Rhum Negrita Bardinet

[Kristian]

By a chance I bought a mini-bottle (50 ml) of this rum to take to my fiance's summer cabin and shared it there with her father. Quite surprisingly, I found it rather interesting and nice tasting (cannot say much more after such a small sample - and it could have been the wine and food that we consumed before this rum that throws off my opinion).

Now, I'm considering to buy a bit larger bottle of this rum to sample it some more, but I'd like to hear a couple of opinions about it before I do that. According to some sources, this is a 'kitchen rum', but others say that it's 'quite wonderful'. Has anyone here tried this and what do you think of it?

[Kristian]

It seems that this rum is unknown to the people here, so I'll add some info...

Negrita has been rated by Tastings.com and they rank it at 94 points, only a point below Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva Rum and two points below Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum... It's also 5 points above Kaniche Guadeloupe...

On the other hand, AllAboutBooze says that it's a kitchen rum...

[Ed Hamilton]

The French Negrita rums aren't considered to be premium products even by those that distill them. Heavily colored with caramel they are complex but lack the depth that defines really good spirits. I'd mix in with fruit juice and some lime but wouldn't go out of my way to drink these neat or on the rocks.

[Kristian]

Yup, I agree here. I bought a larger bottle (even this time only 35 mm) for last weekend and tasted the rum some more and ended up using more of it for rum and coke and some other recipes than for enjoying it straight up.

The smell was rather empty (there is not much one can say about it) and the taste... Well, even though it was still smooth (this time I tried it in lieu with ice cream) and rather mellow without being too sweet, it did lack in character. Still, not bad for a kitchen rum...

Makes one wonder about the tasters at Tastings.com, doesn't it?

[PR Rum Time]

When I asked the bartender at Trader Vic's Chicago what blend of rums they use to make the Mai Tai, he told me half Negrita and half Mt. Gay Eclipse. Has anybody tried this blend? I was unable to find Negrita when I lived in Kansas.

[Ed Hamilton]

Negrita hasn't been available for some time, so I'm surprised that Trader Vic's in Chicago is using it, I'll have to go there soon.

[haresfur]

Love reviving old threads...

I bought a bottle of the white and thought it was drinkable. Bought a bottle of the dark and thought it wasn't. Wouldn't go out of my way to drink either straight.

[Capn Jimbo]

It's sad to say that agricole cane juice style rums are not well experienced or understood by most rum drinkers. Like all spirits cost is not an especially good indicator of quality.

We have reviewed Rhum Negrita Bardinet (link), and it garnered a surprisingly good rating. That it was also available at a measly $17 was even better.

Here's a few notes on it...

The aroma is classic cane juice - caney, reedy and earthy. Actually beyond earthy, with a sort of petrolatum, leather, cork and cachaca aromas. I found a nice spicy background of ginger, cinnamon and clover - all together like a spiced baked apple pie, and with a hint of orange zest.

The palate was equally interesting and opened like a cognac, very different, with hints of berries and dark fruit, so unusual. I found anise and licorice. Rhum Negrita has a Jamaican feel with a Barbadian twist, including cherry, and deep raisin and prune, dried dark fruits (think mincemeat), and a touch of molasses, pecan, coffee, cacao and mocha. So nice, and unexpectedly complex.

As far as development, Rhum Negrita opened with a honey sweetness, transitioning into spicy heat and leather, and finishing with a dry white pepper. Think of a Werther hard candy, as the caramel dissolves in your mouth...

Hope that helps...

[Lisa Shock]

I picked up a liter bottle of Rhum Negrita Bardinet at Total Wine for $9.99 the other day. I wasn't expecting much, I really had planned on making some simple punch drinks for an unsophisticated crowd and thought this was maybe a half step up from store-brand stuff.

I have been torn about reviewing this bottle. It was surprising to me; I wasn't enamored of it, and I wondered for a while if I just wasn't looking at it properly. It's certainly unlike other rums I have tried. I keep trying to give it a fair taste test, trying to challenge myself to expand my palate.

First off, the aroma of the barrels is very strong. I poured some in a glass and had to walk away for a few minutes to answer the phone, and the oakiness was noticeable from several feet away from the glass. YAt first taste, you get a big burst of barrel flavor up front, but a weak finish. There is, as others have noted, no sweetness at all and no real body to it. There is also a lack of caramel tones. It's got a lot more in common with some whiskeys than most rums. But, those whiskeys would be lower-end ones, not the prized ones we savor. Overall, I found this rum to be fairly hot, with a big nose but very much lacking in substance.

I have been trying to make a drink out of it that is uniformly delicious, and I just can't. It's just not for me. I'm even suspicious of using it in the kitchen, the odor is very strong, I suspect that a tiny bit goes a long way.

[Capn Jimbo]

I'd guess you aren't a big fan of the cane juice style, which is typically earthy, caney, reedy. At The Rum Project this rum was rated quite acceptably, particulary in view of the amazing price. Your dislike illustrates one of the main issues with rum appreciation - there are four or five basic styles, and the cane juice style, like cachaca, presents as quite apart from the rest.

Cane juice rums are an acquired taste - I'd recommend you buy a bottle of Barbancourt Three Star and start by making a few ti punch or caiparinha type drinks.