In The Spotlight: Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection For many years now, we’ve all tired from hearing that rum is going to be ‘the next big thing’. And it’s true, but many of us would have argued that it’s already happened, or at least the tides have most definitely turned for this multifarious spirit. Rum has been pegged as a category to watch for a long time, but it was in 2018, when a rum copped the Supreme Champion Spirit award at the International Spirits Challenge that people started to take notice.
This was the first time that a rum had won the prestigious award, and the rum in question was the Foursquare 2005 Exceptional Cask Selection.
Foursquare distillery is routinely touted as one of the most revered rum producers in the world and has been rewarded with a reputation that sits alongside the greatest spirits in the world. The distillery is led by Richard Seale, master distiller, blender and industry icon, whose contribution to the industry's global 'revolution' is undeniable. He has also developed an unwavering fanbase following his public advocacy for creating high calibre expressions free from adulteration and support to secure a GI for Barbados Rum.
History in Brief: Foursquare Distillery
The Foursquare rum distillery is owned by R.L. Seale & Co, a family company with a traceable history of rum making in Barbados dating back to 1820. The R. L. Seale brand was born in the early 1900's as a family-owned distribution company, buying bulk rum from names such as the West Indies Rum Refinery for blending. It was only a matter of time before they took rum production into their own hands and soon they had grown from established rum traders to well respected rum distillers.
In 1995, Sir David Seale took a risk by staking on an abandoned and mostly decrepit sugar factory tucked away on the southern countryside of Barbados. After refurbishment and the installation of custom-built stills in 1996, the modern Foursquare Rum Distillery was in operation and its first spirit was produced. Foursquare produces single blended rum, combining its pot and column distillate both before and after being barrelled.
The Exceptional Cask Selection
Introduced in 2008, the Exceptional Cask Selection from Foursquare is an exemplar of the finest cask selections and blending from Richard Seale. Unlike the regular production of the R.L. Seale and Doorly’s brands, the Exceptional Cask Selection is where Richard utilises his speciality experimenting with a variety of wood finishes to create highly limited and one-of-a-kind expressions. Richard says that the range was inspired by his appetite to practice a more dynamic approach to rum-making.
As expected from Foursquare, the rums are non-chill-filtered and entirely un-manipulated, e.g. free from caramel colourings, sugar and other adulteration. The experimental nature of these expressions means that they are extremely rare with each new release met with a hype and excitement that is palpable.
The Exceptional Cask Selection has grown to include a number of lauded expressions which showcase a diversity of well-aged wood finishes including Zinfandel, Port, Madeira, Cognac, Calvados, sherry and bourbon.
The Foursquare 1998 Bourbon Cask 10 Year Old
The first of the releases from the series was the Foursquare 1998 Bourbon Cask 10 Year Old which launched in 2008. According to the label on the rear of the bottle, this rum was matured in ex-Bourbon white oak casks “for about 8 years before being decanted, reduced in strength and returned to the cask for a secondary maturation. Once the rum is considered well married and the maturation complete, the rum is then decanted for bottling and labelling by hand.”
In comparison to the single blended rums that make up the Exceptional Cask range today (single blended meaning that they are from one location, and produced in the distillery’s copper, double retort pot still and column coffey still) this first mark is 100% traditional column still only rum. Richard explained to us that at the time of this first release, column-still rum was far more popular among their customer base because of the lighter profile and more naturally sweet and soft characters it imparts with the rum. Although labelled as having been drawn from cask #2807, there are actually a number of casks bottled within the 15,000 bottle run. All however were labelled with the same cask number, so it is unclear which cask the majority of the bottles were drawn from.
Even though Foursquare produced 15,000 bottles, that was over ten years ago and today you will not find this rum in retail by any means, and very seldom on the secondary market. It is assumed that the majority of this rum has been opened and emptied as rum lovers seized the opportunity to try Foursquare’s first foray in a new direction with their first branded vintage release. Following the wild success of subsequent Exceptional Cask releases, this first mark has become increasingly sought-after among rum devotees, however its scarcity has dubbed it an 'endangered rum'.
Those few that are lucky enough to have tried it attest to its rumoured quality. Couple this with the fact that it is near impossible to find, and it's the perfect storm for rum collectors.
