Foursquare Rum Distillery 2007. Foursquare may have dropped the “Rum Distillery” part from the front label but I’m keeping if for my review titles. Just to keep things nice and tidy. I was going to finish off the sherry finished rums and review Patrimonio but my photographer is not available tonight, so we’ll do the 2007 instead.

As with all the Exceptional Cask Series this is a Single Blended rum. Which means it is a blend of Pot and Column distilled rums. I do not know the exact ratio of Pot/Column but I do know that the ratio of Pot to Column has increased from the 2005, which in turn had more Pot Still rum than the 2004. All three of these rums are part of the Exceptional Cask Series. This is number ten already in the series.

All of the ECS named after the year of distillation have been quite straightforward affairs. All have been aged in small oak (ex-bourbon casks) with no additional maturation or any other faffing aroun. This is a 12 year old rum and was bottled in March 2019. it has been bottled at Cask Strength of 59% ABV.

For those familiar with the ECS, the bottle will be familiar. They have tweaked it a little to give a little medal on the neck and we now get a synthetic cork stopper, rather than a screw cap. You pick this up quite easily in the UK from the likes of The Whisky Exchange (make sure you get a Hereditas as well whilst you are on) a bottle of 2007 should set you back around £55. This bottling is not similar to the Foursquare/Velier 2006 collaboration aside from the distillery it is a progression of the 2004 and 2005 releases.

The 2004 “version” of this rum one my Rum of the Year back in 2016, so this has quite a lot to live up to. So let’s put it to the test and see how we get on.

In the glass, we have a classic golden/dark brown rum with a slightly orange hue. The nose is full of sweet notes of vanilla and coconut. There is a spicy sweet/sour bourbon note, the more you nose. Nice notes of woody oak and a touch of ginger.

Sweet notes of raisin and sultana move in and out of the mix, adding a really nice fruity balance to oaky notes. You wouldn’t think you were nosing such a high ABV spirit as the balance of this rum is absolutely perfect.

The woody/oaky notes are fresh and quite airy. I’m not getting much barrel char, it all smells very light and very fresh.

Sipped at Cask Strength you get a lot of spice on the initial sip. It shows it’s full 59% ABV especially when it is your first drink of the evening. Further sips of this rum come much easier and more flavour does come forward. It’s just a case of getting the palate accustomed to the ABV. You can of course, add some water if you prefer.

Once things have calmed down the initial sip is still quite hot with a lot of oak spice and ginger especially on the entry. This seems more boozy than the 2004 especially. There is a slight bitterness on the mid palate but this leads onto more rich oak spice, which really integrates nicely. It’s rich and warming.

Foursquare Rum Distillery 2007 is a woody, very dry rum. It is not as sweet as the nose suggested it might be. The sweeter notes come in time – on the entry you begin to get some coconut, banana and vanilla.

It is not as easy to drink as some of the other Foursquare offerings, especially those with a secondary maturation. It is very much an example of a very pure, simple Barbados rum. Yet one of exceptional quality, which few other producers could even begin to replicate or match.

The question will be is this as good as 2004 and 2005. How does it compare? The answer is, I am not at all sure I would be able to pick them out blind. Much like Rum Sixty Six Cask Strength the rums are very similar. From memory this rum seems a touch less sweet than the 2004. I have one bottle of 2004 left but I won’t be opening it for some time yet. It’s more similar to the 2005 I would say.

For £55 Foursquare Rum Distillery 2007 is another fantastic example of a pure Barbados rum. Maybe lately, my preferences have geared more towards some of the sweeter Foursquare offerings but this reminds me what I liked about Foursquare in the first place.

Many rum producers neglect the balance of a rum and many rum commentators, also miss this as something very important in rum. A lot go for intense rums, such as Jamaican Long Ponds or Hampden DOK marque rums, Clairin’s from Haiti and other such “flavour bombs”. Whilst there is nothing wrong with such rums – I enjoy those as well, the belief that 100% Pot Still or Maximum Ester rums is where the good stuff is – I feel is a bit misguided an shortsighted. An excellent balanced blended rum, is every bit as good if not better.

The score for this one may be a bit predictable. If you enjoy Foursquare, you will thoroughly enjoy this bottling.