Here is a rum from Barbados that have been aged both on the island and in the UK. I feel like a broken record, but every time I mention Foursquare Distillery I just have sudden flashes of “Out Of Stock” warnings. Jokes aside, Foursquare managed to become incredibly sought after in a relatively short amount of time, with bottles flying off the shelves in a matter of hours or minutes and re-sold on auction sites in a matter of days. I do not condone such practices, nor does Richard Seale, the CEO and Master Distiller of Foursquare, but it’s an understandable side-effect of releasing really delicious limited bottlings.
Since collecting all the Foursquares has become a Pokemon quest of “Gotta catch em all!”, it looks like independent bottlers might be a good alternative to enjoy some tasty, cask strength Barbadian cane distillate – I’m not dismissing the Doorly’s range, but that’s not what I’m reviewing here.
Dram Mor Group Ltd. is a relatively new independent bottler based in Dumbarton, Scotland which started off by bottling whisky and then branched into rum. Their releases seem very interesting so far, and more importantly, very accessible, even for an IB – I have also reviewed their Guyana 10 Year Old which I managed to grab for a literal bargain.
This Dram Mor expression is part of the Summer 2022 release along with another Foursquare and, excitingly, an old Uitvlugt – review to come!
Dram Mor Barbados from Foursquare Distillery is molasses based, pot and column distilled and aged for 8 years in an ex-Bourbon cask in Barbados and 5 more years in an ex-Scotish whisky cask in the UK making it a total of 13 year old. Bottled at an appetising 60.7% ABV without any additives – to be noted that this hails from cask number 3 with a limited number of 295 bottles, my bottle being number 146.
On the nose it feels fruity and a bit sharp. Oak staves, melon, peach and sweet gherkins. Ripe apples, cinnamon and honey. The smell is quite mellow for its ABV. Vanilla, almonds and some banana. A touch of Luxardo liqueur as well.
On the palate it feels woody and fruity. Peach, red apples, cinnamon and cloves. Black pepper, burnt oak, white chocolate and angelica root. Vanilla with a touch of toasted coconuts. As per the nose, it does feel quite mellow. A hint of apple cider vinegar and unripe plums. The finish is long with ripe apples and wood spices.
I bought this from Good Spirits Co for £61 which isn’t bad at all for a cask strength Foursquare, but as I can tell, it misses the tropical ageing that makes Foursquare ECS so intense and complex. This is still complex, but unfortunately it lacks some intensity – still happy to have bought a bottle. Its fruity notes make it very pleasant and fairly easy to sip.
Dram Mor Barbados 13 Year Old – Foursquare Distillery score:
Flavour/taste: 56/70
Value for money: 15/15
Transparency/purity: 15/15
Overall: 86/100
Cheers!
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