Tasting note

Nose

On smelling our glass, the 'woody' character immediately stands out. Not surprisingly, as new so-called virgin oak casks have been used alongside the ex-bourbon cask. Besides the wood, many more lovely scents emerge from our glass. Think dark chocolate (the bitter ones, not the sweet ones) intense cocoa, dark fruits in the form of plums and red berries. Hints of coconut, vanilla and banana, but you really have to make an effort for those. Some charcoal from barrel roasting is also detected. Definitely not an everyday rum, less sweet than average, but a delightful journey of discovery.

Taste

Foursquare is known for its elegant character and refined flavour and that is certainly reflected in this limited edition. Again, the wood is evident and gives character to the flavour. Dried fruit with sweet notes of molasses. Think a bit like a tarte tatin with pear and salted caramel. Certainly not too sweet, but we can clearly tell we are dealing with rum here. 

Finish

The finish starts slightly sweet and gets progressively drier on the palate. What remains are mocha beans and ristretto.

More information

This Limited Edition Rum comes from Foursquare Distillery. Bottled under the Real McCoy label in 2017. Two batches were used and aged independently; the first batch was aged in bourbon casks and the second batch in virgin American oak casks. At last count, 3,000 bottles were released, making this a very limited edition.

Legendary Rum Runner Bill McCoy

Bill McCoy was a legendary rum runner during the US Prohibition. His brilliant idea was to load up a boat full of alcohol in the Caribbean and sail to New York. Once there, he anchored 3 miles offshore, just on the edge of international waters where the US Coast Guard could not legally touch him. This floating liquor boat kept New Yorkers very happy during the grey times of the prohibition.

The name Real McCoy came about because other rum runners decided to imitate Jim's idea of a floating liquor shop. However, these guys were less scrupulous and diluted their alcohol with cheaper liquor to make more profit. Bil, however, did not like this kind of nonsense and kept his rum 100% pure, leading to the nickname "The Real McCoy".