Aroma visualization from community tastings
West Indies Plantation Barbados 5 Years
Toasted coconut, vanilla and caramel over a soft, light body — that's the whole story here, and for a lot of people it's a happy one. Members lean on words like round, mild and "easy sipping," and several call it one of the best-value entry bottles around. The flip side: it's clearly sweetened, short on the finish, and not very complex. A dessert-leaning Barbados starter.
The community says- Great value
- Coconut and vanilla
- But: Added sugar
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The look inside the bottle
How does West Indies Plantation Barbados 5 Years taste?
Aggregated from 273 community reviews.
Sweet, coconut-vanilla easy Barbados starter Most people like it as a sweet, easy Barbados starter — vanilla, coconut, caramel. The honest catch: it tastes dosed, runs short and thin, and a few find it too sweet or a touch hot.
Newer rum drinkers who like sweet, soft, easy sippers
Anyone avoiding added sugar or wanting dry, complex Barbados rum
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
68 of 273 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
Your next rum
One difference each to this rum.
Rated better
West Indies Planteray Extra Old XO 20th Anniversary
7.9/1040 €
More intense
West Indies Plantation Barbados Single Cask VSOR 2022 2016
7.5/1041 €First choice: 116 of 162 tasters who tried both prefer it.
How is West Indies Plantation Barbados 5 Years rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 7.1 sits in the “Good” band. 52% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 4% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
75% rate it between 6 and 8. 16 selected write-ups from 273 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
One of the community's most-rated rums
Review by Decky Hicks Doughty
Most helpful positive review
Quite peppery on the nose but with big hits of oak and subtle hints of toffee, orange & coconut. The palate is sweet but not clogging. Caramel hits first followed shortly after by waves of lovely coconut before moving into honey and candied fruits. The finish is of a decent length and silky smooth with soft wood and honey notes leading into cocoa. This is a lovely rum and reasonably priced too.
Review by Xianut Trezz
Most helpful critical review
Arf…. Zut alors… je ne m’attendais pas à ca… content de partir sur une petite degustation j’ouvre m on echantillon de planteray barbados 5 ans… je lui laisse 30 min pour s’aerer… Bon… le nez… bof. Rien d’excitant… c est assez plat… J’avoue qu’assez vite face à cette absence d’émotion je pars sur la degustation… et bien… la bouche me semble très cohérente. C’est une belle déception… le sucre m’attaque les papilles… j’ai l’impression de siffler un sirop mal dilué… c est paticier… c’est pas fin… limite… je sens qu’il va falloir que je me force pour finir mon verre… je trouve cela limite écoeurant de sucre… on dirait un mauvais brevage liquoreux. Attention… relativisons… ca plaira sans doute à certains… mais alors vraiment je ne suis pas le bon candidat… vraiment pas. J’ai envie de me rincer la bouche à l eau pour décrocher tout ce sucre ! Et flute la finale est moyenne… pour le coup j’espérais qu’on m’achève…
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Not as sweet as many of the other Plantation rums but still sweet enough that you get it on the nose. It's a light easy to drink rum that you can sip or use in a cocktail. It does lack complexity but you can't expect that from 5 years of aging. Price to quality is good.
Review by BjörnNi 🥃
Not as sweet as many other Plantation. That's why it gets a few extra points.
Review by Rumpalumpa
Another surprising value for money Plantation. The Barbados notes (toffee, wood and a little fruity) are very clear here. A little sweeter due to added sugar, but for little money you really get a decent rum here.
Review by Johannes
Quite sweet with cinnamon, orange and Christmas spices.
Review by LukaŽiga
6,5:The nose opens with the sweetness of coconut milk and vanilla, and a syrup of sweet spices such as tonka bean, cinnamon and nutmeg. A round, pastry-like ambience emerges with dried fruits. Aeration reveals more roasting notes and the profile becomes increasingly spicy. There's also a touch of acidity and sweetness, with a layer of milky strawberries. 6,2:On the palate, the vanilla-coconut flavors of the nose continue with some chocolate notes. The roundness of American oak is at its peak, and the rather round, sweet texture adds a little more to palate. 6:The finish is quite short, coconutty with sweet spices.
Review by abaker-rum
A pretty simple rum with expected flavors from a molasses rum, lacking in complexity. It has typical, caramel, vanilla, and oak notes through the flavor profile. It is quite a sweet rum, not a bad dram, but it is more dessert.
Review by Vincent D
On the batch tasted, the toasted coconut sensation was very present. The whole is very round and sweet. Not unpleasant despite the significant reduction. Not an uninteresting introduction to Barbados rums.
Review by Marcus Ekornes
Quite vanilla forward and sweet. Perfect for cocktails
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Young Barbados rum in its purest form without any off-notes. Orange peel, coconut, young wood and milk chocolate, some vanilla and cinnamon. Spicy and fruity, slightly woody. Very round and mild and cuts a fine figure in cocktails. Absolutely fine for around 22€. A few % more and a few years older would of course be nice, but then the price would not be finalizable.
Review by Old Pirate 🏴☠️🇨🇿
Young, fresh with some fruits and even it's young it not taste as young. Plantation rums are specific, fruity, floral, light and most of them for a cheap price. This one is cheap and it's bargain. I would recommend it for everyone as fruity reference rum, enjoyable in both worlds - sipping or as a mixer.
Review by Martin Spooner
A very fruity smell. I immediately smelled coconut. Mild in taste. The fruity notes are nicely preserved. Pleasant to drink. Very short finish. The price-performance ratio is amazing!
Review by Lutz Lungershausen
Fruity easy sipper
Review by epicsune 🇸🇪
Sample no.12 of the 24 days of rum calendar 2022. Pineapple, coconut and vanilla comes through after it sita for a while along with some dried fruits. Palate is fruity and sweet, not as sharp as the younger Grand Reserva and the 5 years makes it a bit rounder and mild. Very pleasant sipper.
Review by Tom Buteneers
Got it as a present from a couple of students at the end of their internship. Neat it’s too sweet for my taste, but it’s a nice starter for when there’s company. Also usable as a mixer.
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Expert reviews
4 critics scored it, averaging 6.3/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Alkotip
Read full review →I love Plantation rums, I really do. For little money, they can conjure up a small miracle in your mouth. 5-year-old Barbados is a clear proof of this, in terms of price/taste, it is one of the best rums I've ever drunk. If you can accept 16 g/l of sugar, then a combination of a delicate fruity perfume with the unmistakable taste of true Barbados awaits you. Sure, I drank better rums, but they cost 2-3 times as much. Yes Yes Yes! (I rate 4/5)
Expert review by RumRock
Read full review →Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →Something that I prefer in rum. I don't mind a rough edge. There are just so many more better Barbados rums available at the moment. I think it might be a very long time before I buy a third bottle of this. Despite its enduring popularity. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter.
Expert review by The Dunder Hut
Again, really rough. The alcohol and the weird coconut aroma. What the hell is going on here? I am sure this has fans. I am certainly not among them. This feels flavoured. I really don't be a big fan. Somebody send help....
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
Avg. community purchase price 25 €
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 West Indies Plantation Barbados 5 Years
A Pot & Column Still Rum from Barbados, bottled by Maison Ferrand, at 40%.
Community purchases
606 bottles logged by 540 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
37% opened, 100 emptied and repurchased.
What does West Indies Plantation Barbados 5 Years cost?
Community paid 18–36 €.
Current best price: 22.66 € – within 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+ →
+10 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
606 purchased · 299 tasted · 128 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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