Aroma visualization from community tastings
Saint James Les Éphémères - N°5 2005
Give it twenty minutes in the glass and it wakes up: dry French-oak wood, dried fruit and raisin, a cognac-like roundness, and that classic Saint James glue-and-menthol edge. A 16-year tropical-aged Martinique agricole at cask strength. Several tasters call it the driest, most spice-forward of the Éphémères series, with a long warming finish. A few drops of water tame the alcohol nicely.
The community says- Cognac-like roundness
- Dried fruit depth
- But: Turns bitter
View price history
+10Secure payment Sold by Rhum Attitude 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.
Buy Saint James Les Éphémères - N°5 2005:
Compare all 4 shop offers from 123.96 €
Prices & availability last updated on
The look inside the bottle
How does Saint James Les Éphémères - N°5 2005 taste?
Aggregated from 123 community reviews.
Dry, woody aged Martinique agricole Well-liked across the series for its dry oak, dried fruit and cognac notes. Most agree it's balanced but wood- and spice-dominant; some find it a touch bitter and less thrilling than the 2001.
Agricole fans who like dry, woody, spice-heavy aged rum
Anyone wanting sweet, fruity or easy sipping
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
48 of 123 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
Your next rum
Highlights from the community
First choice
Rated better+0.3
Les Ephémères - N°1
Fans of old, wood-forward cask-strength agricole
Of 83 tasters who tried both, 72 rated this one higher.
8.8/10
295 €
Discover this rumOr maybe …
More intense54,4% 8.5/10 Les Éphémères - N°6 Similar rating, cheaper88 € 8.5/10 Clément Selection Exclusive (Batch 2)How is Saint James Les Éphémères - N°5 2005 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.5 sits in the “Very good” band. 99% 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?
12% rate it between 6 and 8. 20 selected write-ups from 123 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Galli33
Amazing Rum!! I really enjoyed the glue/cognac note which comes from the french oak barrel, I guess. Also the fruity tastes of apple, pear and strawberries🤤 The barrel and ABV is integrated very well. Conclusion of my tasting: 2006<<<2005<2001 (Roberto style 😜)
Review by Dr.Django
Direct comparison between the St. James Epheremes 5 & 7: both are great examples of typical agricole with woody notes, dried fruits, lots of leather and a long dry finish. The grassy aromas are only subliminally present here. No. 5 is a little lighter and fruitier on the palate, while No. 7 is a little more astringent and mouth-filling, but with slightly less well-integrated alcohol. For me, both are on a par, depending on the mood of the day.
Review by DomM
Intense in the nose clearly benefiting from the eleborated ABV. Wood influence is strong in the nose yet not overwhelming. On the palate I like the balance even better, with more emphasis on dried fruits overall. For me ahead of the 2006, while the 2001 is the best of the range imo.
Review by Joachim Guger
Die typischen Saint James-Marker sind in der Nase gut erkennbar. Zuerst recht schüchtern, traut er sich zu Beginn kaum aus dem Glas. Sehr ausgewogen, perfekt geschmolzen, schön dosierte Holzreife, fein. 🪵🪵🪵 Im Mund dann floral 💐🌸🌺 und würzig. Sehr schön wärmender Abgang. Holzig, würzig. Sehr guter Saint James, insgesamt auf der gediegenen Seite, ohne die brachiale Holzigkeit. Vielen Dank nach Bonn!
Review by cigares
A rum tasted at the WLP. A fruity, roasted and woody nose. Unfortunately a little rustic on the palate, the fruit then shines through, along with the herbaceousness. The finish is shimmering. A fine agricole!
Review by Mirco
Beautiful bottling, solid quality. Rum with great wood, spice and dried fruit. The long finish is somewhat bitter with subtle leather. N.1 jg 2001 is and remains the star of the range.
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
Tasted on 06.02.2024 (unfortunately without notes): Tasted at the same time as RX18129, but more or less no chance against the heavyweight from 2006 despite a similar length of time in the cask. Don't get me wrong: This Agricole is really not bad, in my opinion more drinkable than No. 6 and 7, but the rhum released for Excellence Rhum's 10th birthday is simply a league better, more expressive, especially on the palate.
Review by zabo
Only nibbled briefly when filling the sample. This is therefore only my first rough assessment. But I will taste it again at my leisure. Edit: Tasted it again at leisure. Unfortunately, I don't find it as sparkling as it was at the beginning. Not bad but not outstanding either. Therefore corrected downwards a little.
Review by Timo Groeger
Penultimate rum for today. It's a nice Saint Jaimes. Not quite my taste, but no matter, still delicious :) Tastes woody and casky, I think it's quite good. Delicious, recommendation is out :)
Review by Thunderbird
A worthy conclusion to this series and a bottling that fits seamlessly! He is a little more pleasing than his two predecessors and that suits him very well! Top!
