I remember the first time I heard about Foursquare; my first thought was, ‘That city-guide social media app is pivoting into rum?’ Since then, I’ve learned the difference between the distillery vs. the tech company and I’ve had the privilege of getting to know the liquid as well as some of the good folks that are behind it. By the way, I hope you enjoyed my fun with alliteration. My title actually reminds me of one of those mnemonics that didn’t actually help me remember what I was trying to memorise in high school. I think that may also be due to undiagnosed ADHD, but I’ve been getting too much health advice from social media as of late, so who knows.
Foursquare rums are reliable and good-quality, balanced and a great recommendation for those who like easy-going, aged column still spirits, such as those who appreciate bourbon and Latin-American rum.
In what is typical to many English-Caribbean (and some Latin) producers, Foursquare blends a portion of pot still rum into it’s column still rum in order to create a light spirit that has a little more character and ‘oomph’ than it might otherwise.
In some chats with the distiller, he mentions his appreciation for madeira, both the fortified wine and it’s cask influence on his rum, so today’s cross tasting features only such rums.
As a quick primer, madeira is a fortified wine made only on the Portuguese island of Madeira, though I hear there are some ‘fake’ ones in the American market; it is sweet, fairly oxidised and usually has a good balance of acidity. It can certainly lend a spirit its unique flavour, which is similar but fairly different to sherry.
On paper we have some very similar spirits. All are 12-14 years old, aged fully in Barbados, 40-48% ABV, and have spent time maturing in both ex-bourbon casks and ex-madeira. Doorly’s is the budget house brand currently owned by Foursquare, Real McCoy is separate company that uses rum distilled for them by Foursquare, and the Exceptional Cask Series (in this case, Sagacity) are the cream of the crop of Foursquare distillery releases.
The following reviews are arranged in order of lowest to highest average retail price, but as usual, the scores do not reflect value.
Doorly’s 12 – (40%)
Very light and honestly quite reminiscent of a certain Nicaraguan rum, which isn’t a slight, but rather a way to put things in perspective. It does however, have a longer, warmer finish than rum from that country at this price point, so kudos for that. Lots of signature Foursquare toasted coconut, some coffee bean, nutmeg, vanilla, and a little leather and some butterscotch. On the palate, gentle, forgiving, watery molasses. A hint of blackcurrant, apricot pits, oxidised cantaloupe, and some hazelnut. Not bad, but the madeira influence isn’t really there (though not surprising when only 10% of barrels were ex-madeira) and I think it will be eclipsed by the next few…
(73pt)
Real Mccoy 12 – (madeira and bourbon cask aged, 46%)
The barrel make-up here is the same as before, however there is a much noted increase in barrel char aroma (which makes sense considering this is an American brand that’s focused on the American market), some raisins and dried apricots but I’m getting that green twigginess more heavily, though it transforms slightly into tart white raisins. There is a wee bit too much ethanol here for my nose. We have a longer finish here, but it is very similar in profile to the last one. On the palate, the fruits get brighter and quite tasty, even a bit spicy. Another so-so one.
(76pt)
Foursquare: Sagacity – (48%)
Sniffs reveal some dark honey, some baking spice, vanilla. Pencil shavings, a little twiggy and reminds me again of a certain Nicaraguan rum, but this time with far more depth and sweetness. Dry apricots and peach, a few prunes, a little tart kiwi, really just a great balance of light, bright juiciness as well as dried fruit. I get a bit of a savoury leatheriness and just a hint of the coconut one might expect to be dominant. A bit of wood and leather, not so much juicy fruit from the nose. Some wine tannin which seems a bit heavier than the nose would indicate. There’s a fairly watery texture that turns mildly astringent, though a bit of dark fruit helps with balance.The palate is good, but not exemplary; I think the nose shines a little more, to be honest. Certainly one enjoyable to drink, but I personally prefer a little more punch.
(83pt)
Doorly’s 14 (48%)
Rich, rich, rich, and as sweet as a sherried speyside whisky, this is really nothing like the Doorly’s 12 we tried at the start; warm, sweet, inviting, sultry, and creamy. The nose is very present and enjoyable. The emphasis of nuttiness and sweet dried fruits is turned up HIGH, with a little powdered ginger to boot; the green note from before is there, but it is very well balanced and a lot more in the background. We have a strong madeira influence that lends itself to create a spirit that is very bright, thick, rich, and viscous, with a good level of tannin to balance sweetness. Milk chocolate Malteasers, ripe pear juice, a few prunes, vanilla, with a long, spicy finish. The high level of sweetness will attract those who are not just interested in complexity as well as those used to rums with sweeteners added to them. This easily beats all current Foursquare 51% and under and will be sure to be a crowd pleaser.
(88pt)
Final Thoughts
Moral of the story? Not everything bottled by a good distillery is worth a long conversation about and sometimes some of the best goes a little unnoticed (although at this point I think most folks in the know already agreed how good the Doorly’s 14 is, so no big surprise). I was a little surprised to find quite a few similarities between some lower proof Foursquare and Flor De Caña, which makes me want to find some higher proof Latin American bottlings for comparison.
Thanks to DramsAndDrips for hooking me up with the majority of samples I needed for this cross-tasting as well as Jam_Dram for regifting me an old sample of Sagacity I poured for him some time ago.
Doorly’s 14 is my go-to (of the standard bottlings) for a great value, Rum Old Fashioned – it may be one of the best bang-for-buck rums, period. I find the higher abv. (vs. Doorlys 12) really helps to maintain it’s character and carry the flavours as it dilutes a little in the glass. I’m also a big fan of Hereditas, though that’s Sherry casks of course.
If I get a bottle I’ll certainly try some cocktails with it, it really is exceptional. I will do a cross-tasting of some sherry casked examples in the near future….so much Foursquare, so little time haha
Great review. Love the article, your tasting notes are super interesting. Keep em coming !
Thanks buddy, finally finding my groove 😊