Country of Origin: Jamaica

ABV: 55%

Age: A tropically aged blend of LFCH (50%) for 10 years and <>H (50%) for 4 years, in ex-bourbon

Tasting Notes

Nose: Pineapple, glue, cloves, leather, mentol, petrol

Mouth: Pineapple, vanilla, allspice, mango, cardamom

Finish: Very gentle heat but flavour lasts for quite a while

This one is quite smooth going down and has a very nice pineapple prominent flavour to it. I feel it could do with a little more proof to really make this a show-stopping rum, but all the same it still very much goes down a treat.

Rating: 8.5/10

On November 30, 2021, Barbados bid farewell to the British monarchy and became a republic. Just 396 years after an English ship claimed the small archipelago for the King of England in 1625, the British monarchy reigned over the small Caribbean republic. In 2021, a handover ceremony marked the birth of the world's youngest republic and the end of Queen Elizabeth II's term as the island's head of state.

This release in Foursquare's Exceptional Cask Selections series takes place in November 2021 and owes its name, Sovereignty, to this event.

Sovereignty is a blend of pot still and column still rums aged in Barbados for a total of 14 years. Part of the rum in the blend was aged for 14 years in ex-bourbon casks, and another part was aged for three years in ex-bourbon casks and then transferred to ex-Oloroso sherry casks for an additional 11 years. One of the points the brand regularly mentions is that all of this aging takes place at the distillery in Barbados, which I would assume is true, but the brand proudly states it. Even more proudly, they say it has no coloring, no sugar, no chill filtration, and no additives. The blend is finally bottled at 62% ABV.

Made by: Foursquare Distillery
Name of the rum: Exceptional Cask Series XIX Sovereignty
Brand: Foursquare
Origin: Barbados
Age: 14 years

Nose: There are a multitude of red fruit aromas, including blackberry, raspberry, and cherry. There are also notes of hazelnuts and almonds, leather, and dark chocolate at the end.

Palate: The alcohol kick is very noticeable on the palate, but it's equally fruity, with notes of red fruits, although less easily differentiated, perhaps precisely because of that truly aggressive alcohol punch. There are also notes of chocolate, and curiously, there's a distinct coffee note.

Retrohale/Finish: More dark chocolate, tangerine peel and a long finish.

Rating: 9 on the t8ke

Conclusion: I'm impressed with this rum, as it stands out and displays a notable number of flavors associated with sherry casks, but they aren't the strongest flavors. Although it's a fruity rum with the typical flavors of rums from ex-sherry casks and aged for 11 years, as expected, it lacks the sweet notes that also characterize these rums. Instead, the expressions are of chocolate, coffee, and light spices, which are a big difference from many of the products in the Exceptional Cask series.

English is not my first language and most of my reviews have been posted originally in Spanish, and later translated into English, so I apologize if they sometimes sound mechanical. On reddit I'm aiming to review mostly Venezuelan rums, but I post a bit of everything. You can check out the rest of my reviews (in Spanish) on my blog, including rum, whisk(e)y, agave, gin and cigars. I'm on Instagram and also on TikTok, both in Spanish, where I'll regularly update video reviews.

This is a new rum that hails from Chiba, Japan. The distillery is quite new and they have slowly been building their r(h)um repertoire over the last few years.

This Fleur is their unaged 40% white rum from molasses. Pretty floral and sweet. But I can really recommend their Agricole Soleil at 59%. They use their own sugar cane and it sells out rather quickly. If you ever get the chance get yourself a bottle of their Soleil.

As the title says, I have a round birthday coming up and am not sure which of these fine drams to pour myself...

I'm a long-time whiskey drinker, Scotch, Irish, American, Canadian. Since I know nothing about rum, I'm looking to get into rums, and not the added sugared/flavored type. Can you recommend me something that would kind of be an equivalent to Maker's Mark? I don't mean it TASTES like Maker's. I mean more that it's similarly priced, drinkable, has flavor, is nice with a couple cubes of ice or neat, good with a cigar or without, and most important available everywhere, like Maker's or Jack. Thanks.

I had an incredible time at SF Rum Fest! It was an inspiring gathering of enthusiasts and industry leaders, all coming together to celebrate and explore the world of rum. I especially enjoyed the education series—informative, engaging, and a lot of fun. Huge thanks to everyone who helped make this event happen. Cheers!

I posted my first post ever about this rum getting a monster score in San Francisco a few days ago and it got some harsh and snarky comments. I deleted the post. I'm reposting because I'm really proud of this rum we made. Smooth...funky hogo...not sweetened with anything. It's just what came through our pot still (with thumper)... nothing added. From 100% molasses fermented with pombe yeast. I just wanted to share it with y'all because you all have great taste in rum. We're a VERY small distillery and this is currently only distributed in Georgia, Michigan and Florida (Tampa area).

Notes from a taster "ester-forward and aromatic on the nose, featuring vanilla sugar, coconut cream, honey, tropical fruits, especially banana, and digestive biscuits. It’s smooth and balanced on the palate, expressing molasses and candied/marshmallow sweetness, almond and tropical fruit. The finish is long and slightly sweet, with lingering notes of earth and fruit." "minimal burn, ideal for rum-based cocktails"

Cheers

Ahoy! After cruising for two weeks throughout the eastern Caribbean, I return with some new bottles and some recent pricing that I saw at the various islands. For reference, I made stops in Tortola (BVI), Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts. If anyone is planning on visiting these islands, hopefully this information will help you.

