Foursquare 2005

...This bottle definitely would have gone home with me. High ABV meant it certainly packed a punch, but had a really smooth finish with a complex flavor profile. Definitely a nice sipper especially as the weather starts to cool down.

Enjoyed two glasses of Foursquare 2005 Barbados rum with my friend during a 5,000 mile road trip across 18 States. Bottle and label design looks nice and old school. Golden amber color. Very strong oak and wood from the Bourbon barrel aging straight to your nose and palate. Strong burn at the end. Whisky lovers can add 2 points to the score.

I could go on at length about this one, but what can be said that hasn’t already been said? Pure, powerful, perfect. Kaboom!

Foursquare rum is becoming, if it hasn’t already, the “Pappy” of the rum world, the cream of the crop. With no added sugar, caramel color or anything else to alter the work of a genius, Richard Seale has stepped up his game. The new Exceptional Cask Selection series rocks with limited edition year makes like the 1996, 2004 and 2005. Then the Port, Zinfandel, Premise, Dominus and Criterion. And more added to those or will be made available as the collection continues to expand. The 2005 is on the spicy side, it’s 59% abs., it has flavors of chocolate, lemon and lime, ginger, pepper, vanilla with a touch of smoke at the end. Splash of water will bring out other ethanol’s offering other flavors instead of tasting the high alcohol content.
The 2005 expression is aged in bourbon casks for 12 years. It is limited to just 6000 bottles in the US. And another 6000 in the UK.
Definitely one to be added to your collection and enjoyed neat.
A definite collectors piece,

smooth for the ABV, but there is some burn. Well oaked, wonderful aroma. Vanilla and some dried fruit in both. I needed to water this down for sipping to peel back some burn and get to more flavor. Well made rum, I just wish had a slightly lower ABV, but thats my opinion.

Cask strength rum with peppery oak notes. Dry finish. A strong sipper at 60% abv.

By now, one must know that Foursquare never disappoints. Still, one can only be enamoured by the beautiful flavour profiles in rums such as the 2005. The sixth one in the Exceptional Cask Selection series, the 2005 is surely imposing at 59%.
It pours a dark golden colour with many thin and long legs, showing its low viscosity (no sugar or glycerol adulterants) and cask strength. Nosing the rum gives the first clear background notes that remain a constant throughout: oak, vanilla and biscuits. These show more complexity with the addition of a bit of mineral water - raisins, prunes and cinnamon seem to evolve from the vanilla/biscuit notes.
Tasting it at cask strength is not harsh at all. Woody, biscuity flavours with only a slight burn, evolving in mouth. I do find it (even!) more enjoyable with the addition of some mineral water, where the raisins and dried fruits come back into the flavour profile, with some hazelnuts and now almost imperceptible alcoholic notes. This medium-bodied rum has a very long and pleasant finish, in the same line, and the retrohale was sweeter (sugarcane, darker honeys).
At 60€ I can only feel fortunate to have found this rum. Worth every penny. The concept behind the rum is executed to perfection. As usual with Richard Seale, it's furthermore comforting to know that it has no additives, no added sugar, just real rum.

...to me the 2004 is a bit better yet the aroma explosion is quite the same and still very tasty.

The nose is a bit alcoholic, but does not reject the craving.

I like the complexity behind those sugarfree rums from the Foursquare Destillery

Solid 9.0

This is my second experience with Foursquare and the first was near perfect with the Zinfandel Cask being one of the best rums I've ever had.
Fresh from the bottle it's very warm on the nose but after sitting for only 5 minutes or so it mellows and soft oak, vanilla and spicy hints start to sneak out.
My first tastes are neat in a snifter. A perception of light sweetness upfront. Warming alcohol and drying oak followed by wisps of vanilla, toffee and is that citrus? or dried fruit? I don't get the chocolate that some seem to sense. It's warm but not too hot and it's smooth for 59%. This tastes like rum. It's oaky character may seem bourbon-like but I think the oak confuses some as most bourbon is very oaky. The molasses hints are down in there.
Added a single ice cube to a full jigger and after a minute or two it really smooths out. Vanilla and orange start to peep out and molasses sweetness shows up upfront. Still drying oak and very smooth long finish. I think the ice and dilution simplifies the complexity of the rum but it does make it a bit smoother to those put off by the high proof.
This is an amazing rum! Probably not a favorite of those who like sweet but they should give it a fair try. It's amazing! As with my rating of the Zinfandel Cask I hesitate to give anything a 10 but this is just about as good as it gets!

A great tropical oak bomb with notes of chocolate, raisins, dried fruit, caramel, tropical fruits like pineapples, mangoes, papayas, and a nice creaminess.

A very good rum... will definately get this one again. High alchohol content but you don't notice it as much. Just add a bit of ice. Lot of flavour in this one and every sip you discover something new. Highly recommended

WOW. How 118 proof is as smooth as it is, is beyond me. Spicy. Hint of vanilla and chocolate. Worthy for my bar.

First time trying this rum. Rich color, body and very smooth

Time for Birka’s rumcruise 2019 at the Baltic Sea. This was the top brand at Ian Burrell’s “Blindtest” Master class. It was one of the easier to get right cause it was the only one at that high alcohol strength (59%). It’s extremely complex and you can recognise different spices, chocolate, vanilla etc.
Picture: The brands included at the blindtest.

Superbe synthèse, entre le fruit mûr et le boisé. Un modèle d’equilibre et de perfection... si on cherche l’equilib et la perfection. Pour la folie et l’exubérance, il faudra pousser jusqu’à la Jamaïque, et aller chez Hampden

Another cask strength rum from the wonderful Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados. This 12 year old rum aged in ex-bourbon and bottled at full cask strength of 118 proof. A blend of two distillates, one from the pot stills and a lighter one from the column. This rum is the great balance between the depth and texture of the heavy rums and the freshness and vibrancy of the column. The Exceptional Cask Selections continue to be some of rarest and most sought-after rums in the world.

It's a strong one at 59% so I like it mixed with around 3 parts rum to 1 part water to make it more palatable. Another very good rum from FourSquare

very lovely barrels character. Dry but very good, I like it

One of three that Foursquare released in 2018 this is number six in the Exceptional Cask Series. Bottled at 59% this has been aged for a total of 12 years in ex-bourbon casks. It's natural follow-up of Foursquare's 2004 release which was exceptional.

Familiar Baja spicy notes that the Bourbon casks brings with hints of vanilla sweetness, maybe chocolate and tobacco. Long satisfying finish leaving your palate wanting more.

No doubt about this is a worthy winner of the ISC Supreme Champion Spirit 2018