It’s been a while since I sat down for a rum. I still have some that ‘need’ to be reviewed, but I’m not really in a rush. While I like the stuff, I’ve refocused on whisky since before summer and the shelf of rums has not really changed. No additions, but also no things tasted or finished either. I guess that says enough.

This one then. This came from a sample from RvB, since he was in time to buy it and I was not. It sold out pretty quickly and I was not really paying attention when it was released last year.

The release was done to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Whisky & Rum aan Zee festival in IJmuiden. It’s been some years since I visited it, but it always was good fun. A nice spread between whisky and rum, but also between brands, importers and collectors.

The rum then!

Sniff:
There’s a lot of rum funkiness, a whiff of diesel and yeast and sugarcane. Much more than I expected from a Foursquare. There’s a banana-like sweetness on top of it all.

Sip:
The palate is gentle but does bring a bit of heat after a few seconds. Quite some fruity funkiness with fermenting overripe mangos, bananas. There’s golden syrup, and some oak. The slight diesely note is here, but very timid.

Swallow:
The finish focuses a bit more on the weird notes. An incredibly layered set of flavors remains with fruit, fermenting fruit, sugarcane, yeast.

Gorgeous, this. I’m surprised by the rating of ‘only’ 85 points on RumX, since I really enjoy this one. It’s got quite some funky notes and I like that it hasn’t matured in a fortified wine cask, which seems to be a thing for Foursquare. It just does what I always hope a Foursquare rum does!

88/100