It’s time for the first (but not the last!) review of an official bottling from Foursquare, the Rum distillery in Barbados. Let’s start with the latest vintage release ,Foursquare 2007 which follows the 2005 vintage from last year (and the 2004 vintage the year before).
It’s a 12 Year Old rum from ex-bourbon casks, all matured in Barbados so the aging is intense and the Angel’s share is on a different (and higher) scale than the Scottish whisky figures…
Foursquare 2007 12 Year Old (59%, £55.95/€59,97/$74.95)
Nose: Bright and fruity, almost perfume-y, banana, fermented fruits, esters, Demerara sugar, pineapple and mango, sweet wood spices. After a few minutes it’s turning perfume-y with caramelized pears, peaches and some very ripe apricots. Continue reading
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Nose: Dried fruit, mostly sweet with a bit sour fruits thrown in, quite fresh and light, bright cherries, strawberry, low-key oak spice after all that time, cinnamon, more sour fruitiness (with tropic bearing), a very pleasant nose. 
Nose: Dirty, gun powder and mild sulphur. Then dried raspberries, strong espresso, fresh sour berries with lingonberries and cranberries, cocoa and sour plums. 
Nose: Clean and richly sweet, green apples and pears, sweet barley, pink grapefruit, melon, pear drops and red apple peels. After a few minutes more tropical fruit and extra grapefruit juice. 
Nose: Weak and thin, showing some youth as well, sweet green grapes, golden apples, oak sweetness, cereals porridge, cream. After a few minutes anise and concentrated oranges juice from can. 
Nose: Toffee and honey, followed by sweet dried fruit and candle wax. Then subtle wood spice and peat smoke drifts in, cake dough, soursweet raspberry jam. After a few minutes more honey, white pepper and delicate greenery with dried peaches and pears. Then it gets herbal honey, cinnamon and ever so gentle waxy texture. 
Nose: At first it’s very wine-y and very Armagnac/Cognac like with the smooth wood spice and grapes. Then sugar, orange and delicate citrus, white pepper and oak spice that lurks in the background. Slowly it’s more rum-y, fermented banana, some light funk and esters, followed by a delicate balance of white flowers and sweet grapes with rum. A very light and restrained rum nose (relatively to other rums tasted lately). 