Velier Foursquare Principia 2008

Foursquare, run by Richard Seale, is the critics' Bajan distillery, working its double retort pot still and twin column Coffey still into the classic island blend with a strict no additives ethos. Velier, the partner that helped drive the Pure Single Rum movement, selected this 2008 vintage and bottled it at a full 62 percent with nothing added.

The rum saw two stages of wood, first ex bourbon then a sherry cask, a double maturation that layers richness over the balanced Barbados core. The nose offers coconut, caramel, vanilla and a clear sherry note, the palate is intense with dark chocolate, oak and dried red fruit, and the finish runs woody, spicy and tannic. This is the elegant Foursquare profile cranked to cask strength, dry and powerful, the kind of bottle that rewards a little time in the glass and suits drinkers who like sherry influenced spirits with real bite.