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DB24E1FC-B4B8-4D8A-A6A8-E5176FB85E6DMartinique J. Bally
J. Bally Millésime 1988 70cl bottle
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J. Bally Millésime 1988

Here's an agricole that leans more toward wood and dried fruit than the grassy zip you might expect from cane juice. The long cask time dominates: toasted oak, spice, prunes and a whiff of leather, with ripe peach and fresh cane juice underneath. Members love the oily, creamy mouthfeel and call 45% the sweet spot — though a few note the finish runs a touch short of what the nose promises.

The community says
  • Complex aged nose
  • Oily creamy body
  • But: Short finish
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The look inside the bottle

How does J. Bally Millésime 1988 taste?

Aggregated from 10 community reviews.

Wood-driven vintage agricole, gorgeous nose Loved as a beautifully aged vintage agricole where oak and dried fruit lead the show. The one recurring gripe: the palate and short finish don't quite match that gorgeous nose.

Perfect for

fans of well-aged, wood-forward agricole

Less suitable for

anyone chasing bright, grassy young rhum

Style & occasion

How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.

Which glass for which rum? The community guide →

Top aromas · nose & palate

5 of 10 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums

Recommendation

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Highlights from the community

How is J. Bally Millésime 1988 rated?

RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.6 sits in the “Very good” band. 100% 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?

0% rate it between 6 and 8. 5 selected write-ups from 10 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.

Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰

Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Sep 20235,586 reviewsDenmark
8.8/10

20.01.2007 Element Fresh, Xintiandi in Shanghai. This area of shanghai is beautiful with a lot of old buildings, at least it was when I lived in Shanghai. Notes. Medium dark colour. Lightly woody with dried fruit and plum. Nice floral notes in the profile. Palate is velvety and fruity with a light dry touch. Finish is medium to long with spices, wood, raising and light leather. The empty glass had nutts to it.

Review by zabo

zabo
Feb 20261,516 reviewsGermany
8.4/10

Verkostet auf der Village'26 bei Emilie am Catawiki Stand. Für mich als nicht größten Fan dieses Stils, muss ich aber zugeben, dass ich diesen echt gut fand. Nochmals danke an Emilie für den Dram for free.

Review by crazyforgoodbooze

crazyforgoodbooze
May 20262,477 reviewsGermany
8.7/10

Unfassbar schöner vintage Agricole. Eine extrem intensive Note von reifen Pfirsichen und Mirabellen, leichte Noten von Zitronenthymian, Raps-Honig, scharfem Zimt und frisch gepresstem Zuckerrohrsaft. Extrem ölig cremiges Mundgefühl. Super weich und komplex und mit 45% den perfekten Alkoholgehalt. Schönes Teil!

Review by Jarek

Jarek
Feb 2026682 reviewsGermany
8.6/10

Ein Mitbringsel vom Catawiki-Stand auf der Nürnberger Village 2026. Ein leckerer Agricole, an dem mich am meisten die Nase begeistert. Die Noten von getrockneten Früchten sind eher im Hintergrund. Nase und Gaumen werden hauptsächlich von röstigen, holzigen Noten getragen. Dazu pflanzliche, grasige Anteile, eines ordentlich gealterten Agricole. Der Gaumen jnd der etwas zu kurze Abgang halten nicht ganz ein was die Nase verspricht.

Review by Tim

Tim
May 2026534 reviewsGermany
8.7/10

Man erkennt das Alter dieses Rums direkt an der Nase. Intensive Fassaromen, Holz, Trockenfrüchte, gebrannter Zucker, Agricole-pflanzlich. Durchaus komplexe Nase zum Verweilen. Gewürze und Holz ziehen sich auch weiterhin durch, der Einfluss der langen Fasslangerung ist sehr dominant.

Expert reviews

Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..

Expert review by The Dunder Hut

Whisky Live Paris 2025

Market value

What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.

Auction results 210 € – 454 €

from 5 sales, latest 02/2025

Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.

Avg. community purchase price 286 €

What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.

How we calculate this →

Details about J. Bally Millésime 1988

A Rhum Agricole from Martinique, distilled by J. Bally, at 45%.

CountryMartinique
DistilleryJ. Bally
CategoryRhum Agricole
DistillationColumn Still
ABV45%
Volume70cl
Vintage1988

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Community purchases

8 bottles logged by 7 collectors.

A collector's bottle.

12% opened, 0 emptied and repurchased.

7 sealed 1 open 0 emptied

8 purchased · 10 tasted · 4 wishlist · as of

About the J. Bally distillery

The J. Bally distillery is located in Martinique. Rums from J. Bally have been reviewed 1,399 times with an average of 8.2/10.

To J. Bally →

Read on in the RumX Guide

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Rating guide

RumX's 0–10 scale is strict. Here's what each band means.

9.0–10.0 Excellent Stash as many as you can afford. Tell no one.
8.0–8.9 Very good your rum Bank a backup. Tell everyone you meet.
7.0–7.9 Good Buy one and recommend it to your friends.
6.0–6.9 Pleasant Solid, super glad I drank it.
5.0–5.9 Average Totally acceptable.
4.0–4.9 Drinkable Not vocally complaining.
3.0–3.9 Poor Wish I was drinking something else.
2.0–2.9 Very poor Nothing nice to say.
1.0–1.9 Unpleasant No, that's not for me.
0.1–0.9 Inedible Pour it out.