Aroma visualization from community tastings
Nobilis No. 3 Rockley BBR 1986
Honey, beeswax and woodsmoke wrapped around a medicinal, herbal core — the classic 1986 Rockley profile from a 34-year-old WIRD pot still. Expect figs, ripe mango and licorice, a creamy texture and a very long finish, with the 54.7% remarkably well tucked in. A few tasters find it woodier, drier and more "boozy" than its sibling bottlings, but almost nobody calls it anything less than serious.
The community says- Honey-smoke complexity
- Integrated alcohol
- Long finish
View price history
+10Secure payment Sold by Excellence Rhum Returns & cancellation
- Secure payment. You pay via RumX with PayPal, Klarna or card. Your payment data is encrypted and we never store your full card details.
- Clear seller. Sold and shipped directly by the partner shop. And you're never on your own: RumX handles support and communication with the shop, so you always get excellent service, whichever shop you order from.
- Honest shop ratings. The stars show your service experience with the shop, not the rum score. They come from RumX users, and critical ones stay visible.
- Returns & cancellation. Your purchase contract is with the shop, so returns and cancellations run through them under their own policy and your statutory rights. If anything goes wrong, RumX helps you sort it out.
The look inside the bottle
How does Nobilis No. 3 Rockley BBR 1986 taste?
Aggregated from 77 community reviews.
Old smoky-honey Rockley, deep and complex A genuinely loved old Rockley: honey, smoke, herbs and dark chocolate with well-integrated alcohol. The main debate is where it ranks against the RA and Silver Seal 86ers, not whether it's good.
Rockley devotees who love smoky, medicinal, honeyed old rum
Anyone new to funky, herbal-medicinal profiles
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
35 of 77 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Nobilis No. 3 Rockley BBR 1986 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 9.1 sits in the “Excellent” band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% 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?
1% rate it between 6 and 8. 18 selected write-ups from 77 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Tschusikowsky
My first 86 WIRD🎉 Wonderfully engaging perfumed profile. Very round, complex. Tea, honey, barrel, thyme, chocolate, smoky, coffee ice cream. Great balance, the rum takes you on a journey. Multi-layered and complex. Presents itself in all its diversity. Smooth, super smooth, yet powerful on the nose. It lingers and lingers and lingers. The finish is very long and complex. One of the best I have drunk so far
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Absolute grenade! Rockley in perfection! Honey, honeycomb, fig and rosemary, fully ripe mango. Incredibly beautiful viscosity, sweetly fruity and extremely complex. Like flaming a sprig of rosemary, dipping it in honey and eating dried mango with it. The finish is almost endless and the alcohol is perfectly integrated! Really, really good! For a perfect rating I would have to do a cross tasting with RA and silver seal...
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
Le nez est particulièrement envouteur ! Tout n’est que charme et volupté, on retrouve des notes de miel, d’amandes, de tabac, de fruits (banane-orange), ce nez est magique ! C’est attracteur à souhait, on veut s’y plonger et le gouter ! La bouche est crémeuse et ce n’est que gourmandise … ouf le nez ne nous a pas fait un coup de Trafalgar ! Effectivement, la bouche est mielleuse et tire sur la vanille, et plus le temps passe et plus c’est fun et agréable. On est devant un gâteau au fruits le tout saupoudré d’épices. Parfait équilibre entre complexité aromatique et gourmandise.
Review by Alexander Rasch
Auf dem 13. GRF probiert und es war das absolute Highlight für mich. Besonders in der Nase fand in den Unterschied zu den 2000er Rockly spannend da wesentlich weniger Rauch. Der 1986 war als wenn ich an frischer Wäsche rieche. Frisch, leicht, lecker und super komplex. Eine einmalige Aromen Welt. Einfach genial und lecker. Top Rum mit hohem Alleinstellungsmerkmal. Leider geil.
Review by David Scharsach
Hellfruchtig mit einer leichten Rauchnote. Explodiert am Gaumen förmlich
Review by mto75
the RA 86 in comparison with the Nobilis 86. Both with that unique herbal, medicinal, floral, smoky-honey note on the nose. The Nobilis still has orange peel. The RA seems a bit more edgy or expressive, even though the Nobilis is slightly higher in ABV. On the palate, both toasted cask, grapefruit.
Review by RumTaTa
This is one of the oldest rums I've had in the glass (thanks to saibotztar). The nose is already unusual with forest and buckwheat honey, ripe tropical fruit, vanilla, fig cake and less barrel-heavy than expected. The alcohol is absolutely unobtrusive on the nose. On the palate, a blast! Then aromas from the nose are joined by resin. The rum shows a very creamy mouthfeel and again the alcohol is at no time superficial. The finish is eternally long and also here I find all the flavors of the nose again, supplemented by a trace of oak / barrel. What a great rum!
Review by Serge
Insanely cool. Happy to finally be able to try this rum: Honey, honeycomb, beeswax in its purest form. Plus smoke, vanilla and a medicinal note. Awesome stuff and very slightly charred in the finish and the most beautiful honey toast
Review by Christoph H.
