Aroma visualization from community tastings
Kikusui Shuzo Ryoma Rhum Japonais
"Pas du rhum, plutôt du saké" is the line that keeps coming up — and that sums up the divide. Made from cane juice at Kikusui Shuzo, it hits with sake, vegetal grassiness, sugarcane and a woody spice, with some caramel sweetness. A few find herbal, chocolate and tea notes after long air; others get faint aromas and a burnt-bitter edge. Genuinely polarizing.
The community says- Truly unusual
- But: Very sake-forward
- But: Faint, short finish
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The look inside the bottle
How does Kikusui Shuzo Ryoma Rhum Japonais taste?
Aggregated from 166 community reviews.
Sake-like Japanese oddity that splits drinkers Deeply divisive. Many taste more sake than rum, plus a light, sweet, sometimes bitter finish; a handful love the vegetal, herbal complexity. Try before you buy.
Curious drinkers who like Japanese spirits and oddball bottles
Anyone wanting a classic tropical rum profile
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
46 of 166 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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How is Kikusui Shuzo Ryoma Rhum Japonais rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 6.5 sits in the “Pleasant” band. 24% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 21% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
63% rate it between 6 and 8. 19 selected write-ups from 166 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Jang Huligan
Most helpful positive review
Surprisingly sweet and smooth
Review by cigares
Most helpful critical review
Tasted only once and I didn't like it, alcoholic in the nose and in the mouth. Sake scent, as if there was a problem...Then, a little better with herbal notes. It has nothing of a tropical rum.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
I think this rum is one of the most misunderstood ones in the market. I've been travelling in Japan and tried a lot of their spirits and it with that in mind I scored this rum. The nose starts off with whisky and sake, yes, sake. Then the vegetal and grassy notes appear with some oak and caramel. The palate is light yet complex with sake and Agricole notes. Later you have sake and the vegetal notes mixed with smoke and oak. The finish is medium long with sake and vegetal notes to it. The price is high for such a young rum, but nothing from Japan is cheap.
Review by Christoph
Besides Nine Leaves, there are quite tasty drops from Japan. On the nose, it goes in the direction of Demerararum á la Pussers. Feels in the mouth at first like Agricole, which was then mixed with dirty molasses. For me, this results in aromas of coffee, caramel and dark chocolate. In the finish you realize then why there is point deduction here, with 40% this rum is unfortunately quite weak out back and a few% more would have given the quite delicious flavors the necessary power.
Review by Vincent D
I was rather suspicious of this rum, but in the end, I'm quite positive. Not much depth, but a woody, vanilla and slightly vegetal profile that might suggest another spirit. Not much length. Slightly bitter finish.
Review by Gd Flo
More cleaving there is not!!! A real UFO, if you like the extra terrestrial ones it is gained if not you leave running. One day I like it, one day I don't, a real curiosity that will not leave you indifferent but that will certainly not make the unanimity.
Review by Yannick D.
A very etheric rum! For my part, a little unpleasant on the palate and on the nose. However, many aromas are pleasant in the middle and end of the tasting. Give it a try!
Review by Daniel
Nase: Erinnert an Agricole, sehr würzig und deutliche Zuckerrohraromen. Gaumen: Würzig warm zu Beginn, dann Kräuter, Tee. Es folgt Schokolade. Abgang: Die pflanzlichen Aromen sowie die Würze halten sich lange, bevor leichte Rauchnoten durchschimmern. Fazit: Ausgefalleneres Exemplar. Es überwiegen pflanzliche und kräuterige Noten mit einem Hauch Schoko. Mir gefällt der Japaner.
Review by Philip M. 🇧🇪
15/03/25: tasted @ Brussels Rhum Festival. Wanted to try a Japanese rum for a long time. This was a weird experience. Both the nose and taste had some unique, unusual flavours. Interesting, but not something I need on my shelf.
Review by Romain de L
Disappointing. Nose quite faint, plain. Deep brown color. Very sugary to the taste, overpowering, bit burnt bitterness, not so nice aftertaste…
Review by Rumclub Latvia
Disappointed
Review by Fayaman971
Une très bonne nouvelle que ce rhum japonais . Je ne connaissais même pas et pourtant il est très bon . Il y a effectivement un arrière goût de saké mais aussi un peu de chocolat et de caramel . Il est doux et ce boit sans artifice . Bravo!
Review by Mc Pirate
Belle couleur, nez très complexe et agréable une fois le « saké » passé, bouche surprenante sur le saké, pas de rhum en bouche ! Ou alors il faut attendre une bouteille ouverte ou qu’il s’oxyde un peu, beaucoup… Atypique
Review by milone
Rhum très clivant. Mérite une longue aération car l’évolution est assez impressionnante avec l’oxydation. Grande complexité olfactive.
Review by Johan Larsson
If serves without knowing I’d saybit’s sake. But…it expands with citrus and some sugary flavours. Not bad, very different. But I will not buy a bottle. Still happy I tried it.
Review by JonasTh
Niet veel speciaals aan
Review by Wara
Ochutnáno spíš ze zvědavosti. Přišel mi takový hodně zvláštní. Kdybych nevěděl že je z Japonska tak bych to v životě netipl. Na můj vkus až moc "přísný".
Review by BnBrt
Robe très (trop ?) profonde, peut être pas simplement dûe au vieillissement. Nez léger. En bouche très sucré, un peu caramel. Déguster en début de line up après une glace, l'accord marche bien mais ce n'est pas ce qu'on cherche. Finale très courte, le sucre reste.
Review by Émile Shevek
Note sbilanciate e gusto dritto
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Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by The Lone Caner
Read full review →
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 37 € – 39 €
from 3 sales, latest 11/2025
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 48 €
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 Kikusui Shuzo Ryoma Rhum Japonais
A rum from Japan, distilled by Kikusui Shuzo, at 40%.
Community purchases
466 bottles logged by 444 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
38% opened, 37 emptied and repurchased.
What does Kikusui Shuzo Ryoma Rhum Japonais cost?
Community paid 31–60 €.
Current best price: 31.90 € – 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+ →
+9 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
466 purchased · 176 tasted · 51 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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