Exceptional Cask Selection XXVII Equidem

I was very excited about this rum after all the positive reviews. The dark color is already very impressive. On the nose I get plum jam, chocolate or rather dusty cocoa powder, in the background also slightly sour (papaya, bitter orange...), blackcurrants. On the palate, the high ABV pushes quite hard, but not yet to the point of being biting. Notes of leather, cherry wood, barrel (tannins), dark chocolate. The experiment with the Black Muscat cask was a real success! For me, it's on a par with the Pleni, Raconteur and Absolutio (all of which I had at 88 points)

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!

The nose is very inviting and relatively sweet. Chocolate, dried fruit, caramel, vanilla, coconut and various spices. I like it very much. Very oily/creamy on the palate, lots of spices that I can't quite put my finger on, perhaps even cardamom and nutmeg. Plus chocolate and woody notes. All in all, a very good and palatable Foursquare, but without reinventing the wheel. Edit: Initial rating confirmed. Very tasty Foursquare, but still just behind the Absolutio and the Plenip. But significantly better PLV 👍

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.

It is very dark ... Nose dark dried fruits, blackberries, pepper, chocolate, some clove and baking spice. Pleasant sweetness on the palate... Alcohol slightly biting and sharp-edged on the tongue (should have given it more time) Dried fruits also here clearly with chocolate some coconut ... something peppery hot comes again and again with but does not interfere at all but makes it then but something special . I don't see a 90+ here, it's just not different enough for that, at least for me.

This is not a high value rum in the sense that it is an obvious buy or an absolute must-have, but if you have the money to buy it, you are 100% getting value for money. In terms of the rum, this rum is fantastic. Equidem is a great example of taking the Foursquare DNA that we all know and love and honing in on all the rich, dark and savory notes. After adding a few drops of water it really opens up, doesn't quite evolve into a completely different rum, but it feels much more cohesive overall. 🤩🤩

8,7:On the nose, spiciness with medicinal notes, is the first impression we get, toasted coconut, roasted wood with nuts, leather, caramel and cocoa and dried fruits like apricots, raisins. On aeration, black tea might be present, some other vegetal tones, then a lot of fruits as plum, black currant, dark berries and citrus fruits from wine finish and dark chocolate, a whiff of smoke. 9:On the palate, the attack is delicious with variety of black muscat finish fruits like dark berries with black berry, perhaps, prunes, raisins, dried apricots, fresh plum and main Bajan mark, toasted coconut.The wood is roasted with leather, caramel, dark chocolate, creamy, slightly resinous and tannic, spicy with cinnamon...so bourbon&black muscat notes.Citrus&banana pastry joins, when the rum is well oxidized. 8,9:The finish is great, long and tannic, dry, syrupy like dark fruits marmelade, with sweet roasted wood notes and baking spices... Edit:8.8.2025, 5.10.25

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!

Old Bourbon Foursquare meets dark red wine. Tasted together with Velier Absolutio and there are many similarities. Versatile fruity (e.g. typical orange, banana, coconut), spices, caramel a la Foursquare, but then lots of dark fruits and cocoa. Very good, one of the best ECS.

Tasted this unique rum during Sweden Rumfest 2025. It’s a blend of rum distilled in a copper double retort pot still and a twin column still. This bottling from Foursquare is also a blend of two rums where one of them partly was aged in Black Muscat casks which is the first time for Foursquare. The nose is intense, complex, juicy, fruity, sweet and spicy with aromas of raisin, nectarine, plum, lemon, clementine and with a hint of marzipan, ginger and turmeric. At the palate it’s complex, full bodied, creamy, smooth, fruity and sweet with flavors of caramel, jam, peaches and plums. The finish is rather long, bitter and spicy with flavors of black tea and ginger.

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.

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.

#5644 08.09.2025 Enjoying some samples after an extended workday helping a colleague. Nose Fresh, round, wood, vanilla, light leather spice, cherry, light caramel, light earthy. Palate Oily, wood, light tannins, roasted, spice, light cherry, light citrus, banana, light chocolate, light smoke, faint cinnamon. Finish Long, wood, light tannins, faint smoke, light coconut, light chocolate, light berries, spice. Empty glass Vanilla, chocolate, banana, light coconut, light berries. The colour of this rum surprised me a lot because it's extremely dark compared to the other releases.

Wow, this ECS really stands out in this iconic collection from Richard Seale's distillery. Among the best I've ever tasted. All the typical and classic FS markers are present on the nose and palate; various declensions of caramel (cream, candy, fudge), honeyed character, brown sugar, sore throat syrup, alcohol that kicks just right (lively nose and warm palate), woody presence (cask, vanilla, dark chocolate, spices). Dried coconut, of course, but also magnificent dried fruits (currants, dates, plums, figs) and dehydrated dark berries (blackcurrant, elderberry), all of which come from the black muscat cask. 💡Tasted again and I affirm that this Equidem is among the very good RQPs of the moment at the release price (~99🍒). On a par with some of Velier's Foursquare selections from his black bottle collaboration.

The nose points towards Foursquare or Belize with a very round, pleasing impression, I would say. Palate: au-yes, very round, alcohol 55-60%, lots of dried fruits, bourbon, I can imagine tasting a port or sweet wine finish Finish: medium long finish with bourbon and roasted notes I like it very much, my guess is Barbados/Foursquare. Resolution: RX22143 Foursquare Equidem!