Bayou Réserve Select Barrel 2012
Expecting a bold Louisiana pot-still rum? This one leans the other way. It's light and vanilla-heavy, with apple, brown sugar and cinnamon, and a lot of ex-bourbon character coming through. Several tasters found it pleasant but bland, and a few felt the 40% makes it taste watered down. One reviewer called it a natural for a rum old fashioned.
The community says- Easy vanilla sweetness
- Good in cocktails
- Feels thin at 40%
View price history
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The look inside the bottle
How does Bayou Réserve Select Barrel 2012 taste?
Aggregated from 24 community reviews.
Light, sweet, vanilla-and-bourbon everyday sipper Divides people: fans call it a great affordable everyday pour, while others find it bland, thin at 40%, and too dominated by sweet bourbon notes.
People easing into rum from bourbon who like light, sweet, vanilla-forward pours
Anyone wanting bold, high-proof, complex rum
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
9 of 24 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Bayou Réserve Select Barrel 2012 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 7.0 sits in the “Good” band. 33% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 8% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
67% rate it between 6 and 8. 7 selected write-ups from 24 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by StormAK
Most helpful positive review
Это мой любимый ром из недорогих стандартный релизов. Все что ты хочешь от рома тут есть, плюс очень хорошее влияние бурбонной бочки. Великолепно!
Review by Tano
Most helpful critical review
Just a bland, dull an unspiring rum. It's harsh and bland at the same time, lacking character and complexity to be a sipper and just average on cocktails. It's hard to believe that this is 100% copper still. I respect the company but I highly doubt that this is true. For the price I paid (13,5€) I really can't complain, but I had high hopes considering that this was a copper pot still rum from Luisiana. Not recommended.
Review by Stefan Persson
Overall a quite bland rum that’s nothing to write home about with lots of bourbon taste. I tasted it at the Stockholm Beer & Spirits Fair 2023. This Louisiana rum from Bayou is a molasses rum. The sugarcane has grown in the soils around the Mississippi River Delta. After fermentation it’s distilled in a copper pot still whereafter it’s aged in ex-bourbon barrels for up to 4 years using the Solera method.
Review by Gregor
I am already familiar with added sugar and caramel tones from this distillery. Unfortunately, this is no exception. Unfortunately, the overall picture is not very exciting and rather boring. Could also have more percentages for my taste
Review by Alvin Rodriguez
As a sipper, it’s not that sophisticated but it’s pleasant. Wouldn’t know about mixing because I don’t drink cocktails, but I do enjoy a rum fashioned or a ‘ti punch. Would definitely be amazing for a rum fashioned and I think that’s how I will mostly have this rum.
Review by Mc Pirate
Too used lately to taste rums with much more character (60 degrees), this one remains very light and seems to be cut with water. Otherwise no particular defects, light and sweet despite these 40 degrees. Very vanilla in the nose as well as in the mouth with a persistence of fresh fruits.
Review by Adam Rajchert
Zapach: Precle, słoność, karmel, lukrecja, kakao, gruszka, cynamon, rodzynki, bourbon, masło, lubczyk, płatki owsiane, skóra Smak: gruszka, suszona śliwka, cynamon, precle, kakao, lukrecja, oleistość, odrobina dymu
Details about Bayou Réserve Select Barrel 2012
A Pot Still Rum from USA, distilled by Bayou, at 40%.
Community purchases
46 bottles logged by 44 collectors.
A drinker & collector.
28% opened, 7 emptied and repurchased.
What did the community pay for Bayou Réserve Select Barrel 2012?
Community paid 15–31 €.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
46 purchased · 25 tasted · 6 wishlist · as of
About the Bayou distillery
The Bayou distillery is located in USA. Rums from Bayou have been reviewed 152 times with an average of 7.0/10.
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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.
What began as my digital tasting diary is now the world's most comprehensive platform for rum fans, today carried by a small team with Jakob, Lukas and Katharina, with Robert supporting us as a freelancer. We combine the collective intelligence of our community with an integrated marketplace, so you can choose with confidence, without paperwork, detours, or expert jargon.
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