Foursquare 2008 Principia Released by Velier 9-Year

This rum presents itself fairly dark in the glass, reminding me of deep amber, almost with a reddish hue. The nose is striking and quite clearly characterised by the sherry finish. Notes of red fruits, nuts, tobacco, oak and caramel is nicely defined. It's also a bit chalky with some zesty pineapple to keep it lively. It's really wonderfull, and can keep me intrigued for a long time.

The taste is big bodied and fills the mouth quickly. It's intense, especially the first sip, but I find it surprisingly sippable considering the 62%. It starts out with naturally sweet and thick, chewy caramel and nuts, slowly followed by the red fruity notes. The taste also shows a clear influence from the sherry finish with ripe rasp- and cranberries.
The finish is big and long with lingering sweet liquorice, spicy nutmeg and oak. It builds a nice heat in the chest and tingles the lips but feels integrated and balanced. This is spectacular and closing on a 10 (9.7).

Då har även min butelj kommit! Bort med folien fort fort, förväntningarna är återigen skyhöga av alla tidigare lovord och hyllningar.
Färgen och doften i glaset wow!😳 Lite vanilj, torkade frukter som plommon och russin, ekfat. Den höga procenten gör sig inte till känna, ljuvligt helt enkelt. Till och med min ej romdrickande fru tycker att det doftar blommor. 😁 Tar den första slurken och känner direkt en viss sötma som jag inte hade väntat mig. Bourbonfaten och sherryn tar för sig, mer torkad frukt. Den påminner mig mycket om Ron Esclavo Xo cask med en nertonad sötma och torrare avslut, vilken rom, fantastisk! Jaha vafan nu då?! Nu vill hon smaka också.😳😆
Måste tillägga att längden var fenomenal.
Principian landar alla gånger på pallplats.

The blend of flavors is there. Stone fruit, tobacco, chocolate, a wee bit of citrus. A fair amount of oak. Good not great, but Foursquare standards are higher than the rest. solid 8.5

Here we have a Foursquare with double-aging. Matured for 3 years in bourbon and 6 years in olorosso (sherry). At the time of the tasting, I hadn't looked how the Principa was aged and accordingly didn't know anything about it, as I only had a sample.

Smell: First of all, I have a balanced Foursquare on my nose, but it develops rougher and more earthy over time. I notice a lot of red dried fruits, burnt sugar, dark wood aromas. I have a strong smell of plums, cherries, pomegranate. The typical hazelnut is also included, which I always find at Foursquare. The whole aroma package is beautifully tangled. There is also light bourbon wood with vanilla. I would estimate the rum is 10 years old. Otherwise the wood would be darker.
A quick look at the label says three years in bourbon and six in sherry casks.
The sherry barrel is present and the red fruits also come out nicely. The red rubber rings are also present, which I always notice when sherry is aging is involved. Deeper in the glass it is also earthy and the bourbon barrel flavors become more and more dominant over time. It is very reminiscent of Empery. I would consider it the equivalent that I can only reproduce the Empery from memory. It doesn't look very elegant or refined, this is not one of the best Velier bottlings.

Taste: It starts sweet with burnt sugar, dried fruits (the red fruits are also included) and with a lot of bitter substances from many tannins. With only 9 years, I have to say that it has already got a lot of tannins. It rapidly increases in spice, becomes dry (this makes the earthy aromas even more present), pricks the tongue with hundreds of needles and develops a light bourbon wooden barrel aroma with lots of vanilla. The wood is young and fresh, not old and mature. It stays that way for quite a while before it turns into the finish. As soon as the heat subsides, you can taste the diluted burned sugar and the sherry flavors in form of red rubber rings really come through. Many red dried fruits follow. Cherries, pomegranate in combination with burnt sugar, the red rubber rings

Aftertaste: cherries, red rubber rings, light wood, vanilla

Conclusion: He was able to hold back in the smell, but on the palate he clearly showed what a bully he is. The sharpness is very pronounced, you have to endure that. The sherry finish was much more present on the nose than on the palate. With all the light wood, it seems quite young. This is not a rum that I would spend more than € 100 on. I would mature it in cognack barrels at least two years to make it smoother and to take away the spice.

Overall rating: 85 points

Sweetness: 2/5
Fruit: 3/5
Sharpness: 4/5
PL (200 €): 2/5

Really really a top rum.
Probably not for beginners but you can’t expect much more from a rum.
The nose is divine and the length is never ending.
Probably the palate has room for improvement (for my taste) but really one of the best out there

Here's another killer Foursquare with a nice sherry finish.

On the nose there is plum, strawberry jam, cherry, vanilla, raisin, orange zest, kiwi, nutmeg, slightly overripe strawberry and blackberry.

The palate is super creamy, plum jam, some sourness. With water the creaminess drops of a bit, and I get strawberry compote.

We have a medium-long finish here, packed with oak, ginger, cream and pepper. The finish is mouth-coating at full strength. I'd recommend skipping the water on this one; it's better at cask strength.

Fabulous rum!

Foursquare always deliver good quality rum.
With ABV 62 I think this is a bit too sharp on alcohol to the nose an taste. Don’t really feel it coming up from the glass, but let it breath for a while and it will turn out more pleasant. I feel coconut and heavy licorice notes. In overall a really interesting rum for the experienced drinker!

Rum tasting in Brussels with my good old friend continued with Foursquare Principia. Very nice high end bottle and label design. Blacked out bottle. Bright golden color. Strong alcohol mixed with plenty of oak and very nice Barbudan rum flavors to your nose and palate when neat sipped. Strong and dry burn at the end. Bottled at 124 Proof it is potent stuff. It would be much better at around 100 Proof.

Tried Principia and Patrimonio and it was one of the best rum I have tried. Looking forward to try more of the Foursquare Rums.

Great offering with very good flavors. Wish it was and ECS offering as opposed to Velier due to availability in the US.