Barbancourt rhum 15 years. Barbancourt is notably the most famous Haitian rum. Although Haiti has the most number of rum “distilleries” in the Caribbean (over 500 producers compared to under 50 in the entirety of the rest of the Caribbeans), most of these are micro operations distilling essentially sugarcane moonshine (locally called “clairin” – see this post), and Barbancourt is the only large-scale commercial rum producer in the country.

Although Barbancourt rum is too expensive for most Haitian locals (for whom clairin is the go-to libation), this 15 year is a delectable product that ranks amongst the finest on the rum market!

Haiti was a former French colony before it won its independence at the start of the 19th century through successful black slave revolts. The French influence is undeniably a part of Barbancourt’s DNA. The company was founded by an immigrant Frenchman inspired by Cognac distillation techniques in France, and the rum is made from sugarcane juice instead of molasses (similar to agricole rum from the nearby French Caribbean holdings)

That said, Barbancourt rum is super different from French agricole rums; although it is made with sugarcane juice, it also employs cooked sugarcane syrup (which loses a lot of the fresh grassiness) and is also double distilled to further refine and smoothen the spirit (per the Cognac tradition). Thus, if you’re not a huge fan of the grassy French agricole rhums, don’t be put off by this – tastewise I find it more similar to a molasses-based rum, albeit with a lighter fresher body.

Have you tried Barbancourt rums? I’m personally not a big fan of the clear 3 year, but this 15 year is really one of the greats! The 5 and 8 yrs are fantastic for cocktails!