Tiki Tastings: Foursquare Rum Distillery Port Cask Finish

We’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from our Tiki Tastings rum/spirits review posts for the past few months. It isn’t because we haven’t been buying new rum, either! Not to worry, however, because the reviews are back and we promise to post them on a more regular basis from now on. The bottle that inspired us to start back up was the Foursquare Rum Distillery Port Cask Finish, which we actually spotted at Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s is known to have good prices on the spirits that they stock, but they don’t have a huge variety available and that is especially true when it comes to rum. Their rum options are pretty basic (and we won’t get into their Rum of the Gods…), but get the job done for party purposes. We were surprised to see this unique offering pop up and grabbed a bottle immediately.

The Foursquare Rum Distillery Port Cask Finish is a rum produced in Barbados, which is aged in used Bourbon casks for 3 years, then transferred to pork casks for another 6 years of aging. The rum has lots of vanilla, brown sugar toffee on the nose, along with some dried fruit sweetness and a hint of Christmas spice that immediately evoked a holiday fruitcake. On tasting, it’s apparent that this rum is very well balanced, with a lot of natural sweetness to it. The rum tastes like golden raisins, dried apples and prines, with a rich caramel sweetness to it and a balanced oak note. You’ll pick up some molasses and vanilla, as well. We were worried that the port might overwhelm the rum, but instead if only adds some mellow wine notes that are more prominent in the finish – which is medium-long and accented with oak and tropical fruits – than anywhere else in the rum.

This is a good sipping rum, but it’s an outstanding mixing rum because its unique flavor profile can bring so much depth into a cocktail. We paid less than $35 for this bottle, which put it at a nice price point, as well.

Rum Rating: 4/5

Rum Rating Scale:
0/5 – Is this even rum?
1/5 – Bad. Not worth buying and not worth drinking
2/5 – Not very good, but could be covered up with mixers.
3/5 – Good, versatile rum.
4/5 – Great rum, with complex flavors that is outstanding on its own or in cocktails.
5/5 – Amazing rum. Don’t even think about covering it up with mixers.