Foursquare Isonomy

I’ve had this bottle for a while now and it’s one that I come back to fairly regularly. After trying Epilogue (the last Foursquare ECS release) and noting some similarities I thought it was a good time to come back to this on the blog.

Foursquare is a very well known and highly awarded rum distillery in Barbados under the careful eye of Richard Seale. This is the 20th release in the ECS range (that consisted of 31 releases in total). As with all of the named bottles we get a short definition alongside the name with Isonomy meaning ‘equality under the law’.

Facts & Figures.

ABV: 58%

Country: Barbados

Age: 17 years

Cask: ex-bourbon

Still: Pot & Column

Price: £195

Distillery: Foursquare Rum Distillery

On the nose.

This is 20cm away from my nose and I’m already getting lots of bold notes of ethanol/acetone and hot rubber. Those heavier, spiky notes make way for the typical vanilla and oaky spices you’d expect for a tropical age statement like this; alongside grilled pineapple, fresh peaches, coconut husk and raisins. Some cinnamon and nutmeg round this off nicely.

On the palate.

This is a very dry and warm profile with a tart and ever so slightly chewy red fruit, woody tannins and heaps of lightly toasted nuts. This is relatively spicy with nutmeg and cloves and an interesting bitterness whilst still allowing pleasant sweet notes space to come forwards – those typical pineapple and banana Barbados notes lurk underneath the heavier spiced wood profile. The finish is long with toffee, raisins, wood spice and a reasonable amount of peppery heat. Adding a drop or two of water really allowed the fruit and nut notes to come right to the front of this and easily bring this into 9/10 territory.

8/10 – I really enjoyed revisiting this bottle!