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HSE Grande Reserve XO
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Sipped neat or paired with a cigar is where this Martinique agricole makes sense. Expect a wood-forward XO: oak, vanilla, nutmeg, tobacco, roasted coffee and a bit of dried fruit, with the 43% tucked in well. Several tasters call it a reliable everyday agricole; a few find the wood too dominant and the body a touch thin.
The community says- Well-integrated alcohol
- Tobacco and coffee notes
- Keep in mind: Very woody
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The look inside the bottle
How does HSE Grande Reserve XO taste?
From community reviews · summarized with AI
Dry, wood-driven Martinique agricole Most call it a well-balanced, wood-and-tobacco agricole that works neat or with a cigar. The catch: it leans dry and oak-heavy, and some find it thin or too young.
Aroma profilePeople who like dry, oak-forward agricole and cigar pairings
Fans of sweet, molasses-driven rum or delicate profiles
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
59 of 182 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›
Buying advice
Is it right for you?
Yes, if you're after characterful, mature, oaky rums for sipping neat.
Similar in style and available now.
Sweeter
HSE VSOP - Port Cask Finish8.0/10 (125)67.51 €
50 rated both: 19 scored it higher, 24 scored HSE Grande Reserve XO higher, 7 gave both the same score.Rated better
Rhum J.M 20138.5/10 (60)87.40 €
More intense
Saint James 15 Ans8.1/10 (85)88.24 €
31 rated both: 10 scored it higher, 13 scored HSE Grande Reserve XO higher, 8 gave both the same score.Similar rating, cheaper
Clément XO7.7/10 (108)52.41 €
31 rated both: 7 scored it higher, 22 scored HSE Grande Reserve XO higher, 2 gave both the same score.Fruitier
Clément Cuvée Homère Clément8.1/10 (100)119.02 €
What does the community say?
182 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.
48 selected written reviews
The distribution above includes all 182 ratings, including those without text.
Review by Galli33
Most helpful positive review
This is a super delicious Agricole from the start to the finish! The Alcohol and wood is integrated very well. This is a good rum to pair with a cigar! I use this always as a agricole starter in a tasting for beginners and advanced drinkers.
Review by zabo
Most helpful mixed review
Another very fine rum, but unfortunately only good. Edit: After another tasting, the rating remains the same. Solid, delivers what it is made for. But unfortunately nothing more. I definitely wouldn't need a bottle.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
18.11.2023 Yet another retasting and I still like the profile. --------------------- Retasting at the German Rum Fest and I still like it. ----- We had a go at several HSE today and I'm a bit tipsy from it.
Review by Stefan Persson
A favorite with fantastic flavors. The nose is fruity, woody, spicy and round with aromas of vanilla and anise. At the palate it’s fruity, woody and spicy with flavors of anise, black pepper, sugar cane, caramel, tobacco and vanilla. The final is long and goes on as at the palate.
Review by Jean Louisss
The nose is round with woody notes but also a buttered and caramelized side quite present which gives a rather soft whole. On the other hand the mouth is very toasted, very animal and brings us on a much darker register with this oak present all along. The final confirms once again that the wood is present with rather dry notes. This rum is globally pleasant to taste but it remains rather simple.
Review by Oliver
Very nice Agricole. Harmonious and tasty. I like!
Review by TheRhumhoe
A well-crafted HSE that focuses on a particularly dark, roasted profile, including tobacco, roasted nuts, coffee, chocolate, spice, oak, roasted notes and a hint of leather. More fruity and floral aromas are felt in the background, broadening the aromatic spectrum. The attack in mouth is quite greedy and pleasant, very concentrated on the empyreumatic aromas, with also woody notes and dried fruits. The finish is long, dry but just as elegant and drinkable. A nice XO profile and a nice standard for the classic HSE range.
Review by Rodolphe
The first in a series of agricultural products this evening. Smooth and pleasant, really nice. A little thin on the palate, lacking a little length.
Review by Eric Frechin
Well balanced rum, you find all the classic markers of Martinique agricole rums like the sugarcane scent, pepperiness, vanilla and here there are also notes of slightly toasted wood, tobacco and a light chocolate. A rum that goes down quite well.
Review by Timo Groeger
Vacation Caribbean September 2026. At the airport in Martinique, they actually set up a tasting of 5x HSE in the duty-free shop, where you could taste them for free. And there was also a classic with the RX28.
Review by Lukas Jäger
Tried on the 11th GRF: weak and rather too thin standard Agricole. Could not convince me.
