I’ve only gone and done it again. The 2019 Foursquare Exceptional Cask bottles are out (the 2007 Cask Strength and the Empery) and I’ve only just got around to reviewing the last of the 2018 bottles – the 2005 Cask Strength. This is the problem you see, there has been so much rum coming out of Foursquare over the past couple of years I simply can’t keep up; I’ve got a limited budget and even more limited time. Despite the fact that I buy lots of rum, I moderate my alcohol intake so it takes me quite a while to get through my bottles, and unfortunately a some of my Autistic traits are obsession, order and very (very) strict routines – as such I only drink on certain days and certain times, I have no more than around 6 bottles open at once and have to finish one before opening anything new. I also have to have a balance of rums open, so for example I wont have 2 bottles of Foursquare open at the same time…..the result of all of this is that it sometimes takes me bloody ages to get to a newly released bottle. And here we are, in 2019, only just reviewing the Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection 6 – 2005 Cask Strength.

Anyway, enough waffling, let’s crack on with the review.

What is it? The 6th bottling in the Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection series. It’s molasses based rum produced on both Pot stills and twin column stills at the same distillery, Foursquare in St. Philip, Barbados – so a Bajan Single Blended Rum. The distillate from both still types is blended when it’s raw spirit and then put into ex-bourbon casks to age tropically, in this case for 12 years. The rum was distilled in 2005 (hence the name) and bottled in October 2017. This is a year older than the previous Cask Strength from 2004 as that was only 11 years old, so you’re getting an extra year for your money.

Not chill filtered, not coloured and bottled at cask strength of 59% abv. Wahoo!

Note: I’ve taken this down to around 55% abv for this review as that is the strength I’ve been drinking it at. It’s good and very drinkable at full strength but a little water and slightly less heat turn it into something incredible.

Sugar? Never. Ever.

Nose: Ah, Foursquare. For all the cask “finishes” they do there’s nothing quite like a bourbon cask matured, full proof Foursquare! Lots of oak, vanilla and coconut at first, burnt brown sugar, butterscotch, dark chocolate Hob-Knobs, tiffin (it’s a biscuity, chocolatey, nutty, fruity tray-bake we have in the UK, and it’s awesome) and some dried banana. As I’d expect there is a savoury side to this too and it’s easy to find some high quality olive oil, liquorice, tar, WD40 and some marine fuel that you smell when standing on a jetty in the sun.

Palate: Full mouth feel, oily. Easier and not as hot as you’d expect. Dry. Starts out savoury with the pot still rum at the fore, with chilli coated mixed olives in oil, salted butter, tar, horseradish and a salt & pepper dark chocolate. Things get nutty mid-palate with spiced cashews, peanuts and pecans. Gingersnaps, some more (very) dark chocolate and a salted caramel are here. A touch of fruit with baked lemons, candied orange and a little toffee’d red apple at the end.

Finish: Loooooooooooong. It’s not finished by the time you take another sip. Dark chocolate, toasty oak, nutmeg, very good Columbian coffee, orange fudge, caramel chews and some bitter raw walnuts. The sweeter side definitely shows here over the savoury. Maybe the faintest hint of liquorice candy, like Allsorts or something, but it’s distant and hard to focus on.

Thoughts? Wow, another absolute cracker. For me this edges the 2004, just. It’s got a bit more savoury in it, which I like. The balance again between the blended rums in this is just astonishing and what I love about this rum is that you can drink it at full proof, or add water to take it down to 40%, or anywhere in between, and you get no loss of flavour at all, just subtle changes. This is easily one of the best rums that came out of 2018 (yes, yes, I’m late I know).

This was around the £50 mark when it came out and has been available for a long time  – seriously, at that price it’s almost rude not to buy a bottle. 100% recommend rum, for anyone.