Ein guter und interessanter Rockley, gar keine Frage. Wäre das der Einzige auf diesem Planeten, stünde ein Kauf außer Frage. Hier ist die Konkurrenz meines Erachtens allerdings zu stark. Im Vergleich zum DT und RA, ist dieser hier relativ kratzbürstig. Sehr viel mehr Rauch/ Schwarzpulver, Fass, wenig Frucht und insgesamt eher auf der herben Seite. Auch ist der Alkohol in der Nase im Vergleich nicht ideal eingebunden. Hier fehlt die pure Rockley DNA, die beim RA und DT definitiv grandios vorhanden sind.
Review by CaRaph
I'll make it short : a hell of a good one. Incredible nose, pretty soft in mouth with perfectly integrated alcohol, finish long and delicious :) Empty glass smells very good too !
Review by Thunderbird
The Nobilis Rockley in direct comparison to the Rendsburger... both top class rums... with a slight advantage for the Rendsburger... which is a little more present... Otherwise, they are very similar... it's a shame that something like this is no longer produced. The complexity is simply fantastic and the blend of smoke and honey flavors is unique.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A rum whose vintage is often considered a benchmark in the field, and it's easy to see why. The nose is very full and complex, with a multitude of flavors: exotic fruits, floral notes, aromatic herbs, tobacco, spices (ginger, licorice, anise, chili, vanilla, pepper), smoky wood, nuts, caramel, honey, chocolate and medicinal notes form an aromatic bouquet as special as it is detailed, deep and lively. The palate is very elegant and sophisticated. The rum is lively, rich in spices, aromatic herbs and floral notes that extend to honey. Wood, smoke, leather and chocolate follow the complex, fresh palate. Some medicinal and fruity notes lie in ambush on the tongue. The alcohol is very well integrated. The finish is long, dark, bitter, medicinal, woody and slightly herbaceous. There are also dried fruits, leather, spices and chocolate. For a profile of Barbados, this is an original, complete and accomplished rum, with remarkable and delicious flavors.
Review by Johannes
In direct comparison to the RA, SS and Plantation, it does not seem quite as intense and can not quite keep up with the top 3. Nevertheless, still a high, exceptional quality!
Review by Jakob
Great release. Typical notes of the 1986 Rockley profile, honey, tropical and citrus fruits, vanilla, roasted and smoky aromas, dark spices. In direct comparison with the other greats of the 1986wr vintage, there is a clear barrel impact on the palate, with a recognizable bitter note of wood, dark chocolate and some coffee on the finish. Not enough for the throne, but we are in the Rockley Champions League. Absolutely impressive quality, an excellent release.
Review by Carlitooo
Not quite on a par with RA and SS
Review by Schnubbii
Messe-Bewertung: Tolle, komplexe und fruchtige Nase. Geschmacksexplosion am Gaumen. Fruchtig, cremig, leicht salzig. Was ein Brett! Einzig der Abgang ist "nur" mittellang.
Review by Mirco
Rockley Tasting 1986/87/2000 Not quite as round as the RA. A little more beastly, bitter and less complex on the finish.
Review by kondgab
Honey, smoke, medicine, herbal notes
No reviews match this filter.
Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 9.3/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
Read full review →
Expert review by Tasting Bro's
Read full review →
Details about Nobilis No. 3 Rockley BBR 1986
A Pot Still Rum from Barbados, bottled by Nobilis Rum, at 54,7%.
Community purchases
44 bottles logged by 35 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
15% opened, 3 emptied and repurchased.
What does Nobilis No. 3 Rockley BBR 1986 cost?
Community paid 436–794 €.
Current best price: 1350.00 € – above the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
44 purchased · 80 tasted · 35 wishlist · as of
About the West Indies distillery
The West Indies distillery is located in Barbados. Rums from West Indies have been reviewed 7,507 times with an average of 7.6/10.
To West Indies →You may also enjoy
Rum enthusiasts who like this rum have also given the following rums high ratings:
Silver Seal Barbados BRS 1986
Silver Seal Barbados BRS 1986Intense, waxy Rockley with dirty smoke
Enmore RA Guyana Rum VSG 1985
Enmore RA Guyana Rum VSG 1985Graphite, thyme and mint — polarizing old Enmore
Cadenhead‘s Rockley Green Label 1986
Cadenhead‘s Rockley Green Label 1986Honey, smoke and wax Rockley at easy strength
Nobilis Hampden No. 7 HLCF 1992
Nobilis Hampden No. 7 HLCF 1992Old, fruity Hampden with toasted oak
Hampden RA HD (Whiskytempel) C<>H 1993
Hampden RA HD (Whiskytempel) C<>H 1993Funky, fruity old-Hampden cask-strength sipper
Hampden RA HD C<>H 1993
Hampden RA HD C<>H 1993Funky, drying old Hampden, all pineapple and ester
Never miss a price drop.
Set a target price in the app, and we'll let you know as soon as the rum becomes available at that price from one of our partner stores. This works for any rum on your wish list.
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.
Oliver, Stuttgart
About RumX →
