Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier La Bonne Intention LBI LBI 1998
Nine years old, yet nobody who tries this believes it. This Velier Demerara from La Bonne Intention tastes far older than its age: dried plums and figs, wet leather, tobacco, thick molasses and an elegant smoke that keeps unfolding. The palate runs oily and bittersweet, ending long and dry with rubber, tar, licorice and grapefruit peel. One taster called it a "once-in-a-lifetime" rum.
The community says- Rich dried fruit
- Elegant smoke
- Oily, balanced body
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier La Bonne Intention LBI LBI 1998 taste?
Aggregated from 19 community reviews.
Heavy, oily Demerara — smoke, leather, dried fruit Members are near-unanimous: heavy, intense, remarkably balanced for its age, with dark fruit, leather and smoke. The catch is scarcity — many wish they'd bought bottles when they could.
Fans of heavy, dark Demerara rum
Anyone who wants light, sweet or easy sipping
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
9 of 19 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
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How is Velier La Bonne Intention LBI LBI 1998 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 9.4 sits in the “Excellent” band. 100% 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?
100% rate it 8 or higher. 9 selected write-ups from 19 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Oliver
The elegant smoky note is amazing!
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
16.11.2025 Finishing off the last sample of this wonderful rum. Still like it a lot. ------------ First off, I regret not having bought some bottles of this release because the price is just up there today if you find a bottle. Secondly, it's amazing how much flavour they packed into such a young demerara, wow. The nose is intense and well balanced with fruits, molasses, smoky wood, clove, tobacco, licorice and camphor. The palate is intense, complex, very well balanced and very oily with dried fruit, smoky wood and chocolate. The balance between sweetness and bitterness is virtually perfect. The finish is very long and lightly bitter with rubber, tar, licorice, grapefruit and light coffee.
Review by Jakob
Dark dried fruit meets wet leather, tobacco and smoke - very impressive melange with various reminiscences of other Demerara styles, but here blended in almost perfect harmony. Hard to believe that such a balanced and versatile profile can emerge after a comparatively short aging period.
Review by zabo
What more is there to say? I've had a few old Velier Demeraras recently, but this one, although so young compared to the others, was by far the best. Simply a knockout!
Review by Mopar Rules
Another statement for Demerara Rules! Intense, depth, heavy! Those are heavy rums! The term HTR needs to be redefined as HDR! Those demeraras are heavy rums. Dark blues, metal, rock from the roots. Bass guitars, drums, black voices. The famous blues legend John Lee Hooker of rum.
Review by Pavel Spacek
Molases, leather, wood, more smooth than Skeldon, more floral and fruity ... Stare Velier Demerara rumy je to nejlepsi, co v rumovem svete muzete ochutnat. Rumy zraly spise omylem nekolik let v tropech a nikdo obsah sudu nedoplnoval. Andelska dan byla 90% a vice, proto je chut obzvlaste plna a intenzivni. I kdyz se jedna o extra drahou zalezitost, doporucu alespon jednou v zivote ochutnat rum z teto serie.
Review by ArminK
Jaaaa er hält was versprochen wird. Kommt zwar nicht an meine persönliche Top Bewertung ran, hat aber alles was ich an Rum liebe. Sehr ausdrucksstarke Nase mit getrockneten Früchten, Leder und etwas Rauch. Im Mund extrem ausgewogen zuerst leicht bitter aber auch etwas süß. Früchte und ein leichter Rauchton. Für mich ein echter TOP Rum.
Review by Alex Kunath
Noch nie war ich so nervös eine Flasche zu öffnen und die Samples abzuführen! Bloß keinen Tropfen vergießen, alles muss genutzt werden und nach erfolgreicher Arbeit darf der Rest ins Tastingglas! Eine pure Freude! Allein schon die Farbe für einen solch jungen Guyana! Ein Gedicht, eine Augenweide, ein Traum! Ich könnte ewig an diesem Glas riechen! Er hat alles was ein fantastischer Guyana haben muss! Getrocknete Früchte, Leder, Schokolade, Rauch und und und...Auf dem Gaumen wird jede Nuaunce aus der Nase aufs Deutlichste bestätigt. Einfach ein Once-in-a-lifetime-Rum! Ich bereue nicht ihn gekauft und vor allen geöffnet zu haben!
Review by Adrianv
Amazing rum, nose is very intense, complex, spicy, tobacco, clove, leather notes. Woody, floral, bitter taste with tobacco, leather, dry fruits notes, complex, oily, smooth, alcohol amazingly integrated, long finish. This is piece of art. I want a bottle! Well done!
Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 9.5/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Le Blog À Roger
Read full review →
Expert review by Rob Bauer
Read full review →Nose Who allowed this witchcraft?! Lord have mercy on us. Never in a thousand years does this feel like an only 9 year old spirit, black Demerera magic it is! The bouquet is fat and rich, uber-complex and jam-packed with dark fruits and sweets, like dried plums and figs, caramelized dates, thick molasses and a lot of liquorice. Over everything hovers a mysterious note of smoke, like we've never experienced it in rum territorries. Everytime you shake the glass, new flavours tumble out, like with a magic box. This time: elegant perfume notes of sandalwood, orris and the best cuban tobacco. Wait, there is also a fresh nuance of camphor, cloves and myrrh, leaning a bit towards swedish bitters. Palate By the potion of Getafix and Asterix! We just got bewitched by a highly concentrated bittersweet, super oily and sticky juice, that confirms most of the dark flavours we had on the nose. The sweetness and bitterness are synergizing into a perfect interaction. No sharpness, no offnotes, just magnificence. Moreover, we taste carob, cocoa and pronounced manioc and tamarrind flavours. What's also stunning is the mature mouthfeel that occupies the palate and rules with richness and heaviness. Finish Long but not endless, yet really dry and perfectly bitter with heavily roasted espresso beans, liquorice, old grapefruit peels and a slight dirtiness of rubber and tarr.
Expert review by Who Rhum The World
Read full review →
Expert review by Rob Bauer
Nose Who allowed this witchcraft?! Lord have mercy on us. Never in a thousand years does this feel like an only 9 year old spirit, black Demerera magic it is! The bouquet is fat and rich, uber-complex and jam-packed with dark fruits and sweets, like dried plums and figs, caramelized dates, thick molasses and a lot of liquorice. Over everything hovers a mysterious note of smoke, like we've never experienced it in rum territorries. Everytime you shake the glass, new flavours tumble out, like with a magic box. This time: elegant perfume notes of sandalwood, orris and the best cuban tobacco. Wait, there is also a fresh nuance of camphor, cloves and myrrh, leaning a bit towards swedish bitters. Palate By the potion of Getafix and Asterix! We just got bewitched by a highly concentrated bittersweet, super oily and sticky juice, that confirms most of the dark flavours we had on the nose. The sweetness and bitterness are synergizing into a perfect interaction. No sharpness, no offnotes, just magnificence. Moreover, we taste carob, cocoa and pronounced manioc and tamarrind flavours. What's also stunning is the mature mouthfeel that occupies the palate and rules with richness and heaviness. Finish Long but not endless, yet really dry and perfectly bitter with heavily roasted espresso beans, liquorice, old grapefruit peels and a slight dirtiness of rubber and tarr.
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
Avg. community purchase price 8000 €
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 Velier La Bonne Intention LBI LBI 1998
A Column Still Rum from Guyana, bottled by Velier, at 55,6%.
What do the letters on a Demerara label mean? The RumX guide →
Community purchases
9 bottles logged by 8 collectors.
A drinker & collector.
33% opened, 2 emptied and repurchased.
9 purchased · 19 tasted · 41 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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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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