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Chairman's Reserve Master's Selection (Kirsch Import) 2008
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A lot of people reach for St. Lucia expecting soft, and this one surprises them: it's smoky, leathery and dry, with roasted wood, tobacco and burnt sugar. Underneath sit pineapple esters and dried fruit that make some tasters think Jamaica. The cask strength is well tucked in for 58%, though a couple find the oak and bitterness too heavy.
The community says- Well-integrated alcohol
- Smoke, leather, tobacco
- Keep in mind: Can be bitter
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Offers & prices
No shop currently delivers to Germany.
Auction results: 100–122 € (3 sales in 24 months, incl. buyer's premium, latest 12/2025). How the range is built ›
Buying advice
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Yes, if you're after bold, mature, oaky rums for sipping neat.
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The look inside the bottle
How does Chairman's Reserve Master's Selection (Kirsch Import) 2008 taste?
From community reviews · summarized with AI
Smoky, woody, dry St. Lucia pot still Loved by most as a dark, spicy, well-integrated St. Lucia at a fair price. The catch: the roasted wood and dry bitterness turn off tasters who wanted more fruit and sweetness.
Aroma profileFans of dark, smoky, spicy pot-still St. Lucia
Anyone wanting sweet, soft or fruit-forward rum
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
44 of 86 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›
What does the community say?
86 community reviews
Rating scale & review checks
On RumX, 7 means “Good” and 8 means “Very good”.
See the full rating guideHow ratings are made and how we check them ›The website shows a selection of written reviews. The distribution also includes ratings without text. All published reviews are available in the RumX app.
49 selected written reviews
The distribution above includes all 86 ratings, including those without text.
Review by Galli33
Most helpful positive review
What an amazing nose !😍 A big fruitsbaskets, with some glue, a fresh note and some roasted aromas. So far my favorite from St. Lucia!! In mouth this rum continues to shine with various fruits, tobacco, leather, wood and with a high impact of licorice 🤤 The finish is quite long, dry, starts fruity and ends in a smoky wooden barrel. The alcohol is integrated well. The 58% are notable, but drinkable. This is a truthfully rum.
Review by Gregor
Most helpful critical review
Nice, fruity and spicy nose: banana, mango, dates, pear, vanilla, tobacco, ash Palate: no idea if my sample is bad. But after some banana, floral, briefly apricot with stone, quince and licorice, it unfortunately quickly becomes sharp, medicinal and alcoholic, very bad finish.
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
Oh, that's hard! Oh, I'll make it easy for myself today, even if I'm setting the highest mark so far: In a direct comparison with the 2005 from GotA & RumX (RX11670), both are on a par for me. The Kirsch is more present and pleasing on the nose, while the GotA & RumX remains ahead on the palate and also has a few percent more power. For me, both are at the absolute top level. How nice that St. Lucia exists! 🤗 Update 2023-05-04: Wow, what's going on now? In the blind tasting I had a hard time with the bite of this rum, where has my strong but smooth Chairman's gone? Well, it's a bit surprising, but the John Dore loses out to the Vendome (6th Rum & Co. bottling). Leaves me a bit perplexed. But I can always blame it on the form of the day! 🤣
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Very cool & quite typical St. Lucia John Dore. Spicy, smoky, subtly fruity and very well integrated alcohol! Really an excellent representative of the John Dore style. Great bottling at a good price!
Review by Dr.Django
With the taste and smell of a gauze bandage, rubber and glue and even more medical dirty aromas underlined by fruits and rock sugar. I didn't remember it that well.
Review by DomM
Intense and powerful bottling. Very nice bang for the buck from Kirsch!
Review by Mirco
Really good St. Lucia at a sensational price. The bottling appeals to Lucia purists and comes with the typical notes you expect. Very nice cherry, tobacco, leather, and wood, well-integrated alcohol.
Review by Righrum
Too much medicinal and glue notes for my palate, this ruins my experience as they cover all the other notes. Seems like a Fiji, and to me this is not a positive evaluation. Not my cup of tea for sure.
Review by Leo Krüper
Great Chairmans at a super price-performance ratio. In the blind tasting it comes across very strong. Strong, independent, wild, young.
Review by RumTaTa
The nose starts very surprising for me with esters and tropical fruits. Reminds me more of Jamaica!This continues on the palate, great thing! Jamaica funk with St Lucia spice! I like it very much.The alcohol is very well integrated.The only criticism I find would be "only" medium complexity.Wow, at the very end, after about 2 minutes I have the impression of wheat beer!Great stuff, great price!
