Distilia Foursquare Mizunara & PX Cask Finish (Silver Seal) 1998

Wow - what a grenade. This extremely complex Foursquare perfectly combines an ingenious base product with the two barrel influences! From nose to palate, in addition to the typical Foursquare aromas, there are also light but very pleasant notes of sherry and whisky. You can also taste incense on the palate and finish, which certainly comes from the Mizunara cask - simply amazing! A slightly burnt undertone accompanies you from nose to finish, but this enhances the taste experience. For me a brilliant rum!

I was very excited about this '98 Foursquare - especially because of the Mizunara finish. This can also be felt with the typical ginger spiciness and the intense tannins, accompanied by a nice sherry sweetness and dried fruit aroma, but I can - unfortunately - also taste smoky whisky. After a little more detailed research in the small print, I find out as I suspected: the rum has been stored in ex peated Scotch (Bowmore) casks in the meantime, which unfortunately costs it some points for me, as I would have known this information genre beforehand. It only says Mizunara and PX Finish prominently on the front, this information could have been placed more prominently... All in all, a well-made rum with surprisingly well-integrated alcohol, but the whisky finish and its smoky-salty (ashtray) aroma is unfortunately quite a turn-off for me and not quite what I'm looking for in an old Foursquare. Without the finish, it would probably have scored higher. However, if I were to rate a rum with a successful peaty whisky finish, this would definitely be in my top 5! 😃 But that could have been written at the front of the bottle and not hidden in the small print at the back...

Starkes Ding, wirklich! Seit langem mal wieder ein Foursquare der positiv aus der Reihe tanzt. So ist er mit einer sehr vielschichtigen Komposition an Aromen, die ich gerne mag aber bei einem Foursquare so noch nie gefunden habe, ausgerüstet. Abgesehen von den Foursquare typischen Grundnoten bringt er noch eine interessante Würzigkeit, wunderbare Fass- & Röstaromen sowie einen witzigen "Twisteffekt" an Islay typischen Raucharomen mit sich. Der Rauch ist dabei aber nicht durchgehend präsent, sondern kommt und geht am Gaumen immer wieder mal und ist dabei auch angenehm subtil und nicht erdrückend. Nichts nimmt dem anderen den Raum, geht aber selbst auch nicht unter. So soll ein Finish sein, so macht ein Finish Spaß - Sehr gelungen wie ich finde.

I picked up a package, one of the small flacons contained this liquid gold… Foursquare for me is usually “more of the same thing”, with a couple of exemptions. This is one of those exemptions. In the nose the recognizable FSQ is present but it meets smoke and campfire. Not always, it comes and goes. I’ve never experienced Mizunara on its own in my glass, but I imagine it to be a type of (light?) peated whisky: in the mouth the Bajan profile meets an ashtray made from old sherry wood. I like this finish because for me it adds to the profile without overpowering it. I can imagine that it’s not for everyone, but I’m a fan. The ABV is in the right place for me at this moment. An atypical FSQ and for me more exciting as 95% of the FSQ that’s out there.

Never ever i was so sure about my points , i had the honor to taste it among the samples of distillia , the samples were from the sins and other great stuff , so not even the competition of the sins was at stake , i never had an eye for the sample because it was extra given in the sins samples , at last we opend this sample ex bowmore px cask ..98 … so what ? Boy o boy normaly a great smell and overwelming sweetnes in the nose will result in a flat tasting profile , high abv is also most of the time less smell. This sample is the benchmark of non stop sniffing unbelievable sweet white oak. Then the taste te first 5 sec you knew , yessssss this is the stuff in my dreams , got goosebumps , shaked my head and said this is heaven and hell combined ! Never ever tasted this combination or this rebirth of mizunara and fsq , its the best of both worlds , perfect abv that keeps kicking in 4-5 till at the end , the palet is agressive but so tenderly sweet , the oak but almost no bitterness , the fruit , the nuts, , sweet cherry , … the tiny ether , as gluw , perfect bakanced I tasted it again at warschau and yes what i forgot and what a blind tasted confirmed again , boy this is the best i tasted this year , fenomenal ,it s maybe personally but i never thougth i could find my perfect balanced dream , whisky , rum , fkavours there was always a but … if you have the chance to buy it , do,it thx distilia !