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4362 22.10.2023 Whisky Live 2023
Review by Stefan Persson
Tasted this great expression at Rum Fest Paris VIP Area. This the 5th release in this series was distilled in 2005 and bottled brut de fût. It was aged in 320-liter French oak barrels close to 17 years before bottled in 5006 bottles. The nose is complex, elegant, flowery, woody, fruity, dry, warm and nutty with scents of cocoa, mocha, vanilla At the palate is the aroma confirmed in the flavors together with ripe fruits and some spiciness. The finish is long.
Review by Michael Ihmels 🇩🇪
A very nice Saint James. Nice and woody on the nose with a little glue. Wood is just as clearly recognizable on the palate. But there are also notes of barrel and glue. A solid rum.
Review by Johannes
Once again an extremely good SJ with a nice fruity, sticky note. But does not come close to the 2001.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,8:On the nose, really fruity with dried fruits, citrus, tropical, yellow fruits, especially peaches are strong, as woody notes are roasted with nuts, spicy with a cinnamon, medicinal with some glue. On aeration, a sugarcane juice is opening attack, besides tea, intensely with herbaceous, flowery touch, the wood is toasted, a bit resinous, some lime peel neutralizes bitterness, so do caramel, burnt sugar. 8,6:On the palate, the attack is dry, fruity with dried fruits and pear, woody with roasted notes like caramel, nuts, baked apple, spicy with pepper and chilli, vanilla, the sugarcane is herbal, floral, brings tea.Resting the rum helps fruit notes like yellow, lime peel and banana, perhaps apple and tasty pastry, also menthol, the wood is resinous a bit. 8,5:The finish is quite long, dry and woody with tannins, waxy, there is a sandal wood, juicy sugarcane with honeycomb, fruits from palate, allspice, some bitterness...
Review by Boletus
Braucht Zeit im Glas, um aufzutauen, aber die Geduld wird belohnt, denn neben der von Beginn an präsenten, massiven Eiche mit Eukalyptus und Kampfer entstehen immer mehr würzige Aromen und fruchtige Momente, die zwischen tropischen Früchten und Kernobst wie Äpfel und Birnen hin und her pendeln. Ein toller Agricole, bei dem man aber eine gewisse Affinität zur Holzigkeit mitbringen sollte.
Review by Rene Pfeiffer
Cross-tasting of the 4 Ephemeres Saint James: The 2001 is by far the best. Great balanced Agricole, which is the oldest in the group at 20y, but after the 2007, which is the youngest, tastes the least woody and bitter. 2007: nice, rather fruity, 8.3. 2006: bitter and woody in comparison, 7.9. 2005: balanced (8.5), but not as fine as the 2001 (8.9).
Review by Maxence
Sweet nose perfectly balancing fruits, wood and round notes. On the palate, plums, grapes and dark chocolate add more complexity to the profile. A very good rum overall. Much better balanced and less dry/spicy than the VandB 2001. Nice one !
Review by Jarek
Finally tasted all four Ephemeres together today. All four are very good and I can hardly pick a favorite. I really like No. 6 on the nose, with its clear orange notes. On the palate, it would be No. 1.
Review by Serge
Great apple/roasted apple notes with cognac, cooked pear, menthol, wood and vanilla, cinnamon and some glue. Nice and dry on the palate.
No reviews match this filter.
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 92 € – 101 €
from 7 sales, latest 02/2025
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 125 €
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 Saint James Les Éphémères - N°5 2005
A Rhum Agricole AOC from Martinique, distilled by Saint James, at 51,8%.
Community purchases
269 bottles logged by 190 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
11% opened, 7 emptied and repurchased.
What does Saint James Les Éphémères - N°5 2005 cost?
Community paid 113–130 €.
Current best price: 123.96 € – 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+ →
+5 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
269 purchased · 125 tasted · 40 wishlist · as of
About the Saint James distillery
The Saint James distillery is located in Martinique. Rums from Saint James have been reviewed 4,768 times with an average of 8.1/10.
To Saint James →You may also enjoy
Rum enthusiasts who like this rum have also given the following rums high ratings:
Excellence Rhum Saint James Brut de Fût (Excellence Rhum’s 10th Anniversary) 2006
Excellence Rhum Saint James Brut de Fût (Excellence Rhum’s 10th Anniversary) 2006Dry, woody Martinique agricole with depth
Enmore El Dorado Rare Collection EHP 1996
Enmore El Dorado Rare Collection EHP 1996Complex tropical-aged Enmore, dark fruit and glue
South Pacific RA Fiji Rum FSDP 2001
South Pacific RA Fiji Rum FSDP 2001Herbal, gin-like Fiji that divides drinkers
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2002
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2002Fruity, oaky Jamaican with light funk
Velier Foursquare Raconteur 2006
Velier Foursquare Raconteur 2006Nutty, spicy Foursquare with Oloroso depth
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 →YouTube channel (in German)