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
This is a very nice release. ABV has been integrated very well and I like the roasted/smoky wood because it's not dominating the profile. Light fruit with nice spices and some leather. Beautiful curtains in the glass and the empty glass has wonderful flavours. Very long finish with nice wood.
Review by BjörnNi 🥃
Very harmonious and balanced. Long woody finish. What a bomb!
Review by zabo
Edit: The first time I tried it was at the village, then at a crosstasting with the Franconian Tasting Gang. By now also one of my wife's favorite rums. I'm surprised that this Chairman’s bottling is still available at a reasonable price. For me, among all the bottlings, the best value for money. By now also my favorite Chairman. Therefore corrected upwards again. A very good bottling at a really reasonable price.
Review by Christian Rudt
Very nice nose where wood, fruit and spice harmonize. Nice roasted aromas. Alcohol hardly noticeable. On the palate strongly woody, for me already a bit too much of the good. As if the wood almost completely swallowed the alcohol. Almost as intense as a virgin oak. 14.8. Re-tasting I have to upgrade the rum a bit today. The herbal note with plenty of tobacco is already very strong but suits it excellently.
Review by Alex1981
Fantastic St. Lucia, powerful yet well balanced between alcohol, fruits, wood & funky notes. Long finish that stays on the tongue forever and allows some late exploration. Great! //edit: still great, the nose gets a bit more mellow and less alcoholic than I noted before
Review by mto75
on par with the very good 2005 Chairmans Reserve bottlings. What I particularly like about the Kirsch is the balance, almost dangerously drinkable. And the price-performance ratio is simply top!
Review by Oliver
Very good Saint Lucia rum with top price-pleasure ratio!
Review by Jakob
At the nose with fascinating fresh fruit aromas, which unfortunately fall into the shadow of very present spice and roast aromas on the palate. These bitter aromas are a bit too dominant in the overall profile for me. A second try from the open bottle – once again the oxidation has a positive effect on the rum. I like it much better now, hence a clear correction upwards.
Review by tojo
On the nose a lot of yellow fruit, berries and fig. Sweet aromas of caramel and vanilla. In the hunter background light notes of smoke and barrel. On the palate this is continued. Finishes with leather and light earth. With the Chairman Kirsch has provided a great rum at a good price.
Review by Schnubbii
Now it's time to taste the highly praised Chairman's Reserve from Kirsch's selection for its price/enjoyment ratio. My first rum from the St. Lucia Distillers, I'm curious... On the nose first a bit of alcohol, then hints of Jamaica and also La Réunion - I like it! On the tongue: Wow, very wild, many notes of tobacco and leather hiding in a pine forest. I haven't known such a combination before. Slightly reminds me of Jamaica, but even more of La Réunion, especially the much-praised Savanna Grand Arome 2007 from Rum Nation. The pine forest also brings a slight bitterness that also reminds me of the Grand Arome. The finish is medium-length, some freshness, wood and tobacco remain. Overall for me a very rounded experience. Probably not 100% my type, but I can understand why many like it. Edit: Towards the end of the bottle it got even better.
Review by Tim
Unfortunately, this rum is too dominant and unbalanced for my taste, but still interesting. Besides the not-so-loved smoke and tobacco notes, there is a good load of esters that strongly remind of pineapple! Plus spices, which overall creates strong associations with Jamaica. Dry, sharp, spicy, sour and bitter in the mouth, making it very heavy and not quite smooth. Left behind are also a nice caramel note, as well as lots of tobacco/smoke/roasted. If you like this smoky tobacco profile, you get a special rum at a very good price.
Review by Thunderbird
A very good Chairman's with excellent value for money! The balance between fruit, sweetness, wood, and spiciness is really good!
Review by Skyfly
The toasted barrel has done quite a bit - roast and smoke aromas are strongly present and overall remind me of pipe tobacco. Although I am usually quite skeptical about this in rum, these notes harmonize wonderfully with the burnt sugar and dried fruits and thus create a beautiful picture!
Review by Timo Groeger
The Chairman's are still among my favorites :-) This one is great too. On the nose, it's very nicely woody and spicy. On the palate, also lots of wood and spice, and for me a touch of mint.
Review by Alex Kunath
Again, very complex and very tasty!
Review by Michael Schillheim
Light Jamaican impressions on the nose. Slight tropical fruits, esters and spicy wood. On the palate earthy, spicy, licorice and slightly smoky. I find the notes of bitter almond/marzipan in the aftertaste fantastic. Very, very good Chairman's.
