Foursquare 2006 Sassafras Velier 14-Year

taste - 10/10
smell - 10/10
sweetness - 7/10
price/value rating - 5/10

Outstanding rum that backed its sassafras name as aromatic and flavorful putting dark dried fruits, berries, tropical fruits, and spices together with a unique earthiness, cherry cola and root beer floats. Scary part is I tasted this side by side with Foursquare 2006 which was an earlier Velier Foursquare cognac cask release and that one was even better as it had many dark tasting notes similar to those of first fill Sherry cask whiskies.

Nose: Walnuts, Cherries, Bananas, Coconut, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Honey, Nutmeg, Rancio, Blackberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Papayas, Guava, Lavender, Cookie Dough, Coffee, Minerals, Vanilla, Root Beer Float, Figs, Pineapple Syrup, Peaches

Palate: Raspberries, White Chocolate, Raisins, Oranges, Cherry Cola, Sultanas, Leather, Pepper, Cinnamon, Tobacco, Bananas, Coconut, Root Beer Float, Lavender, Milk Chocolate, Molasses, Grass, Maple Syrup

Finish: Milk Chocolate, Strawberries, Cherries, Raspberries, Dates, Figs, Prunes, Pineapples, Mocha, Coconuts, Bananas, Honey, Spearmint, Leather, Tobacco, Cloves, Nutmeg

Nose: pickles, cabbage, fruit loops, unicorns, natural gas, cement and a hint of big bird.

Palate: Nuclear sub marines, octopus, gravel, some honey, ahhh nuts...

Honestly, this rum is amazing. I can’t place one 20th of the notes listed in the review above, as this is truly overwhelming at my level of experience. It tastes wonderful. It’s powerful and decadent and well worth having a bottle if you can get one.

I’m on my third tasting of this rum and it continues to impress yet it’s hard to define.
It’s obviously rum, it’s strong and the aftertaste and burn stay with you far longer than any rum I’ve tried.

There’s so much going on, the first review may be accurate, but I can’t tell. Perhaps in time I’ll be worthy.

Buy some!

Would give a 10, but as stated above, it’s confusing to me and I actually prefer other rums to this. I acknowledge my own limitations. :)

If you like Foursquare this is no doubt one of the best so far. In my own opinion not better than Triptych but close to Destino.

A classic Foursquare feel. Strong nose. Burned Caramel, dried fruit/abricot, raisins, dates.
Good balance between nose and taste. I sense some spices as well. Really interesting and hands up for the new FS in Town

The release of Sassafras was really frustrating. It was hard to get it, at least without a large network of rum friends. At Rumundco it flew out of my shopping cart during the checkout process because it was already out of stock.

Smell: The rum starts very aromatic with a pleasant and dark sweetness of burnt sugar and honey. It seems more harmonious and balanced than the usual ECS releases to me. Aromas of cloves, leather and orange zest are embedded in the sweetness. It is so harmonious that it's difficult to separate the aromas. Then I notice dried fruits and a very pleasant oak aroma. In the background is the typical Foursquare hazelnut with some vanilla. In this case, the hazelnut is quite unobtrusive. A really great nose with an excellent balance.

Taste: At the beginning I notice a little bit too many tannins. The palate gets used to it after about three sips. Then the rum starts sweet and mild with caramel sweetness and dried fruits. I also notice a honey sweetness and oak. In the middle it becomes spicy, tart and dry (astringent). Here I noticing orange zest with spices such as cloves and nutmeg. After that, hazelnut and oak develop with tannins on my palet. Some leather is noticeable shortly before the finish.
The finish is quite mild with little spice and of course still sweet. I feel some mint, orange zest and leather with tannins. A dry and sweet mouthfeel remains.
In the aftertaste there are some mint, leather and orange zest with a little oak.

Conclusion: This is a complex and at the same time very harmonious rum, which did not make the tasting easy for me, but it offers an exciting taste experience. I think it's excellent for a 14 years old rum. I like rum with cognack barrel aging. Velier has again managed to deliver in the usual or outstanding quality.

Overall rating: 92 points

Sweetness: 3/5
Fruit: 2.5 / 5
Spice: 2.5 / 5
Complexity: 4/5
PL (200 €): 3.5 / 5

Takto jemný a silný FSQ pije človek len párkrát za život. Úžasný balance, výborná práca a výber Seala a hlavne Gargana. Tomuto rumu nič nechýba a človek má pocit,že pije oveľa slabší a sladký rum. Krásna práca

barva tmavě hnědá
- vůně velmi jemná, nasládlá, typický Foursquare
- chuť velmi jemná, příjemná, voltáž se příjemně maskuje, nasládlá, Foursquare, červené ovoce, třešně
Skvělý, ale to se ve spojení s Velier předpokládá

Aroma is full of dry fruits. Taste is very complex, starting with dark fruits, after a bit of oak and vanilla. Aftertaste is long and oaky with hint of pepper. Good Foursquare, but overpriced in comparison with ECS serie.

This one is my the best rum every tasted. Powerfull but you wilk not feel it.

Une palette aromatique très large..waouw...c'est certainement une des meilleures bouteilles que j'ai jamais eu le plaisir de boire.