Description

Plantation Grand Reserve

 

Plantation Grand Reserve Barbados is a blended rum from Barbados which, first obsolete in Bourbon casks in the tropical climate of Barbados for about two years and then shipped to the Château de Bonbonnet in France, where Pierre Ferrand has been restocking the rum on their small ex-brandy oak barrels for about a year to further mature the rum.

 

Plantation Grand Reserve Barbados has a beautiful amber color. It is a real Bajan rum with complex and well-balanced notes of ripe tropical fruits and vanilla that develop with delicate hints of peach and coconut. The taste is warm and complex with two different levels of taste impressions.

 

The double stocking first creates a wave of tropical candied fruits that lead to successful bourbon vanilla notes, whose richness is perfectly balanced by fresh fruit and delicate tannin.

 

Plantation Grand Reserve is another Plantation Rum with no vintage date on the label and no age mention and instead of the normal map on the label, there seems to be a warehouse and a docking bay. But like all Plantation Rums, this one also has the signature straw wrapped around the bottle. No change in that.

 

According to the back label of this bottle, Barbados Grande Reserve is rum made of 100% sugar cane juice which would make it similar to Rhum Agricole.

 

Except it can’t be Rhum Agricole since Rhum Agricole can only be made on French islands, just like Cognac can only be made in the region of Cognac and Champagne in the region of Champagne. By the way, the Cognac region was recently extended so more distilleries could produce Cognac instead of Brandy.

Plantation Grand Reserve APPEARANCE

 

Plantation Grand Reserve Rum Barbados Grande Reserve is deep mahogany in the bottle with gold highlights visible especially near the bottom. In the glass, it is the same except you can better see the excellent clarity but there are some tiny particles floating in the rum, possibly from the cork. The legs are not runny but they are not crawling either.

 

Plantation Grand Reserve Bottle

 

Clear glass with a light fishnet type wrapping of fiber. Can’t comment much beyond that as we were not given a production bottle to comment on.

 

Plantation Grand Reserve NOSE

 

Plantation Rum Barbados Grande Reserve has a nose that would describe as a typical nose for a Barbadian rum. Light, sweet and fruity. On the bottlenose, there has concentrated aromas of coconut, sugar, and fruits.

 

Plantation Grand Reserve TASTE

 

Taste is sweet and pleasant with a smooth burn that glows in the back of the throat after swallowing. It is light-bodied with wood and prune and other fruits but little else to notice.

 

Toasted coconut, vanilla with oak, leather, and saddle soap notes, chocolate fudge, luscious full-bodied taste with a sweet entry that dries a bit and leaves you with toasted vanilla, coconut, and dark chocolate taste in the long finish that lingers pleasantly.

 

Later on, some drying black pepper notes come out to temper the sweetness while a pleasant oiliness holds the tastes on your tongue and treats you to a complex melange of rum goodness. Smooth, seductive, and complex, especially for the money involved. Makes most rum at this price range taste like benzene by comparison.

Final Thoughts about Plantation Grand Reserve

 

If you don’t have a bottle of Plantation 5-Year Barbados Grande Reserve, you should definitely buy one. And while it can stand the test of a neat sip, it goes beautifully with an ice cube, a splash of coconut water, or any mixed drink. A great buy for a lovely dark rum with some age to it. Plush, complex, and complicated.