Review by Tim
This rum is very complex and round, you can find something of all Agricole notes. In the mouth dry and spicy with leather and wood. Here, however, must also be particularly emphasized the roasty coffee flavor and spicy tobacco. Therefore, overall a little better than the other XOs.
Review by Nicofr
This HSE XO rum is very indulgent and very smooth, the alcohol is very well integrated. It's easy to drink with a sweet vanilla flavor and a caramel base. The only downside is the finish which I find too short.
Review by Fasen
A lovely, well-wooded agricole with a surprisingly fine gourmandise.
Review by Jarek
Tasted again after a long time, along with a few other Agricoles from Martinique. All left to breathe in the glass for almost an hour. Beautiful note of coconut that runs completely from nose, through palate, to finish. Maybe due to the day's condition or longer abstinence through Dry January, but here too I correct upwards today.
Review by Boletus
Superbly balanced and elegant, yet very tasty and dangerously drinkable. I don't even want to imagine what a flavor bomb this would be at cask strength if the rhum already tastes this good at 43%...or actually I do want to know and will have to dig a little deeper into my pocket again in the near future, for better or worse.
Review by Michael Schillheim
Tried at the 11th GRF: unfortunately failed. Very thin and tasteless.
Review by Renato
The wood is very present, very round. Aging transforms this wood into musky, animal notes.
Review by VitaliiZaichuk
For 1200 UAH (23 euro) breaking all the patterns)) 🥃 we are still sipping this rum in honor of the flag 🇺🇦🥃😆 a lot of tobacco, a lot of vanilla, a little fresh figs, a lot of wood in the taste, a mixture of nuts, nutmeg, a lot of nutmeg, vanilla, a lot of tobacco, cocoa and chocolate, a lot of chocolate on the nose too)) straight fire, the grassiness is well felt, normal, there is still mint here, such a cooling effect gives it a straight shock, with depaz xo it goes straight 8.1 against 8.1, the difference between them is that depaz xo has more figs, and in hse xo there is more nutmeg, parents are in shock, they said they need to go to Martinique 😆, at first they didn’t understand the shock a little 😱, then when it started to open up they said that it was the most delicious thing they had ever drunk in their lives 🔥🥃👍😆
Review by Vincent D
I searched a long time for what I smelled in this rum before concluding there wasn't much to smell. Then I tasted, inevitably with a not very positive bias. Again, a disappointment. It's light, too thin and not very expressive. Wood, some spices, a bitterness (not unpleasant) at the end of the mouth, but nothing more. I hoped for better for a Martinican XO. It's not bad, but I expected more.
Review by Benoit Mahe
A good agricole XO
Review by Djehey
Tasted at the rum fest. A round and balanced rum. A safe bet.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Brutally dry, brutally much nutmeg and tobacco. For me one of the most unusual agricoles ever.. you have to be into it! Tasty but not mine...
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
Nose: cocoa/ripe banana/grandma's compote/coffee and tobacco Palate: dry on coffee - tobacco notes Finish: long on woody/toasty/leather Personally, I prefer the indulgence of the nose to the woody/dry palate on this standard agricultural rum. A worthy representative of the Martinique AOC Rums, a safe bet in itself...
Review by F.L.O.
A very good and down-to-earth Agricole. Suitable for both beginners and experienced drinkers :-) On the nose, wood and the typical Agricole scent dominate. On the palate, the wood recedes a bit. Top Agricole with great value for money.
Review by BnBrt
An easy and pleasant rum but lacking a bit of complexity. I wouldn't hesitate to let less knowledgeable friends taste it to introduce them. Light on vanilla, indulgent and attractive. Soft on the palate, vanilla still there, a bit of wood (reminds me of my father's cigar boxes when I was little). It's pleasant. Discreet finish with a bit of length.
Review by benoit burger
Stays in the HSE line. An agricole with a well-present woodiness, spicy with notes of roasted coffee, chocolate, leather, and tobacco. Good length on the palate.
Review by Philou
Excellent. Always a pleasure to taste!
Review by Wynton Mangakahia
I personally like more molasses driven styles of rum and found this a touch too dry. But, I enjoyed the complexities of this expression.
