Reviews of 'Other' Spirits: A bit of (forced) fun

Me again, more rum reviews, can't stop won't stop! Wait don't leave.. Ok before getting into the real obscure shit, let's go with some more available if not more in the spotlight stuff.

Foursquare Distillery in Barbados and it's owner Richard Seale are probably in one of the most envious positions in the rum industry. There's been a kind of mystique about the special editions from this distillery which in turn have trickled down to many of their other releases. The bourbon community has somehow made this their champion entry into the rum world, I have a few theories about this later.

Real McCoy rums is a brand that is owned by movie/tv producer Bailey Prior, all rums are produced at Foursquare distillery, they are all zero sugar added like all Foursquare products.

The Real McCoy 12 yrs Single Blended Rum - "Leggo my Eggo" Blend of Pot & Column still rums 40% ABV

Said to contain a higher proportion of Pot still rum aged in ex-Bourbon barrels.

Nose:Rich, brown sugar, vanilla, praline, loads of oak, a little varnish. There's not a lot of fruits, a little banana, maybe guava, beeswax & Turkish delight. In time it gets a bit brighter a touch of citrus.

Palate:Brown sugar, vanilla, custard, grapefruit zest, a good bit of acidity. Baklava, a little metallic/copper tingle. Pretty rich for 40%ABV

Finish:Short, tobacco, a little cardboard, honey and buckwheat pancakes.

84/100

Notes:Simple, solid, the finish is the weakness but unsurprising at 40% but still delivers. There's no surprise twists here a solid rather oak forward rum a good entry for bourbon drinkers. I am reminded of Mount-Gay Black Barrel which I guess boasts a similar make-up.

@cricklewood I’m a little late catching up with all these rum posts. The Clairin sounds wonderful and your Real McCoy review is extremely close to the way I would describe it. I’d probably score it a touch higher than you (maybe 86/100) but I’m an absolute newbie compared to your rum experience and knowledge.

As to Luca, wow. That’s way more than I knew. I did NOT know he was trying to define the category. I thought the racism in some social media posts was the long and short of it. I’m sad to say none of it is surprising. Erasure of BIPOC seems to be “normal” to plenty of people.

Greg from the “How To Drink” YouTube channel received a lot of furious comments on his “What Is Rum?” video because he suggests that enslaved black people probably invented rum, or at least the Caribbean version of it. Now this, in and of itself, shouldn’t be a controversial statement given what we know about sugar production and just general history. But Greg was accused of being an “angry leftist” and was told to “stick to drinks and drop the SJW act.” sigh

@OdysseusUnbound thanks for reading them, I know they may be of limited interest at large.

I'll review the unaged Clairin's I have as well they have such interesting characteristics, I know many of us have been taught through whisky this kind of binary thought that unaged spirit is often "not ready" or akin to clay prior to it being sculpted. Yet after trying plenty of white rums, mezcal's and now these Clairins I am more than thoroughly disabused of this notion.

I tend to be a bit tough when scoring, it's not really about more experience, I am constantly struggling for a better way to rate spirits as I feel like the 100 point scale is lacking in nuance. The McCoy 12 is quite good and honestly on a given day could reach 86pts highs, I just felt it to be a little conventional.

As to the Luca rhetoric, the landscape is dotted with folks like him, I got to read a great article in the Spirit Insider where blowhard Mark Reynier (of Waterford and Bruichladdich fame) basically shits on rum as a category across the board and how he will save it from itself...major sigh.

I am not surprised about the Youtube vitriol, reddit is often similar, some folks just can't handle the slightest deviation from the program before crying politics. I do have to say that I find it sad that this what is rum video has 1.2million hits while Sly Augustin's comprehensive Rum, power, people presentation only has 168, yes production values but still... (no shade to Greg)

I swear I'm not trying to dominate the convo, last one for today.

Alright a proper Foursquare release this time

Foursquare Premise (ECS Mark VIII) 10 yrs old Blend of Pot & Column still rums, ex-bourbon & ex-sherry casks

Nose: A little varnish, loads of brown sugar, carpenter's glue, unripe plantain. Almonds, dried fruit, a little herbs thyme/mint. Very rich & round the sherry casks bring lots of rich marzipan, sugar cookie dough a little tobacco & cloves.

Palate: A little inky, savoury, a touch of sulfur. The palate really follows the nose, rich, praline, crème brûlée a little dried fruit. A touch of diesel fumes.

Finish: Medium-long, rich, sustained on the creamy elements. Plantain, pepper, a little dried leaves, a bit of teriyaki sauce funk.

86/100

Notes: This one took a while to open. Rich, oaky. Structured. Long finish. The sherry provides extra dimension. Dried fruits, loads of nuts a nice acidity.

I'm starting to pick up on a common thread of Foursquare, there's a kind of really rich, slightly phenolic side and they really have a lot of oak, no wonder bourbon fans are driving up the demand for this stuff.

@cricklewood You and your rum chums are really starting to get me interested. I’m taking notes.

Cheers

@cricklewood A friend gave me this little sample of rum to try. Just had a very small taste, and although it was very sweet, I like it. Is this one you are familiar with?

@BlueNote I have a bottle of this one. Is a very good value considering age and ABV. Somewhat dosed with sweetening agent but not as bad as some.

@Astroke I've enjoyed the sample you gave me. Not a bad rum at all...

@cricklewood - I'm replying to an 18 day old post re. Haiti. Very well said and interesting (and correct) that you call out this 'practice' historically, as in the case of what happened with Scotch and, more recently, Irish pot still.

Twas ever thus. I hope the site forgives me for erring towards the political, but it just goes to reinforce my view that many of our wider societal problems are really more to do with class and power than race per se.

Fix the inequality in that and I believe we would see a genuine sea change in perspectives and outcomes.