Hello rum lovers! Although I might be a bit behind, I am slowly going through some of the Foursquare Exceptional Cask releases and decided to write about one of the “milder” ones from the collection. The reason I say that is because this bottling, the Foursquare Premise, is bottled at 46% ABV, fairly lower than their awarded 2005 (one of my favorite rums).
In the past years Foursquare (Barbados) and Richard Seale have upped the rum game with their Exceptional Cask bottlings, proving once again that rum doesn’t have to be adulterated to sell, just bloody good.
Now Foursquare Premise is molasses based like all the other Foursquare distillates and like most of them it’s a blend of column and pot still juice. It’s aged in the tropics for 3 years in ex-Bourbon casks and 7 more years in ex-Sherry casks bringing it to a total of 10 years. The Premise is labeled as being the Mark VIII, the last from the Exceptional Cask range so far, with the nearly extinct Foursquare 1998 being the first one and with the unreleased Mark IX – Empery to be next (wrote this review in January 2019).
On the nose… yeap, the sherry is definitely there, layers of rum and sherry, simply wow! Very fruity, red berries, red apples, red grapes, everything red (I do have synesthesia to some extent). There is an earthy aroma as well followed by notes of burnt matchsticks and some sharp citrus.
On the palate the fruits are coming back along with the sherry notes – quite sweet and intense despite the ABV, it’s lovely. Vanilla, citrus, the wood is there as well, I can almost picture the sherry soaked oak just by drinking this. There is a lovely balance of sweet, fruity, earthiness and spices. I can almost taste that burnt matchstick in the back of my mouth as well, intriguing. The finish fades slowly from a wine-ish taste to hints of coca-cola like sweetness to the desire to drink some more.
Very well balanced and easy to drink, had 3 glasses only while writing this and will definitely have some more afterwards. Looking forward for the release of Empery which seems to be a more potent version of the Premise (56% ABV, 14 years old in ex-Bourbon & ex-Sherry casks).
Something else that Foursquare has going for them is the prices, many of the rums in the Exceptional Cask release are priced around the £50 mark unless they’re going extinct and they are simply great. I believe any rum drinker should try a Foursquare at least once in their life!
Foursquare Premise – Mark VIII score:
Flavour/taste: 58/70
Value for money: 15/15
Transparency/purity: 15/15
Overall: 88/100
Cheers!