Foursquare Exceptional Cask Series - Epilogue / 70cl

EPILOGUE is the thirty-first, and final release (Mark XXXI) in the Award-Winning Exceptional Cask Selection (ECS) series, and there is no finer rum with which to mark this notable occasion.  The ECS series has raised the profile of authentic rum in general and set a standard by which other long-aged rums are judged, and we can look forward with anticipation and curious excitement for the future of this award-winning producer.

Specifically, EPILOGUE is a blend of rums distilled in the copper double retort pot-still and the continuous twin column stilles of Foursquare Rum Distillery, and then aged for a minium of nineteen years in ex-Bourbon cask, American White Oak.  This long-aged bottling is a blend of vintages and redefines expectations and drinking experiences of old rum.

This excellent expression of Single Blended Rum has been distilled and fully matured before blending and bottling.  It is presented at 57% ABV, without chill filtration, at its natural colour, and free from sweeteners and other adjuncts.

Nose
Complex and evolving.  Dried pineapple and raisins, orange peel oil, ripe cherries, and spiced marzipan.  Dark chocolate, toffee, and butterscotch.  A touch of pencil shavings.

Palate
Soft and fruity-sweet over the palate.  Sultanas, honeycomb, more zesty orange, with a touch of lemon.

Finish

More honeycomb and dried pineapple.  Treacle tart. A pleasing oily texture at the end

Overall

The rum is genuinely old, and yet it is so fabulously soft in the mouth. EPILOGUE turns the widely held cliche of 'old rum will taste of nought but but oak', casting aside the expectations of being overly astringent.  This is seriously old rum, yet so delicate, with an evolving complexity: every sip allows the flavours to build on the palate.  Approachable and accessible for those new to exploring cask-strength rums, without excluding longtime Foursquare entusiasts.