Foursquare LFT White Barbados Pure Single Rum. Whilst it is fair to say, all releases from Foursquare Rum Distillery are very sought after this is perhaps one of the most anticipated releases of 2022.

It’s not out yet (I’m just lucky enough to have been sent a very generous sample) so I can’t advise on the bottle numbers or the price. It is going to be released as part of the Habitation Velier series of rums.

So it will likely prove even more popular. Particularly to speculators and “collectors”. As usual I just hope enough drinkers can get their hands on this and enjoy the rum.

Due to the prolific nature of Foursquare since this site began (a very “nervy” interview is here when I hadn’t met Richard in person!). – I am sure any regular readers will be familiar with the distillery’s output and the views and opinions of the owner Richard Seale. In order to try and keep things interesting, I’ll not go over old ground in the opening part of this review. Instead I will give Mr Seale’s insights into this particular rum and its name.

“If any of you have listened to my recent discussions on our Habitation Velier “high ester” white rum, you will know that I am not comfortable with the name. It was simply the least worst choice I came up with to call it “high ester”.

Not that it is not “high ester”. By Jamaica standards, anything over 300 g/hl abs alc has left the “common clean” category (incidentally they do not like that category name either). At 555 g/hl abs alc, it is certainly high in ester content.

But the reference to Jamaica explains the problem. High Ester Rum is Jamaica terminology. I do not like using it. You cannot be an advocate for IP rights and steal the IP of others. While it is true that most of the Islands produced what we would consider “high ester”, it is really Jamaica that has kept it alive, made it famous and codified it. They own it.

It was the least worse name I could think of in haste. It is not agricole (its not 100% juice and more importantly its not produced in the French Islands). Grand Arome would also be a misappropriation. Heavy rum could be a fit (its got lots of congeners), save for the fact, thanks to Caroni we associate that more with a heavy, oily, tails heavy rum in the Trinidadian style.

I think what Savanna do with HERR is very clever. No overt use of the words “high ester” but a clever way of communicating the nature of the rum and emphasizing its their version.

So taking a leaf from their book, I will also use an acronym – LFT – Long fermentation type – an early distinction in rum making once fast fermentation (with added cultured yeast) came into play.

See the attached description from the 1908 Royal Commission – where it was debated whether traditional long fermentation and new short fermentation type rums were both entitled to be called rum.

After all, that is what we are trying to do – make a long fermentation style rum. High ester is just a natural corollary of that and the Jamaicans have their own way, very distinct to ours and quite unique to them.

For the record, we have made rums of over 1,900 Esters – this blend is to strike a balance between power (for your next cocktail or rum cake) and palatability for those who want it neat.

To be released soon.”

Foursquare LFT White Barbados Pure Single Rum is 100% Pot Still Distillate. Unaged and distilled back in 2021. It has a 555gr/hlpa Ester Count. If you want to compare this to another “High Ester” rum then Hampden HLCF (Hampden Light Continental Flavoured) comes it at between 500-600gr/hlpa.

Just to note for the purposes of this review I won’t be looking to compare this rum from Barbados to Jamaican rum. It will be reviewed on its own merits – not as some kind of “copycat”. I think that would be a pretty stupid thing to do.

The rum has been bottled at 62% and as noted in the picture to the right it is a blend of cane juice and molasses based rums.

The molasses based rum was fermented with a cultured strain of yeast for over 72 hours. The cane juice rum was fermented with naturally occurring yeast for several weeks.

I’m not going to claim this really makes a lot of difference to me as I’m not hugely into the whole distillation process etc – I just comment on the end result! I claim no expertise in this area. I figured, however a lot of “Rum Geeks” will appreciate this type of information.

In my glass I’m getting a completely transparent rum – so unaged white rum as expected.

I’m kind of expecting something akin to Veritas with this rum but I’m not 100% sure quite what to expect. I’ve not tried any cane juice rum from Foursquare before.

Vanilla – very heavy on the vanilla. Sweet chewy toffees, varnish and some light grassy notes. Given this blind I might well have said it was Jamaican rum. Or perhaps a blend of Caribbean rum.

Time in the glass and the rum shows more menace, notes of petrol and varnish become more noted. The vanilla subsides a little. It’s intense though and quite sweet on the nose. Certainly much less “savoury” than most high ester rums. For me its a bit more agreeable version of Savanna HERR.

The nose is intense and whilst quite sweet it also has a really nice intensity of flavour and complexity.

Sipped it is markedly less sweet – quite spicy with notes of chilli pepper, salted caramel and some cinnamon. Black Pepper and an almost Vindaloo like heat especially on the first sip.

A few sips in and you begin to get more of the sweeter molasses notes and a hit of sugar cane juice. Lightly grassy but with lots of toffee and caramel. For me it seems more like a high intensity mixer than an actual sipper.

It’s not bad but being unaged it is a bit fierce. There’s loads of flavour and a lot going on but its something I feel will work better in a Daiquiri or a Ti Punch.

The mid palate is a little peppery but you get more vanilla and toffee. The finish doesn’t really evolve much from the mid palate. It takes a while to fade out due to the powerful nature of the rum. That said it doesn’t really seem to add much to the overall experience.

I might not sound all that enthusiastic about this. I think I just prefer a more aged offering from Foursquare. Especially bearing in mind this will be as expensive as a lot of well aged rum.

I’ve still got a bit left from my sample so I’ll give it a bit of a mix……….

BOOM! A rum and cola is quite frankly a bit insane with this rum. It’s a huge flavour overload of toffee, molasses,vanilla and caramel. Alongside a hard hitting whack of floor polish, petrol and varnish. It’s pretty fantastic.

Ti Punch it works excellently as well giving a really sharp yet sweet hit to the drink. A Daiquiri is a bit mental as well.

As a sipper I’d probably look elsewhere but as a mixer Foursquare LFT White Barbados Pure Single Rum is pretty intense stuff.