CDI Foursquare (Bottled for Germany) 2010

Compagnie des Indes, the terroir-led French bottler, selected this single cask of Foursquare distilled in 2010 and aged eight years, bottled for the German market at full cask strength. It comes from the St Philip estate's pot and column blend, matured in ex-bourbon oak with no added sugar, a rawer and more rustic counterpoint to the distillery's own polished releases.

At 61.2% the heat is noticeable and the rum trades elegance for power. Toffee, fudge, honey and coconut sit over dry oak, black pepper and a roasted, faintly bitter finish, with the typical Foursquare varnish note in the background. Some tasters feel another year or two in wood would have rounded it further and the alcohol sits a touch proud. This is not a beginner bottle but a slow neat pour for those who already chase punchy unsweetened Foursquare and want to explore how it reads from an independent cask.