Foursquare Rumclub Private Selection Ed. 61 (Saint Philip Parish) 2006

This is a single cask Foursquare laid down in 2006 and bottled by Spirit of Rum for the Rumclub Private Selection, drawn at full proof from a single ex-bourbon barrel after just over nineteen years. Foursquare, the St Philip estate run by Richard Seale, works a double-retort pot still alongside a twin-column Coffey still and blends the two in the classic Barbados manner, with a strict no-additives stance that keeps the rum honest.

Fermented from molasses and matured in ex-bourbon oak, it shows the house signature of coconut and vanilla but pushes it richer and sweeter than the standard releases, with dark tropical fruit on the nose and raisin, honey and chocolate trailing through the finish. The wood is present without dominating, and at 59.5% there is real cask-strength bite to manage, so a drop of water helps it open. A coconut-forward sipper for those who already know the heavier 2006 Foursquares.