I’ve been waiting for December to turn up before doing my review of Foursquare Hereditas rum, because I like a big sherried whisky for the Christmas period and what better way to compliment that (or even replace it) than with a massive sherry bomb of a rum from an epic distillery.

What is it? Single Blend rum (molasses based pot and column still rum, from a single distillery) from the Foursquare distillery in Barbados. This rum was bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange as part of a “Private Cask Selection” – the rum was distilled, matured and bottled in Barbados. The rum blend is the usual Foursquare blend-of-a-blend job, where they mature some rum in a cask type and then move it to another cask type, the final rum is blended with another rum matured in different casks. In this case, part of the blend is matured in ex-bourbon casks for 14 years, the other part of the blend is matured in ex-bourbon casks for 10 years and then switched to ex-sherry casks for a further 4 years, both rums are then blended at the end making it 14 years old. All ageing is done tropically, so those years have a big impact, you’re talking about well over 30 years of European equivalent ageing.

Not chill-filtered, not coloured and bottled at 56% abv.

Sugar? No.

Nose: Oh, good, God. We’ve definitively got Foursquare that much is clear – the beautiful integration of oak, vanilla and spice, but this is a sherry bomb rum. We have loads of big fat juicy raisins, little tiny Corinth raisins or currants, clove, cinnamon, roasted walnuts, chestnuts and marzipan – yeah, Christmas cake rum. Some lighter fruit with black plums, fig and burnt orange zest, honey and pralines. With some time there is some cigar smoke, damp leaves, old leather bound books, varnished wood and menthol.

Palate: Full mouth. Big on the sherry at entry, the Foursquare profile is totally lost at first and dominated by roasted nuts, dates, figs, leather, raisins and Christmas cake again. Once the first sherry blast passes, Foursquare appears under it with soft vanilla, toasted coconut, clove, cinnamon, light caramel and some savoury notes of liquorice, black olives, brine and grilled mushroom.

Finish: Very long. Ginger root, liquorice, the salty tang of brine, a little tar, camphor and menthol. Dark chocolate lebkuchens, caramel, vintage thick cut marmalade, rolling tobacco, black coffee and walnuts. There is an interplay of savoury, bitter and sweet here that works really well.

Thoughts? Stonkingly good rum. The sherry casks are as clean as a whistle but I do think they dominate a little over the rum. The nose and finish work really well but the palate is bullied around by the sherry for the most part, still, it’s bloody good.

If you want a Christmas’y winter warmer of a sherry bomb this year then get one of these. It’s sitting with the old style Glendronach 15 year old (which was really 21 years old) and Glenfarclas 25 year old whiskies, if that’s your thing, and trust me that is very high praise for a sherried spirit.

5p under £80. Yeah, ok it’s not cheap, but I’d pay it over and over again. Cracking.