Review by Alexander Rasch
My RumRatings review from 6 years ago: This one really blew me away back then 😅... Still delicious 👍 In the glass, the rum makes an absolutely high-quality impression. It runs heavily down the glass and leaves beautiful legs. On the nose, it’s one of the best rums I’ve had so far. Light and fresh, it gives fruity notes. Grassy with sweet mocha notes and a bit of spice, more woody notes come through over time. Also some nut and smoke linger. Simply great and complex. On the palate, the rum is very intense. Dry, strong oak, tobacco, and smoke notes unfold. It gives off a bourbon vibe. This is captured by a very pleasant, light floral sweetness. Vanilla and spices like nutmeg and pepper are present. The finish is absolutely full-bodied with a slight warm spiciness and leaves a pleasant barrel note in the mouth. Smoke and wood with a light vanilla aroma linger for a long time. Absolutely awesome. Simply delicious. For me, one of the best rums I’ve ever drunk. And at 65 euros quite affordable. The H.S.E. shows how much power and potential lies in Agricole. For me, an absolute enrichment and the perfect change from molasses rum. Everyone who likes it dry and complex should try it. Sweet rum drinkers might want to try it first. For bourbon drinkers, the perfect change. Absolutely top.
Review by Yannick D.
Excellent, I recommend it
Review by RumRhush
Nice rum for someone who would like to discover agricole
Review by Thunderbird
An initially awkward rum that gradually unfolds its full aroma! It has a light, towards the end, peaty taste that strongly reminds me of a whisky! Successful for me, but not for every occasion.
Review by Adrien B
A very good classic. Edit: woody finish too marked, conventional, tacky. It works but it's not delicate.
Review by Mc Pirate
We're diving into a well-charred barrel!! Definitely wood, wood, and more wood. Yet the bottle had been open for a long time! I can't imagine a new bottle! The palate is less astringent than the nose and reveals tannins that melt like good wine. You have to wait a few seconds to discover the rum behind the wood. Quite atypical but ultimately a good experience!
Review by Bob Boby
A good rum with a kick at the start, well-controlled and easy woodiness. Drinks itself easily.
Review by Patrick 79
Excellent rhum agricole with unmatched quality-price ratio. A bottle to have in your cellar.
Review by Christoph
For an XO Agricole, it actually tastes very "young." I tasted the Depaz VSOP before, which is aged longer than this XO. The alcohol note dominates here too much. I also like the VSOP from HSE better.
Review by Xianut Trezz
This rum is really a nice surprise. Accessible for non-experts and very refined for the more experienced. Its flavors seduced me right from the tasting at the liquor store. I did not regret my purchase, for this price it's quite fabulous! You really come back to it with pleasure. The holidays are ending and so is the bottle. But I'll quickly put it back in my collection.
Review by Alain DARNAN
A safe bet in agricole
Review by gali jo
Basic agricole in hse style, too woody / dry for me
Review by CHILL PRODUCTION
Douceur équilibré
Review by bibi la légende
HSE Grande Réserve XO 43° Tasted from a sample. Superb aged agricole at a fairly low proof. One of the best Martinique XOs around 60€.
Review by Tupiaz
Langt mere blød end lillebroren. Har dog stadig et fint bid af fad. Søde blomster/flora er den drivende kraft.
Review by Pierre TTn
A must-have for me. Woody and spicy, nice length on the palate.
Review by ElReyTristan
Nose less expressive than the VSOP, you find oak and vanilla but it's less indulgent and less "sweet" on the nose. It's softer on the palate, almost liqueur-like, the woody side stands out more. I have a sensation of Scottish whisky. I get vegetal notes of tobacco or cigar. I think this one would gladly pair with a cigar. The alcohol is well balanced, maybe it lacks a bit of pep. The finish is longer but harsher. The roasted coffee/espresso I found in the VSOP is replaced by burnt coffee or clearly a woody taste that's not necessarily great.
Review by Tomáš Jankovský
Beautiful harmonious rum. Lacks the sharpness of agricole and could easily be a good starter for a group of rums. Dried fruit and wood on the palate.
Review by Pavel Ungr, RumRock
I rate it 8.2 out of 10, very good rum.
This selection contains no written reviews in this rating range.
HSE Grande Reserve XO 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
499 bottles logged by 426 collectors.
Both drunk and collected.
34% opened, 67 emptied.
What does HSE Grande Reserve XO cost?
Community paid 33–66 €.
Current best price: 62.00 € – within the typical community range.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 52 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
+7 additions in the last 3 months.
Additions per month over the last 12 months; dark bars: the last 3.
499 purchased · 198 tasted · 161 wishlist · as of
Details about HSE Grande Reserve XO
A Rhum Agricole AOC from Martinique, distilled by Distillerie du Simon, at 43%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
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HSE Réserve Spéciale VSOP
Rhum J.M XO
Depaz XO Grande Réserve
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