Dead Reckoning Rum Barbados Barossa Valley Tawny Cask 9.5 Year. We are back to Australia and the Independent bottlers over at Dead Reckoning Rum. It’s safe to say that this is a release which is likely to make quite a lot of US and European based rum enthusiasts get a pang of jealousy.

It’s not often I can say I have seen a release come out of Australia where I have thought – I really want that. Thats not to say there isn’t good rum coming out of Australia but nothing has ever piqued my interest quite as much as this particular release.

Luckily for me the man behind Dead Reckoning Rum – Justin Boseley has been very kind in sending me samples of their various releases over the past year or so.

As I understand it Justin has sold all his bottles to retail with a fair proportion going to the Australian Rum Club – The Rum Tribe.  In terms of getting a bottle of this rum anywhere other than Australia – I think chances are slim. There are only 340 bottles available of this release.

Dead Reckoning Rum Barbados Barossa Valley Tawny Cask 9.5 Year has been aged for 8 of its years in Barbados. It has then spent a year ageing in a 60 year old ex Tawny Port Cask. It was then matured again in an ex-Makers Mark (Bourbon) barrel which for those who take an interest in these things was a level 3 char.

You’ll notice that the word “Port” is not included on the bottle. That is because only Port made in Portugal can be called Port. So Australia opted to call this type of Port – Tawny.

Further information on the Tawny/Port cask used for the secondary maturation of this rum (it was a 60 year old cask!) can be found here with details about the producer etc.

The rum is a Pot/Column blend and has been bottled at 48% ABV. Retail price is $155 Australian Dollars. Of which $58 dollars is taxes…..yikes! Booze is expensive in Australia even more so perhaps than the UK! As with all Dead Reckoning releases there are no additives or colourings and it is non-chill filtered.

When I first heard about this rum I immediately thought it sounded like a nice upgrade to Foursquare’s original Port Cask Finish rum.

To be honest this rum ticked all the boxes for me and I had high hopes for it. The only way I could see this rum not being any good was if something had went wrong with the Port Cask…….

Nosing this rum sent me immediately back a few years to the Foursquare Port Cask Finish. How similar this is (I do not have an open bottle of that rum) I couldn’t say. How much the Port/Tawny finish indicated by this rum played tricks with my mind I couldn’t say either. The power of suggestion can be a strange thing.

What I do know is that the vibrant ruby red liquid in the bottle smelt rather good………

The initial aromas are that of stoned fruits – plums, peaches and some nice hints of red apple. The “Port-yness” really comes out on the nose giving it wonderful sweet and fruity nose. Not too overbearing though. You still get those classic Foursquare notes of vanilla and gently spiced oak.

This is a rum which you can nose for ages and really appreciate the wonderful balance of the components.

It’s really excellent. Taking a sip you get a nice healthy kick of oak and spice alongside the sweeter fruitier notes. The rum is quite robust for 48% ABV and the rum has certainly not been drowned out by the secondary maturation.

There is a nice oaked char to this spirit and the initial entry is both and sweet and spicy at the same time. It has  nice kick to it.

Sweet notes of plum, raisin and some gooseberry come in – a slight bitterness to balance the sweeter notes.

The mid palate becomes fruity once more with red and white grapes joining the mix alongside some vanilla and a hint of coconut.

The finish is a good length and the fruitiness moves from fleshy white/red grapes to a more “stoned” finish. Dried fruits such as raisins and sultanas with a flash of strawberry.

The rum fades out nicely and it is certainly a rum which you will seek to top up quite quickly. Despite the complexity of flavour – it is a very more-ish rum. I have to confess my bottle did not last anywhere near as long as it should have.

I can say that this is the best Independently bottled Foursquare I have tried thus far. As mentioned already it ticks all the boxes for me but it really has been handled very well by Justin at Dead Reckoning. He really has done an excellent job with this spirit.

This would not be out of place in Exceptional Cask Series.

I don’t really think I can give it any more praise than that do you?

A truly wonderful rum.