Exceptional Cask Selection XXVII Equidem

Definitely one of the best Foursquare rums I have tasted. Was gifted a bottle from “The Man” himself, Richard Seale, while visiting the distillery on my 70th birthday, a couple of days ago, making this memorable.

very very nice taste good!!!!

Wow, wow. Insanely complex, powerful Foursquare. The finish in the Black Muscat barrel fits like a glove on the Foursquare eye. This combination is really amazing. I'm not really a sweet person, but the sweetness of a summer jam is just perfect here. This creamy complexity is second to none. For me, this is the best Foursquare I've had in a glass so far, a touch ahead of the Absolutio. Alcohol perfectly integrated. Stands out from the standard Foursquare mash. Doesn't have to hide behind the Velier bottlings.

Wow, finally another ECS Foursquare that stands out from the others, which are usually very high quality. The alcohol is more than super integrated. I'm thrilled. Of course, I'll still have to try how it fares against the Absolutio. That's why one or two points may change in the rating.

Compared to the Rare Cane 2005 Barbados this evening. It is a classic Foursquare and it slightly won. Palate is caramel, cherry and perhaps dark chocolate. Finish is dry, slight oak, honey and MUCH longer warming if you live in a cold environment. Rare Cane won the finish despite my enjoyment of a long warm finish typically. Aloha

I've been looking forward to this release for a long time. One of the darkest Foursquare in the glass that I have tasted so far. On the nose, I find leather or old leather armchairs, dark chocolate and dried fruit, plus some spices such as clove. Incredibly intense on the palate. Sweetness at first, then a jammy fruitiness, followed by dark chocolate and some leather. However, the alcohol is already pushing quite a bit out of the freshly opened bottle. Like almost all Foursquare ECS releases, the Equidem also benefits greatly from a little (1-2 tsp water to 2 cl) water, which opens it up and takes away the sharpness. Then it's just a heavenly marmalade, the fruitiness comes to the fore and the darker aromas recede somewhat. The finish is medium-long with a heavy sweetness and jam. A really nice release and for me in direct comparison on the same high level as the Absolutio, whereby the Absolutio for me has more of a port fruitiness with more dried fruit and the Equidem more of a velvety, jammy fruitiness in line with its maturation.

Old Bourbon Foursquare meets dark red wine. Tasted together with Velier Absolutio and there are many similarities. Coconut, spices, caramel a la Foursquare, but then lots of dark fruits and cocoa. Very good!

Fantastic and complex rum. Needs time to open up and improved by adding a bit of water to take some bite away. The nose is rich, with jam, palm and dark fruits and dark chocolate. On the palate, there is leather dried fruits, chocolate and caramel. The finish continues the berries, and chocolate with some spice.

A complex but surprisingly balanced rum. On the nose, I had strong wafts of caramel and dark cherry. On the palate dried fruits was the dominate flavour. A slightly bitter, but satisfying finish, and short lived.

First spin out the day I received the bottle. Immediately impressed. Unique complexity and great depth, with bitter notes and soft perfectly integrated classic Foursquare notes. Really love it already and think it will become a classic. The nose is classic foursquare, just a great cacophony of vanilla, barrel and caramel. The mouth is incredible complex, stewed fruit, bitter toffee, cherry, demurs sugar, wow it just keeps coming. The finish is long, warming and perfectly integrated. Really very impressive and a true notch above all recent ECS releases I have tried

Fantastic! Tastes just as old as my Covenent but much less bitter and astringent. So juicy and sweet, though well-balanced by wood, leather, and so much Dutch process cocoa.

What a color! The Equidem is very dark in the glass and literally screams chocolate, dried fruit, leather, plums and blackberries. And that's exactly what it delivers. Oily and pleasantly warm on the palate, with more cocoa, chocolate and wood on the long finish. This Foursquare was already very hyped before its release in Germany. And rightly so!

This bottling has the hype quite rightly with the quite extraordinary Black Muscat Cask Finish! It has strong parallels to the Velier Foursquare Absolutio (comparison to come) but seems almost better balanced and has an incredibly beautiful mouthfeel. Very creamy, heavy and simply a great viscosity. Aromatically, port and red wine notes meet dark chocolate, caramel, some typical coconut and banana, but also rather atypical notes of cassis, blackberry and plums, which are complemented very pleasantly in the finish by a slightly spicy ginger kick (ginger sticks dipped in dark chocolate). Really great bottling and highly recommended!🇧🇧👏🏼 Update: in a direct comparison with Absolutio, it comes out on top. Significantly sweeter, more caramelly and the alcohol is not quite as well integrated in direct comparison. But that's complaining at a high level!

The black muscat cask gives a very unique profile . Alcohol perfectly integrated as usual . At the same level of the Velier releases and better of many of them.

Without direct comparison an extraordinary Foursquare! Very little column style!