Foursquare Triptych 2004-2005-2007 Released by Velier 9-Year

This is the best from Foursquare I have tried. Slightly better than Destino and the best balanced of all of them.

The “Triptych” is a blend of the 3 best vintages in 3 different wood casks and therefore the name “Triptych” meaning “trinity”

On the nose i get burnt caramel, dried fruit and raisins. I get salty and burnt elements in great harmony. Some spices and a very long aftertaste. The ABV 56 is not dominating at all. A really fantastic rum between Luca Gargano (Velier) and Richard Seale (Foursquare). FS Favorite!

Richard Seal proposes an assembly of 3 vintages 2004,2005 and 2006. They have been aged in ex-bourbon barrel (2004), Madeira barrel (2005), or new American barrel 2006). It has a beautiful amber color. On the nose are exotic fruits, woodland, cigar box or even sandalwood. After a while pastry notes arrive with gingerbread, toast, very greedy. On the palate, there are nuts and this pastry side that remains well present. It is very sweet with a certain complexity but the 2005 vintage gives me too much sweetness. Very nice blend. Real rate = 7,5

Nice complex aroma. First taste sweet with warm tones. Perfect ballance between sweet and dry side. Perfect level of alcohol (56%) to highligt the character but not kill the mouth with burnining. Long aftertaste with wood and earth tones.

It's mesmerising! One of the best run we've ever had. A trully fantastic taste. Good job Richard Seale! congratulations!

Aged in Bourbon, Madeira and virgin oak barrels.

Smell: A sharp smell hits the nose first. It can't hide that it's young. There are many bourbon aromas, there is the typical vanilla, fresh wood in the form of oak. Many dried fruits follow, including red dried fruits from the Madeira barrel. It is brighter in smell than the old Foursquare bottlings.
It is more young and woody, less mature and complex. Reminds me more of Doorlys 8y.

Taste: The spiciness comes up straight away. Oak, vanilla and the bitter substances follow. The sharpness increases even more. It tickles the tongue, intensifying the bourbon aromas of vanilla and oak.
It then turn more towards the dried fruits in the middle, there are also a few red dried fruits such as cranberries.
In the finish it becomes sharper and woodier again, the dried fruits fade away and the bitter substances increase again. What remains are oak with vanilla and bitter substances.

Aftertaste: oak, vanilla, bitter substances, dried fruits

Conclusion: A rather poor Foursquare that seems immature, 9y is too young in this case. Bitter substances and the sharpness show that it should be aged even longer. I would have preferred Doorlys 12.
The three barrels had little effect on the overall composition, as each barrel was probably immature.

Overall rating: 76 points

Sweetness: 2/5
Fruit: 3/5
Sharpness: 4/5
PL 300 €: 1/5

N- Plenty of oak to tease, resin, floral and comes with lots of weight. Sugar soaked cotton, wood varnish and herb-y with mineral underlay. (88/22)

P- Polish, resin and grounded spices of nutmeg. Ginseng roots tea with pinch of salts or olive brine and tiny spoon of passionfruit. (90/22)

F- Long, definitely superior, overwhelming oak with resinous popping up almost everywhere that evolved to herbaceous. Dry. (89/22)

B/B- 90/22

Weighted Rate- 88pt
— at Kill Devil KL.

So... I was looking for a bottle, or two, of Foursquare Criterion because of all the hype and I just wanted to try something different. With no luck finding a full bottle of Criterion, I purchased 3cl samples of both Criterion and Triptych from Europe. I was also looking to buy a bottle of Triptych which was never available in the US and seemed all but impossible online. But, I was in Europe recently and found four bottles... so I bought all of them and I am glad I did.
In comparison to Criterion, Triptych is a significantly superior rum. Neither of these rums are a value to the novice rum sipper nor a good option for a person who isn't well versed in appreciating spirits neat (although you can certinaly use them in cocktail... if you like). Criterior (7.5 - 8) is very good but Triptych (9 - 10) is special. I give Triptych a rating of 9+. It is hard to compare this rum with those from other producers but, in terms of quality and complexity, I have not experienced a superior rum. With Triptych, we are definitely entering a realm in which rums cannot be manufactured at a higher quality and any assessment of the spirit is based on the overall personal experience. Simply put... you either love it or you hate it.

Notes:
A very nice blend of stones fruits; Light Smoke; Light Oak; some Earthy notes; Light Sweetness; Light Brine (salt); Good complexity; some black licorice; well-rounded and dense without being like syrup; high ABV with a pleasant numbing effect rather than a sharp burn which I assume is do to a high oil content helping to mellow the burn.

Very well blend with 3 different Casks. Fruitiness from the Bourbon and Madeira Casks and woodiness from Virgin Oak Cask which complement each other well.

It burns a little on the nose, probably it was newly open and it turns out to be softer after a couple of minutes. Woody with sweet baking spices and fruitiness of coconut flesh and water.

Tannic and nutty on the palate with bite of pepper corn. Touch of bitterness of earthy wood chips and buttery. It has an acidity of port wine which I've aged in 5L virgin charred cask.

Finish up with coco and pineapple. High in tannin and again fruitiness of dried fruits and peach.

Ich habe zwar noch keine Massen an Rums probiert, jedoch so einige und vor allem eher die sehr hochwertigen. Ich finde hier keine Fehlnoten, er ist nicht übertrieben süß und ich habe schöne Aromen vom Fass bzw. von den Fässern. Das Madeirafinish ist eine schöne Abwechslung. Der erste Rum, den ich jemals gekauft habe und der mich bekehren konnte.

I really enjoyed this one, due to its heavyness and complexity