Foursquare 2011 Exceptional Cask Selection 70cl

Foursquare 2011 Exceptional Cask Selection is a vintage Barbados rum from Richard Seale — the ECS series being the bottlings that turned Foursquare into a collector's name. This is the 2011 vintage, Mark XXIV, distilled that year and aged twelve years entirely on the island in ex-bourbon oak, then bottled at a full 60% with no colour, no sugar and no filtration.

Foursquare is a single blended rum: double-retort pot still spirit married with twin-column Coffey still rum, all made in-house. Seale's refusal to add or hide anything is the entire ethos, and the ECS releases are where it is shown off — single vintage, cask strength, take it or leave it. Most people take it.

The nose is bold and dry — caramelised grapefruit, dark cocoa and butterscotch, clove and allspice, with sandalwood and a saline note underneath. The palate delivers overripe pineapple and candied banana over a firm oak-and-spice frame; the finish runs long on molasses, baking spice and gentle tannin. At 60% it is powerful, and a few drops of water are well worth adding — they unlock the fruit without softening the structure.

A serious sipping rum and one for the shelf. Drink it neat and slow, and let it breathe; this is not a rum to bury in a cocktail.

How to Serve

Neat in a copita or Glencairn. Add water a drop at a time to tame the 60%.

Where to Drink It

Black Rock in Shoreditch — cask-strength rum done right. Dukes Bar in St James's — a calm room for a big pour. Boisdale of Belgravia — a deep list and no clock-watching.

Food Pairings

A mature Cheddar, or dark chocolate with sea salt.