Foursquare Rum 2008 Review

Distilled & Bottled by Foursquare

Region: Barbados

Type: Rum

ABV: 60%

Age: 12 yrs

Color: dark copper

This bottle of Foursquare rum is part of their Exceptional Casks release line. It contains rum distilled in 2008 that was bottled and released in 2020 after 12 years of tropical aging in Barbados. The bottle itself is elegant and informative, bereft of marketing speak.

It contains the kind of information you would want to know about the rum inside such as the type of stills used (column and pot) and the type of barrels used (ex-bourbon). Because Foursquare is a quality distillery, their products are bottled without adulteration: no coloring or sugar added and no chill filtration.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The nose starts with a blend of rich, fried banana and delicious toasted coconut topped with lime zest before transitioning to bourbon-y notes of vanilla cream and a hint of cinnamon. It’s a lovely nose you can sit with for a long time.

Palate: The viscous palate starts sweet with vanilla and ripe red fruit before wood spice and the peppery bite of chili flakes showcase the rum’s 12 years of tropical aging.

Finish: A nice, long finish which really showcases this rum’s age. Here we find toasted oak and coconut, a hint of cocoa powder, cherry reduction and a just a touch of leather all nicely integrated and balanced.

Rating: 9/10, excellent

Conclusion: Foursquare is a rum that folks love to have strong opinions about. I’ve heard everything from praising Foursquare as the “pappy” of rum to reveling in how boring it is, perhaps earning cachets of that ephemeral, rum-nerd currency: contrarian cool.

My advice is to ignore all of that and focus on what Foursquare is doing: bottling unadulterated, Barbados style, aged rums at a high proof and a decent price (though rum in general seems to be trending up in price). Foursquare’s ECS releases are consistently excellent sipping rums and well worth your hard earned dollars.

 

Ratings | Description

1 | Undrinkable
2 | Bad
3 | Poor
4 | Below Average
5 | Average
6 | Above Average
7 | Very Good
8 | Great
9 | Excellent
10| Perfect