Tastes

This is a solid lightly aged agricole. The smell is nice. There's honey, grass, maybe a little lemon, but then some thicker notes too like cinnamon, nutmeg, even a bit of dried cherry or raspberry jam. And there's this element that I associated with aged agricole that I'm not sure how to describe. For some reason I think of it as "crumpled", almost like it was a sharp aroma that got crushed somehow into something softer. It's a powerful aroma, and has a bit of alcohol too if you really snuff it in. The taste is not quite so complex but still good. You get honey and oak and some nice spice, along with a slightly rubbery element that I also associate with aged agricole. There's also a noticeable alcohol burn. The finish is hot, spicy, and a little tangy. It's okay for sipping, if a tad hot, but makes a tasty ti punch vieux. At $40 for a liter this is one of the most affordable aged agricoles I've seen. I will likely buy this again. Note: I believe the information shown here in Distiller is incorrect. I'm putting the review here because "La Favorite Ambre" is the right name, but the photo shown is of a different bottle ("vieux" rather than "ambre"), and the category is incorrect (this is élevé sous bois, not vieux).

For my tastes, this is basically a special-teams daiquiri base only. I picked this up on a whim because it was available at a cheap price. It is made by the same distiller that makes Barrilito, and is apparently believed to be a "cask strength Barrilito" by some people more knowledgeable than me. On the nose there is rubbing alcohol, rubbing alcohol, and a hint of vanilla. Yes, I wrote rubbing alcohol twice. That is overwhelmingly the main thing I get when I hold a glass of this in front of my face. If I hold it there for a while I can get a whiff of vanilla right before I feel the need to pull away because the rubbing alcohol is starting to irritate my nasal passages. On the palate it's more like rubbing alcohol and vanilla with a hint of cinnamon. I mean, I've never actually drunk rubbing alcohol, but then I've also never drunk anything as harsh as this. It's nonetheless more pleasant than the smell, though, as the vanilla is stronger, some caramel appears, and there's even a hint of spice before the finish comes in with more rubbing alcohol. I'm not usually the type to add water to stuff but in this case I felt it was necessary for my own safety. (Speaking of which, the label includes a warning saying not to pour it directly from the bottle onto an open flame, due to the risk of "uncontrolled flaming".) A good dose of water tempers the rubbing alcohol nicely, and the smell becomes quite pleasant. It's mostly just vanilla now, but it's pleasant. There's cinnamon and maybe even some nutmeg. Not complex, but pleasant. Unfortunately on the palate, with water added, it tastes a bit, well, watery. There's still a bit of rubbing alcohol, and the vanilla is kind of washed out. The finish shifts from rubbing alcohol to watered-down vanilla extract. Oh well. So why am I giving this 2.75 instead of like 1 star? Well, I had this brilliant and totally original idea to use it in a daiquiri, and that is where this rum redeems itself. It blends cleanly with lime, the rubbing alcohol is banished, and you get a smooth cocktail that packs a wallop. At 69% ABV it's almost like getting two daiquiris in one! As I said, I got this at a good price, namely $16 for the bottle. At that price, I am surprised to find myself saying that I would actually buy it again because it's a pretty good deal for a daiquiri multiplier. Unfortunately, after looking around, I find the going rate is more like $25 or $30 a bottle, which makes it not so appealing. Please note that I bought this bottle in September 2021, after the initial panic-buying phase of the pandemic had abated. During mid-2020 when hand sanitizer was in short supply, it may have had additional value for off-label use. There is better rum out there. I would not recommend buying this to sip, with or without water or ice. If you like daiquiris and can get this for cheap, enjoy, and please avoid operating heavy machinery.

This came highly recommended, and is good, but not as great as I was hoping. The aroma has some grassy sugar cane, but also some unexpected bits, almost salty. There is not as much fruit as most other agricoles I've tried. There's also a fair bit of alcohol on the nose. That goes double for the taste, where to be honest the alcohol is a bit too prominent for my liking. The saltiness is there again, along with a mineral quality. There's also a bit of lemon and perhaps faint notes of other citrus and a general tropical flowery fruitiness. The citrus and salt carry through to the finish along with a powerful alcohol punch that comes off as almost medicinal. This is the first agricole I've tried from Guadeloupe and it definitely standards apart from the Martinique ones I've had. I don't know how much of that is just Labat or how much reflects a Guadeloupe style or what. Either way, compared to something like Clement, JM, or La Favorite, this is much lighter on fruit and sugar, and much heavier on salt, minerals, and alcohol. It still unquestionably has that sugarcane agricole foundation, but it goes in a different direction from there. Also, the overall taste is much "leaner", less rounded and flowery and more acute and spare, if that makes sense. I like it! At this point I'm not sure what an agricole blanc would have to be like for me to recognize it as agricole blanc and yet not like it. That said, I don't like it as much as other agricoles I've tried. It's a little too in-your-face for me, especially with the alcohol blast, and also salt and minerals are not really my preferred region of flavor space. I'm definitely glad I tried it, though. And, naturally, it does make a good ti punch, so there's no losers here. It was $43 for a liter bottle, which is more or less comparable to most other agricoles. I won't be buying it again right away, but I wouldn't be surprised if after some time my curiosity leads me towards giving it another try.

I had heard great things about Neisson, so I was excited to try this. It didn't totally deliver, but by that I just mean it was dang good like every agricole rum I've ever had, rather than being mind-blowingly better than the other ones I'd tried. The nose is mainly sugarcane, as you might expect. It's got that delicious sweetness with a bit of vanilla, like plain sugar icing that you get on a cinnamon roll or something. There is also a tropical background, like maybe green bananas and fresh flowers. It's in the taste where this diverges from all other agricoles I've tried. I consistently get a noticeable blueberry note. It's not totally like a fresh blueberry, but almost like blueberry bubblegum or some kind of blueberry candy. I was surprised by this as it's not at all the sort of flavor I expect from an agricole. There's nothing bad about it, though. Apart from that, the flavor is again sugarcane with a bit of lime. The finish is sharp and burning with more tart lime and a slight bitterness. It does rock in a ti punch. It's kind of hard to give distinct ratings to different agricole blancs because they all have a similar overall profile. That said, strange as it may seem, this may be my least favorite of the half-dozen or so that I've tried. It's great in a ti punch but on its own I find it a little more harsh than others I've had. But really the difference is pretty small. My experience is still not huge, but I'm not sure there is any such thing as a bad agricole blanc. This is good stuff. It cost $40 for a liter bottle, which is roughly in line with most others I've had. I may well get it again at some point after I've cycled through some others.