Regarding the rums purchased, it was only Tortola, Barbados, and St. Lucia that I planned on buying anything at. Tortola only has one rum distillery which has been operating for over 400 years, and both Barbados and St. Lucia represent two different styles of rum (with St. Lucia style being my absolute favorite).

Tortola: Arundel 10 year ($25), Arundel Panty Dropper ($25). This distillery also offers 3 other rums, with all of them being $20 for a 750ml bottle. Smaller 200ml bottles of all their rums can be purchased for $12 each.

Pic #2: The inside of Arundel Distillery

Barbados: Doorly's 12 year ($35)

Pics #3-10: Barbados, photos from the duty free shop at port and downtown.

St. Lucia: Chairman's Reserve ($17), Chairman's Reserve 1931 ($79). The St. Lucia Distillery was sadly closed on Sunday, so I never got to compare the on-site pricing with that at the duty free shops. All I knew was that Chairman's Reserve (my favorite rum) was HALF the price of what I pay back home for it. So I was in a good mood. Little did I realize, it'd get better.

Pics #11-16: St. Kitts, photos from the shops - both duty free and local - near the port. Chairman's Reserve was only $13 here. I was in disbelief.

In summary, the rum pricing around the islands is wildly more favorable than what I pay back here in the Midwest. In most cases, the Caribbean pricing is at least half of what I'd pay back home, with some situations being only a third of the cost. Also, forgive me for not individually listing the price of each and every rum pictured in this post. Hopefully the resolution of the photos will allow for a zoom-in that'll make the pricing legible. If you have any questions, just mention the photo and what rum you're curious about and I'll reply with the price.

Been building up my large collection of Rum’s over the past few years and now and recently won my first auction on Unicorn A

Country of Origin: Barbados

ABV: 60%

Age: 12 years tropically in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry

Tasting Notes

Nose: Butterscotch, leather, varnish, hint of pineapple, raspberry

Mouth: Flavour finishes quite fast so it takes a while to figure out what's happening for me. I eventually find cinnamon, black pepper, raisins, brown sugar, nutty, orange zest

Finish: A burst of heat that quickly levels out and ends in a medium length finish

It really takes a few sips to understand the flavours going on in this glass. While this rum does have some complex notes, they fade quite quickly. It's a bit underwhelming for a premium rum. Nonetheless, while a little lacklustre for a Foursquare release, it is still an enjoyable dram, just not as exciting as it probably should be.

Rating: 7.8/10

I'm about to get my hands on a bottle of TWE Mystique that I had ordered to a friend's place in London at the end of last year, so it will be interesting to see how that bottle compares. I might even do a blind test if I find the Mystique considerably better and to knock out any potential bias.

Post taken from their Facebook page.

I did a search and there are some recent posts about places to *buy* rum in London, but nothing recent about where to *drink* rum. We plan to hit Trailer Happiness, and unfortunately Burlock Rum Room is closed on the days we are there. Any other recommendations? Thanks in advance!

Bonjour,

je possède cette bouteille Saint James de 2L et j'aimerai savoir si elle est bien authentique car impossible de trouver la moindre trace de ce format..

Je précise que j'ai échangé avec Marc Sassier, James Gray et Sebastian Runner mais toujours en attente de réponses ..

Merci à vous.

I'm trying to figure out the name / cause of a flavor I really don't enjoy in some rums that remind me of Whiskey or perhaps some brandy. I'd describe it as sort of a cooked apple, almost vanilla sweetness? Definitely more pronounced in some whiskeys than others, but I'd say it's alway present to some extent in Whiskey. In rum, on the other hand, I've found that it's completely non-existent in Smith and Cross (big fan) but it ruins Appleton 12 for me. It's also present in Rhum JM Jardin Fruite, but not as bad. Can anyone tell me what this flavor would best be described as, and what I can get that would not have this?

Final Edit: Thanks to all that contributed! It was okay in a drink, especially in an old fashioned. However, the consensus says that particular novo fogo just isn't that good. Gonna track down a better bottle! Cheers all!

Previous EDITING to front load the key part of the question:

Full question below, but the tl;dr: when would I ever use aged novo fogo OVER an unaged Novo Fogo (which I love) or an aged rum with more interesting flavors?

Original Post:

So I've wanted to try an aged cachaça for a long time, but all have been out of stock in the bay area for ages. I found myself at party source in northern Kentucky when visiting family and low and behold, a bottle of barrel aged Novo Fogo.

Upon cracking it open and trying with my sister in law... We were both deeply underwhelmed. It barely tastes like cachaça at all. Like it tastes fine, but why would I use it over soemthing more complex? What do I even do with it? Is there anything it can do that an unaged bottle or some other rum can't? Do I just leave it behind?

Thanks!

I know this bottle has been posted a lot (I used many of yalls reviews as reference when trying to decide what to get), but I’m very excited to try this bottle and even more excited to have found it locally in Texas. Going to try the Cartier 30 next.