Note: I pulled this review from my archive. It was written nearly two years ago but never published. After getting on a routine of posting new reviews each week I suffered fatigue and wasn’t enjoying the process. Analyzing rum for the sake of a schedule became a chore and my passion for sitting down and drinking quality rum for the simple enjoyment of it diminished. Moving forward, reviews will be more sporadic.
Foursquare Detente (Port Cask) Exceptional Cask Selection Mark XIV – 51%
Stats: The 14th ECS release from Foursquare in Barbados marks the triumphant return of the Port cask. This is a blend of pot and column distillate and a blend of ex-bourbon and ex-port casks each aged a minimum of 10 years at origin and bottled in Barbados at 51% ABV with no additives. This batch yielded 21,000 bottles, 12,000 of which landed in the US in 2020.
Background: The original Port cask (ECS II) was my introduction to Foursquare and unadulterated, high quality rum. At the time it retailed for $40 and opened up my perception of what a delicious sipping rum without additives could/should be. Prior to that, I was primarily making tiki cocktails and the “premium” rum sector in my area consisted mainly of sweetened expressions from South and Central America. The disappearance of “Port” from store shelves set me on a path to start amassing a collection of every Foursquare release thereafter, right up until (and including) this release when I realized I had more Foursquare than I could ever consume, and the rum market had opened up so broadly by then that I felt Foursquare satiation. That’s not to say I haven’t purchased Foursquare since, just painting a picture of what Foursquare Port meant to me.
Conditions: Sampled neat in a Glencairn over several sessions.
Nose: Toasted coconut, cinnamon, pepper, cherry, cedar, humidor
Mouth: Mild heat, medium body, salted caramel with lingering brininess, cherry cordial candies, raisins, prune juice, cracked pepper and baking spices, chlorine
Final Thoughts: This is a very well balanced, tasty rum. I don’t find the port influence as prevalent as the original release, but it brings everything together cohesively. The added age and proof were welcome and while it retailed for twice what the original Port did, still a great value rum.
My Rating: 4/5
My Scale:
1 – I don’t want this in my mouth ever again
2 – Underwhelming
3 – Decent tipple
4 – Very enjoyable
5 – I always want a bottle of this on my shelf
Austin Rum Society 