Review by Serge
Delicious and in my view a real price-performance bomb. I'm not a Chairman’s Connoisseur and I think my rating is not inflated by personal preference – and yet 85 (or 8.5 😂) for 85. That’s how it should be.
Review by Johannes
Nice complexity, but for me a touch too bitter, too much wood.
Review by Nivius
Unfortunately, this one was a real disappointment. I would even like to rate it lower if it weren’t for fairness and the disappointed expectations for St. Lucia that I have to factor in... But about the rum – of course we have almost 60% here – but this one tastes absolutely unbalanced and the alcohol feels extremely poorly integrated to me... or rather, what flavor there is is poorly integrated into the alcohol – clear St. Lucia glue, wood, leather but at the same time an unpleasant acidity and bitterness, even if somewhere in the finish a pleasant honey-pepper note eventually comes through. Diluted down to drinking strength it tastes watered down, but on the palate there’s only this ethanol note left, as if you just had a shot of brandy, while on the tongue the unpleasant bitterness becomes even more dominant – this rum and I unfortunately won’t become friends. Of course, you taste differently every day, but even after multiple tastings, I couldn’t once understand the enthusiasm for this Lucia. Then I thought maybe it’s at least good for mixing, but no luck there either... I almost suspected that there’s something else in the bottle given the really consistently great reviews this rum gets here – but I can’t imagine Whisky-Maniac selling fake St. Lucia.
Review by DosenZorn
Crosstasting Saint Lucia: Chairmans German Ed. (RX11467) vs. Chairmans Kirsch (RX15045) vs. Chairmans Antipodes (RX13430): Less floral on the nose than the Germans, but clearly smokier, some fried bacon and much more wood. Very heavy and intense, but somewhat more one-dimensional than the Germans. On the palate, much better integrated alcohol than the Germans, almost imperceptible. Also more one-dimensional on the palate, towards caramel, slightly burnt sugar and many dark wood notes. Because of the vanilla aroma, I would also guess bourbon cask aging without finish here. In the finish, then a bit smoky. Choosing a winner here is insanely difficult. All are great; and very different. For me, the Antipodes wins photo finish in first place, closely followed by the Kirsch. And just a little behind comes the Germans.
Review by Boletus
The smell is simply great! On the palate there's plenty of oak with some bitter moments, but luckily not only that. At first a few edges need smoothing by persistent chewing, but then a nice reward follows with lots of fruits and spices. Really good stuff!
Review by Andi
Very intense, exciting and tasty.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A high-flying rum from Saint Lucia. The nose is rich and complex, offering a beautiful medicinal bouquet (ester, glue) mixed with tropical fruits (pineapple) and dried fruits (raisins). Smoky notes appear with cold pipe tobacco, leather and roasted wood. Sweet spices (vanilla, chili, nutmeg) and caramel complete a varied and very rounded aromatic profile. The profile evolves in the same continuity on the palate. The smoky and roasted notes take over with wood, coffee notes and spices (cinnamon, licorice, vanilla, pepper, chili) to give a darker facet to the profile. Burnt sugar, caramel and dried fruits give a more indulgent side to this more empyreumatic profile than usual. The medicinal notes, tea and cold pipe tobacco are present enough to offer a rum with a very wide and very structured aromatic spectrum. The whole is very pleasant on the palate, with very well integrated alcohol. The finish is long, structured, a bit astringent, dominated by empyreumatic notes (smoky, roasted, dark chocolate, leather, burnt sugar) but without being overpowering. Medicinal notes, spices and dried fruits share the rest of a dry but well-controlled profile. A superb bottling that testifies to the quality of the rums from this island.
Review by Jarek
Chairman’s tasting with 3x Vendome (Evanius Harris, RMW, Rum&Co), 1x Vendome & John Dore Blend (Nectar) and 2x John Dore (Kirsch, Rum Exchange). The Vendome bottlings are a bit dirtier and medicinal, the John Dore fruitier. Among the Vendome, Evanius Harris was the most coherent for me. Among the John Dore, Rum Exchange would have won if it weren't so woody (best on the nose), so I liked Kirsch better. Overall, the number 1 was Nectar, which combined the best of both styles, mild, tasty and perfectly matured.
