Bacardi Reserva Ocho Rare Gold 8-Year

Not a bad rum, just a little bit to spicy for me for sipping neat. Adding ice or a drop of water, this turns out to be a very affordable and rich rum. Less flavorful than a Diplomático or Dictador, but going in the same direction. For a price of around 15-20$, this is a good deal in my opinion. Similar good value as the Barcadi 1873 Solera, but not a top shelf rum.

Quite sweet, caramel-heavy. Not the first choice for an 8 year old rum, but not terrible either.

Deep caramel, werthers, plus vanilla. Classic Cuban style rum.

After the Cuatro it is time to check out on the Ocho. The nose starts out pretty alcoholic but that tones down in a couple of minutes. It isn't replaced by much but the sour berries remain, some sweetness and some wood are detectable; recognizable Bacardi, just like the Cuatro.

On the palate the influence of wood is clear right away, just like the added sugar; it is not overly sweet and it helps softening the typical Bacardi sharpness but for me they could have done without. It has the same 'problem' as the Cuatro; the original distillate has so little depth left that it has become a bit generic and characterless. This is clearly meant to keep seasoned Bacardi drinkers 'in the house' and not to interest rum-explorers. It is made with care but it seems a bit a waste of time; at half the money more interesting spanish style solera rums are available.

Easy to drink but not giving any fulfilment and way too expensive for what it is despite its moderate price-tag.

I'm posting these mostly so that I know what to buy again and what to avoid. This is the latest in my adventure to try what's on sale for the month. This is my first Bacardi. I'm somewhat leery of the brand, given how hard it get panned here, but it's on sale and supposedly a cut above their rack grade grog, so what the hell...

I like molasses, and this has a good taste of it. Similar to the Captain Morgan Deluxe Dark, but overall smoother with less bite and none of the ethanol taste. Not much for aroma, but my nose isn't all that keen anyway. I'll buy it again as a good all purpose rum.

Edit: Going back to this one I can now certainly taste the added sugar. I'm going to knock a point off and probably won't buy again.
Funny how quickly the palate evolves. I really do prefer a dry Jamaican style rum for sipping

Pleasant smell, amber color, balanced taste, slightly sweet. Maybe he'd be better with Coke

I was surprised, but I enjoyed sipping this one from Bacardi. It's a little bit sharp, but smooth enough to drink neat. You may feel a whisky aftertaste. Not a sweet rum, but doesn't taste bad.

I have to say that this rum is average at best and that’s me being very generous! I had high expectations for this and rightly so, knowing that it had been aged for a minimum of eight years. But for me, it smells and tastes very bland. The anticipation of buying a new rum is both a blessing and a curse! Neat, this rum does have a little sweetness to it, which to be fair is enjoyable, but that enjoyment is very short lived because, there is too much gruff in the alcohol burn, which overpowers the minimal sweetness almost immediately. Things don’t improve any in the aftertaste either, because this rum ends up tasting like a cheap, bourbon whiskey, thanks to its smokiness. The byproduct of being aged for so long in ex-whiskey barrels. Thankfully, mixed with Coca-Cola things do improve slightly for this eight year old rum, making it sweeter and the alcohol burn a tad calmer, so all is not totally lost. Although, even with Coca-Cola, there is no escaping that annoying smoky aftertaste. So would I recommend this rum?Of course not, and not just for the reasons I’ve mentioned. For me, Bacardi Ocho Años is very similar to Havana Especial, so I suggest you buy that instead if you really must, and save yourself £13.

I didn't like this one. By no means a smooth goinf rum, very strong and bitter.

Interesting rum with a slightly sour taste and not so strong body, have definitely lost their Caribbean flavor.