Aroma visualization from community tastings
La Confrérie du Rhum Saint James Brut de fût 2003
"Probably the best St. James in my mind," one taster says — and this 2003 vintage agricole earns that with a heavy, wood-forward profile: dried fruit, tobacco, dark chocolate and roasted coffee, with red fruits and a fresh menthol note keeping it lively. At 59% it's big and slightly bitter. A couple of members note it can tip too woody, and the alcohol needs taming.
The community says- Layered and complex
- Dried fruit depth
- But: Can be too woody
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The look inside the bottle
How does La Confrérie du Rhum Saint James Brut de fût 2003 taste?
Aggregated from 91 community reviews.
Heavy, woody Martinique agricole with dried fruit Loved for its layered, intense wood-and-dried-fruit character with a very long peppery finish. The recurring catch: some find it too woody and bitter, and the ABV runs hot.
Agricole fans who like heavy, wood-driven, dried-fruit profiles
Anyone who wants sweet, light or delicate rum
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
44 of 91 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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How is La Confrérie du Rhum Saint James Brut de fût 2003 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.7 sits in the “Very good” band. 95% 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?
92% rate it 8 or higher. 17 selected write-ups from 91 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Rowald Sweet Empire
So I did the Velier vintages of St. James in a row a while back. Decided to open this as a desert. With an ABV if 59 instead if 47% it was a lot heavier...but still delicious. So lots of red fruits in the nose: Cherry. Black currant. Strawberry. Frenck oak with that typical hint of acidity. This breathes thick flavours. In the mouth: very big on the red fruits. A cognac/armagnac feel but also fresh. Port. Lot's of flavours. Very good. Seriously layered. Woody yet fresh. This is agricole quality. Definitely worth the 120+ euros it goes for.
Review by Émile Shevek
Spicy and woody nose with some red fruit, chocolate and tobacco. On the palate spicy notes, especially cinnamon, some pepper and a touch of vanilla, then wood and premature red fruits typical of the distillery. On the finish, which remains quite long and lingering, also come toasty hints, others slightly sour, dark chocolate and after a few minutes some aftertaste of mold and leather. Exquisite, it has a Christmassy feel to it, too bad only for the cinnamon, which I don't like in general as a spice, otherwise it would have gotten a higher rating. Thank you Oliver for the opportunity!
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
Le nez est clairement quasiment exclusivement sur le boisé et d’autres notes empyreumatiques (café torréfié, cuir, tabac, …) ainsi que quelques balbutiements de fruits (pomme, cerise). On sait immédiatement que l’on est chez Saint-James, pas de doute là-dessus ! Quelques notes épicées (poivre-vanille) viennent conclure ce nez riche en promesse. C’est sacrément concentré ce truc ! Petit conseil : laisser aérer quelques minutes afin de profiter de son nez. L’attaque en bouche est franche et vigoureuse. L’alcool est présent, il faut dompter les 59%. En bouche, pas de surprise, du bois.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
This is probably the best St. James in my mind and I do have a backup bottle on the shelf. The nose is very well balanced with spices, fruit and tobacco. In the back i can find oak and a bit of leather. The palate is complex and really intense. Dried fruit and lots of spices with roasted coffee and a hint of leather. There is a slight but good bitterness. The finish is extremely long, slightly bitter and pepper spicy with some raisins.
Review by Joachim Guger
A dream the nose! Tropical fruit, dark, tobacco, spices, coffee, chocolate. Lots of wood, perfectly balanced on the upper edge. Empyreumatic the French would say.Powerful and balanced in the mouth. Coffee and dried banana on the finish.Great Agricole. Perfect play with barrel aging. Nice that we now really have a wide selection of Agricoles.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Very concentrated and intense after mocha, vanilla, leather, tobacco and grassy sugar cane, very bitter, tannic and very woody, yet still with a slight fruitiness of raisin and banana. Alcohol could be a little better integrated and it is overall too woody and bitter for me, but it is beautifully complex and intense!
Review by Jarek
More on the spicy/roasty side. Delicious, but almost too woody in the finish for my taste. Mild, despite the rather high alcohol content for an Agricole. Points deducted because of the excessive wood influence, otherwise it would be more like 8.5-8.6.
Review by Lukas Jäger
The alcohol comes in my opinion in the palate a little strong, otherwise very tasty, spicy and complex. Even if I am not yet a big fan of Agricole, so I like this rum very much, v.a. because the grassy notes do not dominate too strongly.
Review by Stylo
Interesting expression from Saint James.. lots of spices (vanilla, pepper, cardamom), with a nice balance of fruit (grapes, red fruits and dried figs) and wood from the barrel. Given the above, I find this rum a little bit to “muted” for my taste
Review by Mathieu C.
Couleur très foncée, acajou En première bouche explosion de saveurs fruitées, épicées (piment) malgré la forte présence d'alcool, et dénotant avec la nette dominance boisée du nez Très bonne longueur sur le boisé, fruité, gourmand
Review by Frank
Woody on the nose, old tobacco, dried fruit Woody again on the palate mixed with the fruitiness of dried fruit, perhaps dates. Earthy finish, some musty wood Interesting older Agricole
Review by Harald
Color: mahogany Aroma: Sweet and heavy, raisins, prunes, mon cherie. Malaga ice Taste: Sweet in the mouth Oily on the swallow, prune discharge Spicy Tobacco, leather Finish: long, spicy, raisins Noble wood
Review by Dr.Django
The St. James I had in my glass were often typically woody, "green" agricoles. Just like this one. A very dry representative, with dark dried fruits. Leather, tobacco and wood. Fantastic!
Review by Gregor
In the nose really one of the best rums I've ever had. But in the taste then a tick too musty in the finish. An ideal rum for people who want to slowly approach Agricoles.
Review by Thunderbird
An Agricole , which still has corners and edges. It is very intense and complex and there is much to discover! Very exciting and delicious! Top!
Review by tojo
On the nose: grass, plant, spicesPalate: bitter notes, wood, earth, pepperHas a distinct character, unfortunately not quite my cup of tea.
Review by mto75
nice, round St. James, on the nose many spicy notes towards clove and allspice, in the background a certain (green) freshness.
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Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 8.5/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Les amis des amis du Rhum
Read full review →
Expert review by Le Blog À Roger
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Expert review by Préférence Rhum
Read full review →Small disappointment for this rum which had everything to please
Expert review by In Spiritus Veritas
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Expert review by Tasting Bro's
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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 114 € – 152 €
from 4 sales, latest 10/2025
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 133 €
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 La Confrérie du Rhum Saint James Brut de fût 2003
A Rhum Agricole AOC from Martinique, bottled by La Confrérie du Rhum, at 59%.
Community purchases
179 bottles logged by 127 collectors.
A drinker & collector.
22% opened, 18 emptied and repurchased.
What did the community pay for La Confrérie du Rhum Saint James Brut de fût 2003?
Community paid 85–140 €.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
179 purchased · 92 tasted · 44 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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Velier Saint James Brut de fût 2001Woody, red-fruited aged agricole sipper
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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.
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