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02339E68-5EB4-4A4C-9832-4471CE168A8CPuerto Rico Bacardi
Bacardi Gran Reserva Especial 2003 100cl bottle
Bottle
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Aged rum · 16 years · 40%

Bacardi Gran Reserva Especial 2003

"A nice surprise" is how one skeptic put it, and that's the theme here — even people who don't like Bacardi found this drinkable. Light, sweet nose of vanilla, oak, coconut and honey; the palate turns sweet-fruity with mango, cinnamon and a little peat. For a 16-year the body reads thin, and a couple of tasters wished it were richer.

The community says
  • Smooth and easy
  • Vanilla and oak
  • But: Thin body

Offers & prices

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The look inside the bottle

How does Bacardi Gran Reserva Especial 2003 taste?

Summarized by AI from community reviews.

Light, smooth vanilla-oak sipper, a touch thin Smooth, mild and easy to sip, with vanilla and oak. Most find it pleasant but light — some expected more depth from a 16-year, calling it thin or watery.

Perfect for

People who like light, smooth, gently sweet sippers

Less suitable for

Anyone wanting a rich, full-bodied aged rum

Experience level · Novice (2/5)

Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat

Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Flavor profile
Sweet & dessert
Spice
Wood
Dried fruit
Roasted & dark
Fruit
Funk & ester
Vegetal & floral

Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family

5 of 24 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums

Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›

Recommendation

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What does the community say?

7.6/10 Good

24 community reviews
8 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app

Top 12% of Puerto Rico rumsTop 8% at Bacardi

Rate it in the app
Distribution of all 24 ratings
9–10 8%
8–9 4%
7–8 63%
6–7 13%
5–6 13%
4–5 0%
0–4 0%

See the full rating guide

Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰

Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Mar 20217,218 reviewsDenmark
7.1/10

I got this one from a friend because he wanted to tease me, but he failed because though I don't like Bacardi I was nicely surprised. The nose is light and a bit sweet. Vanilla is very obvious with oak without overpowering the caramel, coconut and honey. The palate is sweet fruity with cinnamon, peat and oak. A nice surprise and definitely one you can enjoy without mixing. The finish is medium long, warm and sweet.

Review by DutchRumPirate

DutchRumPirate
May 2025197 reviewsNetherlands
7.7/10

Vind hem zelf beter dan de Bacardi reserva Limitada. Fruitige tonen, banaan komt vooral naar voren. Tijdens de afdronk komen de fruitige tonen langzaam vrij.

Review by Adrien B

Adrien B
Oct 2023342 reviewsFrance
6.2/10

Too much caramel for my taste, even though it's fairly well blended with red, dried fruit. What saves it is a certain freshness.

Community shelf

61 bottles logged by 48 collectors.

A collector's bottle.

13% opened, 3 emptied.

53 sealed 5 open 3 emptied

What did the community pay for Bacardi Gran Reserva Especial 2003?

Community paid 26–101 €.

Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 79 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›

61 purchased · 26 tasted · 18 wishlist · as of

Details about Bacardi Gran Reserva Especial 2003

A Column Still Rum from Puerto Rico, distilled by Bacardi, at 40%.

BrandBacardi
DistilleryBacardi
CategoryColumn Still Rum
Raw materialMolasses
DistillationColumn Still
ABV40%
Age16 years
Vintage2003
Limited editionYes
Volume100cl

Read on in the RumX Guide

Distillery

Bacardi 

Avg Rating 6.0/10 over 120 Rums

Bacardi is the world's largest privately held spirits company and the inventor of the light Cuban rum style, founded in 1862 in Santiago de Cuba but Cuba-less since the 1960 expropriation: today the rum is distilled mainly in Puerto Rico. The RumX community draws a sharp line between the Carta Blanca mixing base and the aged lines up to the Facundo range.

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Rating guide

Every score is the median of members’ ratings, from 0 to 10. A 7 is already a recommendation to buy.

Share of 11,142 rums with at least 4 ratings, calculated on October 11, 2026. Scale and calculation in detail ›