Aroma visualization from community tastings
HSE XO À La Française 2016
"Einer der süffigsten Agricoles," one taster called it — smooth and easy despite the 51.6%. Most people land on French oak, red berries and pepper, with the sugar-cane terroir coming through underneath. It leans woody more than grassy, dry with a slightly bitter, astringent finish. A couple of drinkers felt the wood tips a touch heavy, but the alcohol is well integrated.
The community says- Well-integrated alcohol
- Oak and red berries
- But: Wood can dominate
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The look inside the bottle
How does HSE XO À La Française 2016 taste?
Aggregated from 30 community reviews.
Smooth, woody agricole sipper at 51.6% Most find it a smooth, easy-sipping agricole with well-integrated alcohol and lovely oak. A few think the wood and spice run a bit heavy, and one blind taster was less impressed.
Agricole fans who like an oak-forward, dry sipper
Anyone wanting a light, grassy agricole or avoiding tannic wood
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
6 of 30 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
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How is HSE XO À La Française 2016 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.1 sits in the “Very good” band. 93% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
73% rate it 8 or higher. 11 selected write-ups from 30 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
Most helpful positive review
Fine, palatable easy sipper. More on the slightly woody side than the grassy side. I tasted a pleasant red wine finish where there is none, but that speaks for the rhum. Alcohol very well integrated. Another quality product from HSE, they simply deliver quality at a reliably consistent level with their many releases.
Review by mto75
Most helpful mixed review
angenehmer Agricole sipper, sehr rund, eher süßlich am Gaumen
Review by Johannes
Alcohol very well integrated, good easy sipper!
Review by Oliver
Great XO! Alcohol very well integrated.
Review by Rowald Sweet Empire
French oak in the nose. So slightly acidic. Fresh. Nougat. Berries. Varnish. So far so good. Taste: lots of wood(spices). Dry. Bitter. Paint. Molasses. Again a HSE with a bit too much wood. Astringent mouth feel. For me the nose>taste.
Review by Nicofr
Rhum goûté à l'aveugle, j'ai été assez déçu et surtout très étonné des autres critiques. Très boisé en bouche et assez épicé, un peu trop à mon goût. Je n'ai pas trouvé l'alcool très bien intégré non plus. Je suis content de l'avoir goûté, c'est un rhum que j'aurais pu acheter.
Review by Alexander Rasch
Sehr schöner Agricole mit viel Holzeinfluss. In der Nase schöne rote Früchte. Am Gaumen trocken, leicht süffig und in Abgang dann etwas adstringent. Gefällt mir gut. Preislich etwas hoch angesetzt. Aber lecker.
Review by Buddudharma
Schöner, süffiger Agricole, jedoch ohne herausragende Eigenschaften.
Review by Carlitooo
Einer der süffigsten Agricoles für mich, unglaublich geschmeidig und einfach lecker. Selten so gut eingebundene Prozente gehabt.
Review by LawPotsdam
Hard to define on the nose at first, then a mixture of fresh fruit, wood and spices. Pepper on the tongue, rather toasty and woody on the palate, then the sugar cane comes through. Long finish, goes into the nose, the pepper remains but does not bite
Review by Mc Pirate
Nez alcoolique, rhum agricole très présent et très pointu… pas de fruits, de l’alcool et un léger boisé. Bouteille ouverte depuis 3 ans quasiment pleine. Bouche franche et alcoolique. On ressent bien le rhum pur canne à sucre et la Martinique revendique bien son terroir, légèrement végétal la finale est moyenne et chaleureuse.
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Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 100 € – 120 €
from 2 sales, latest 02/2026
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 127 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about HSE XO À La Française 2016
A Rhum Agricole AOC from Martinique, distilled by Distillerie du Simon, at 51,6%.
Community purchases
75 bottles logged by 57 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
6% opened, 1 emptied and repurchased.
What did the community pay for HSE XO À La Française 2016?
Community paid 92–139 €.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
75 purchased · 30 tasted · 11 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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HSE Extra Vieux Small Cask 2014
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HSE Château Marquis de Terme Finish 2007
HSE Château Marquis de Terme Finish 2007Red-wine-finished agricole, cherry and chocolate
HSE Brut de fût 2015 Forêt de Montpensier
HSE Brut de fût 2015 Forêt de MontpensierDark, spicy oak-driven Martinique agricole
J. Bally Brut de Fût 2004
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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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