Worthy Park Special Cask Release Quatre Vins. This believe it or not, is the eighth Special Cask Release from Worthy Park. I know, because it says so on the bottle.

The Worthy Park Special Cask Releases are a collaboration between Worthy Park Estate and Danish spirit distributors and bottlers 1423.dk. The rums are tropically aged in Jamaica, in ex-bourbon casks before being sent to Denmark for further maturation. In what so far has been a variety of ex-wine and fortified wine casks.

The results so far have been pretty impressive, so I was pleased to see the intriguingly named Quatre Vins appear online. Quatre Vins refers to the secondary maturation. This time the distillate has been given time in, ex- Monbazillac, ex-Sauternes, ex-Moscatel and ex-Jurancon casks.

Worthy Park Special Cask Release Quatre Vins was distilled in 2013 and aged at Worthy Park for 4 years in ex-bourbon casks. It was then aged for a further 2 years, in the wine casks detailed above. I am unsure the length of time in each cask or if the rum was divided into 4 and then re-blended at the end. The rum has been bottled at 52% ABV and there are 1,318 bottles available. Distribution is mainly in Europe (particularly Denmark). A 70cl bottle will set you back around £70. If you are outside of Denmark you may wish to try ordering from here.

Presentation wise, it uses the same bottle used for the other Special Cask Releases, which was first used for the Worthy Park Estate Reserve. The 3/4 stubby bottle with a chunky synthetic stopper, is clean and modern. Information on the actual rum is also provided on the front and rear labels.

Now, before we go on I will point out that I am unfamiliar with any of the wines used in this blend, aside from Moscatel. I have “heard” of all but the Monbazillac but never, to my knowledge tasted any bar the Moscatel. Which was far too sweet for me. So don’t expect any detailed analysis of any of the notes or which wine provides them!

First up, in the glass we have a dark brown spirit with a vivid red/orange hue. Upon nosing you are immediately aware it is a Worthy Park rum. If you have experienced any of the other Special Cask Releases you will also note that a second maturation has occurred. This is Worthy Park with a bit of a twist.

The familiar banana, slightly stewed tea and coconut aromas are present and correct. The wine influence is actually quite subtle but it is noticeable.

It gives just an extra little hit of sweetness. If you’d ask me how this had been finished I might have guessed at Sherry.

There’s a slight sulphur like note which mingles alongside white grapes and a touch of what I can only describe as meat juices! Yes its quite a meaty nose. This initially was a little strange but after some time in the glass this element takes a backseat and it all calms down.

This is a fairly young rum at only 6 years old. That said the nose is nicely balanced. The second maturation definitely adds a lot of sweeter notes but it is still quite “aggressive”. It’s still quite boozy and a little in your face.

On the sip you get a lot of sweetness on the initial entry. There is a lot of red grape and some burnt banana. There’s a really nice spicy note on the mid palate a kind of sweet/sour spicy note a little like a Szechuan sauce. This moves along into some nice spicy oak, ginger and some milk chocolate. This all moves along nicely with the overarching note of black tea.

Finish wise it’s of a reasonable length with a good amount of bite to it. It’s rich and satisfying. It fades nicely and it makes for a quite a moreish rum.

It is a rum which is very intense on the first sip. The entry is very flavourful. It moves beautifully into the mid palate though. Each flavour stays just long enough not to become to overbearing.

As alluded to earlier quite what each individual wine is doing I am not quite sure. What I do know is that I think this is certainly the most balanced – overall of the Special Cask Releases, so far. The others had very distinct flavours but also had some flaws. This is just a bit more rounded.

It certainly drinks like a rum much older than its six years.