Review by Gyuli
Aroma: Esters and peat are felt simultaneously. Rather than a medicinal peat, it smells like an old bandage or disinfectant when opening a first aid kit. After about 5 minutes the aroma opens up, the peat gradually dies down, and esters (like nail polish), pistachio, dark chocolate and the like come up. Taste: A complex and hard-to-describe blended navy rum style. Peat and esters die down a bit more, revealing dried grains and tropical fruits. Oak spiciness is somewhat strong, unfortunately covering the umami flavors. Finish: Virgin oak spice and peat linger quite long.
Review by Bene37
A fully intense and aromatic beast, hitting hard with leather and tobacco, tropical fruits and dried fruits and ester notes, and it's a lot of fun. Bitter. Great bottling. 91/100 or 8/10
Review by Rumpalumpa
A lot going on in the nose here. Candied fruits before herbs that move between tea and tobacco. But also somewhat biting. On the palate a wonderfully rounded interplay of these aromas with leather and a bit more from the cask.
Review by Piotr Ignasiak
More typical profile than in the Plantation that I just tasted. More spicy, smoky, herbal and dark. Some fennel notes I'm not a big fan of.
Review by w00tAN
Wow, what a beautiful rum. Immediately present on the nose with a woody spicy note, with some time you also notice some fruitiness. On the mouth then strong spicy with perfectly integrated alcohol. Nice woody notes and with every sip something new to discover. On the finish then warm with strong wood. Really a great rum and for under 90 also a great value for money.
Review by Buddudharma
Another very nice Saint Lucia. In direct comparison, the Antipodes is a bit "brighter" and more complex, with more rough edges, the Kirsch more mature, darker, smoother with better integrated alcohol, but also a bit less exciting. Both great bottlings, but with the price difference, the victory clearly goes to the Kirsch.
Review by Rene Pfeiffer
In the nose a little more than the Antipodes LMDW. On the palate, very similar, speak neat spice and slightly peppery. Top PLV with about 90 euros for 0.7l.
Review by Jonas
Another grenade. Delicious ripeness. St. Lucia Distillers delivers again. For me, alongside Fiji, the by far most interesting and consistent open distilleries. If now there was a 12-year standard with 50 to 55% for max. 60€, it would be perfect. Preferably Vendome, but also a mix from the pots would be fine for me.
Review by Pavel Spacek
Good rum for Chairmans, but still st.Lucia taste
Review by bavarian-rumlover
Nice nose. Taste spicy smoky with some fruit and leather. Wood comes through clearly in the finish. Alcohol well integrated, a bit present in the finish. Nice and strong. Good present drop and also a recommendation for the price.
Review by Filip Šikula
Silver Advent calendar RFC 2024
Review by Wernie
Wow, an awesome nose, a bit of everything in a great symbiosis. First sweet candied fruits, then fine baking spices with great wood aromas and then comes a fresh herbal note and green apples. Nose in the 9 range. Taste-wise, matching the nose, I would have wished for a bit more sweetness. It is powerfully spicy, again herbs, plus leather, cask and nutty. The finish continues the palate. Great Saint Lucia, where the nose excites me, the palate falls short for me, I miss the great sweetness of the nose and the fruits, still a nice drop.
Review by Johnny Rumcask
Nice St. Lucia representative. Needs some time in the glass. Roasty aromas, astringent, with a slight sweetness at the end. Would love more of this!
Review by Stefan H.
And another bomb from the Single Cask series. Again quite woody and dirty, but combined with nice subtle ester notes and a correspondingly long finish, outstanding. Exceptionally good value for money.
Review by Djehey
The nose is fascinating, it blends aromas of wood, fruit, and fermentation. The palate is much more focused on woodiness with tannins present at the end of the mouth.
This selection contains no written reviews in this rating range.
Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by The Dunder Hut
Chairman's Reserve Master's Selection (Kirsch Import) 2008 at live auctions
A bid is not a final price: the house sets the buyer's premium, shipping and any customs duty.
All live auctions ›Community shelf
62 bottles logged by 52 collectors.
Both drunk and collected.
29% opened, 5 emptied.
What did the community pay for Chairman's Reserve Master's Selection (Kirsch Import) 2008?
Community paid 76–104 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 97 €. Price history with 3 auction results in RX+ ›
62 purchased · 87 tasted · 33 wishlist · as of
Details about Chairman's Reserve Master's Selection (Kirsch Import) 2008
A Pot Still Rum from Saint Lucia, distilled by Saint Lucia Distillers, at 58,3%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
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Chairman's Reserve Master's Selection (The Nectar 15th anniversary) 2005
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