanatic, I often find myself in a bind when choosing rums for my mixed drinks. Garbage rums will produce garbage mixed drinks (Ray's Mistakes notwithstanding), but the subtleties of truly high-end rums get lost in them as well. There's a fine line when choosing rums that have enough character to stand out in tiki drinks but don't end up being a waste of money (and good rum!).

Barbados is a rum that shines in this category. I once tried putting the 20-year in a Mai Tai, and it was a sad experience. Not only did the outstanding rum get lost among the other flavors, but actually muddied the clarity of the orange and orgeat flavors. On the recommendations of this site, I tried the Barbados 5-year instead. The results were outstanding. While as a sipper you can tell it is missing some of the harmonics that make the 20-year so appealing, as a mixer it's perfect. It has fewer notes than the 20-year, but that's a plus in a mixed drink.

This is an amazing rum at the price. It's not terrible as a sipper, but there are better options out there. As a mixer, though, it's a worthy addition to your cabinet anywhere you need a blended aged rum.

(I have had 11 rums, about a 1/2 oz of each before this review. Without any palette cleansers for those that makes a difference too):
My first reaction was carmel into vanilla and then a smooth burn. Upon the rest of the glass i get more barell before the burn. The barell does not overpower like other rums i have had but adds a little "spice" or flavour to the finish. A good baseline for barbados in my opinion.

Decent bottle, boring colour. A little too much alcohol in nose and mouth. However, a good value. Okay for sipping, maybe better for mixing...