We took a trip to Barbados in January. I kept meaning to write some reviews and updates for those interested in visiting, and also show off some of the rums I managed to bring back (and one casualty). Some of the rums are unopened in the picture, but I assure you almost all of them have been opened and sampled since. On to the reviews. 

**ST. NICHOLAS ABBEY**

* **PROS** \--- Tour was amazing. Bit pricey for what you get, but since it's a much smaller operation than some of the big distilleries it was really nice. The train ride was really fun and relaxing, albeit not very long, and got to take some really nice pictures. The great house tour was also really cool. The rum tasting is part of the great house tour, so if you're only interested in the rum tasting, that's the one you want to buy.

* **CONS** \--- The rum tasting. Here is where the abbey really suffered. I've read old reviews of the abbey and was super excited about this tasting. Old reviews all said that you got to try the entire lineup of rums 5, 8, 12 and 20 years old. I was ready to drop $200-300 on an awesome bottle of rum. Unfortunately, they've become super, super stingy with the rum tasting. You only get to try the silver rum, the standard proof 5 year, and a ginger liqueur. We were super bummed. If you're selling your rums at a seriously inflated hundreds of dollars a bottle (the most expensive is $900 for a 25 year), you better be letting people taste it. Even if there is an upcharge for a premium rum tasting. I would have jumped at the opportunity to taste their aged rums. I'm not shelling out that sort of money though on a gamble.

* **EXCLUSIVE RUMS** \--- Everything St. Nicholas Abbey produces is exclusive to the island. The silver was interesting, but ultimately forgettable. We really enjoyed the 5 year. It was unique in flavor profile, somewhere between a cachaca and a standard Bajan rum, but both my wife and I agreed that it tasted a bit watery so we opted to purchase the cask strength version. Ironically, the cask strength, while good, lost some of those interesting characteristics. We added a few drops of water (which is something I never do) and it reminded us more of what we tasted at the distillery. Ironically, I would probably advise to go with the standard proof on this one. The cask strength version reminds me of Doorly rums, but not as good.

**FOURSQUARE**

* **PROS** \--- Still awesome. Consistent with old reviews. Self guided tour was cool, though a bit confusing. We weren't sure what areas were off limits. Some of the signs seem outdated. Still had a great time. There are two tasting options, a regular or premium. Premium includes whatever ECS bottles they have open at the time. We obviously opted for the premium. It was awesome. Got to try a new high ester unaged rum that Foursquare is yet to name or release. It was spectacular. I'm not usually a big high ester guy, my wife enjoys funky rums much more than me, but it was really good. Tons of banana notes. Sovereignty is my favorite, so I will never complain that it was part of the tasting. Magisterium was similarly fantastic. If you love the sherry finish ECS bottles, you will love this one as well, but if I had to pick between the two, I would still pick Sovereignty. Equidem was a standout. I wouldn't rate it as high as Sovereignty, but very unique for a Foursquare ECS. Grabbed a bottle as soon as it appeared in my local shop. I'm seriously considering grabbing a backup. Isonomy and 2010 were both solid ECS bottlings. 2010 might be my favorite of the vintage year releases. Has more spicy notes than the 2011 or 2008.

* **CONS** \--- No ECS for sale. The bar tender told us that they got a single case of ECS the day before and it was sold out by the end of the day. Don't get your hopes up for buying any ECS bottles. Still worth the trip. We found a couple of bottles of the 2011 at a random duty free shop outside of Bridgetown for a decent price. 

**STADE'S VISITOR CENTER (W.I.R.D./PLANTERAY)**

* **THOUGHTS** \---This was a tourist trap, and we suspected as such, but we had already driven there and it was raining so we decided to grab lunch and do the tasting anyways. We skipped the tour on this one. We weren't as interested in a big industrial distillery, but we hadn't had any Stade's rums before so we opted for just a tasting. In retrospect, we could have just bought the two bottles of Stade's rum for cheaper than the tasting. The other two rums in the tasting were Planteray rums (XO and Cut & Dry), which we're very familiar with. The tasting was at least fun on the beach, albeit short. This is really meant for rum newbies. If you're gonna go, probably do the tour instead of the tasting on this one.

* **EXCLUSIVE RUMS** \--- Stade's 130th Anniversary and Planteray Legacy 120 seem to be exclusive to the island, at least for now. Stade's 130th Anniversary rum is super cool and unique. If you like Planteray XO and Sealander, you will enjoy this rum. If not, this isn't going to change your mind about the West Indies Rums Distillery. I really enjoy what Planteray calls its premium bottles, even though I know they are dosed. This one is up there for me with XO and Sealander. I will say it is definitely overpriced though. I don't think it's worth double what the other two bottles are. Haven't opened the Legacy 120 yet. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll post an update when I open that one.

**MOUNT GAY VISITOR CENTER**

* **THOUGHTS** \--- Again here we skipped the tour and went for the tasting. This one was well worth it, even for just the tasting. It included a rum punch, a mini tour and history, short video, plus the tasting. Even though I've had all of Mount Gay's offerings before, my wife hadn't so we really enjoyed this tasting.
* **EXCLUSIVE RUMS** \--- No exclusives for Mount Gay on the island. All of the single estate bottles are available where we live.

**OTHER EXCLUSIVE BOTTLES**

* **Hunte's Garden Reserve:** This bottle is phenomenal. I'm a little sad I didn’t grab more of these. The Hunte's Garden Reserve in my humble opinion is better than the Doorly's 12/14 I get at home. It's a fantastic Foursquare expression.
* **Cliffton Hall:** Another great Foursquare expression. Not quite on the level of ECS, or as unique, but definitely as good as the Doorly 14. Really enjoying this one. Also makes a killer caipirinha. 
* **Planteray Barbados** isn't exclusive to the island, but I haven't been able to find one near me, so I grabbed a bottle there. Better than the signature 5 year, less sugar, more complex, still a hint of sweetness. 

**THE CASUALTY**

* **Tortuga 12 Year:** This is not a Barbados rum, this is from the Cayman Islands. I have a soft spot for Tortuga rums because it was one of my early introductions to rum the first time I went on a cruise that really started me down the rabbit hole that is the world of rums. I enjoy this brand. It's nothing extraordinary, but it's tasty in cocktails. I was really excited to grab two bottles of this because I've never had the 12 year. If you are wondering why there is only one in the pictures instead of two, well, that's because they made me check my duty free bag in my luggage at our transfer point, and one of the bottles exploded when a worker threw my bag 10 feet into the air onto the conveyer belt. The other rums were all very securely packed, but this one was done in haste. Lesson learned. My bag (and soaked clothes) did smell fantastic though.

Barbados Trip: Rum Tastings & Bottle Haul