Foursquare Rum Distillery Hereditas TWE Exclusive. This rum is exclusive to The Whisky Exchange, London. Rum is increasingly being taken more and more seriously by whisky enthusiasts. At the forefront of this is Sukhinder Singh owner of The Whisky Exchange.

As well as having a much envied collection of rare and collectible whisky, Sukhinder also has a similarly impressive array of rum, at the Whisky Exchange offices. I was one of the lucky rum enthusiasts who were invited to attend a “bring a bottle” event and dinner at the Whisky Exchange’s tasting room, back in October last year. The event was part of London Rumfest. It was a great event and I was humbled to be invited along.

Rum, was also given it’s own stand at last years Whisky Show event. Which is organised by The Whisky Exchange. So this particular bottling has not come as a surprise. I was becoming increasingly aware of The Whisky Exchange’s interest in rum.

Hereditas is a Single Blended Rum, it is a blend of Pot and Column distilled rum that has been aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. It is actually a blend of a blend. A portion of the rum has been aged for 14 years in ex-bourbon casks. The remainder has been aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon casks, before being transferred to ex-sherry casks for a further maturation of 4 years. All the rum in the blend is 14 years old.

Hereditas is one of three “sherry” matured rums Foursquare have released this year. All of which are 14 years old. All are differing blends with some of the rum used being scarcer than others. The output of each release also varies. Making some bottlings “rarer” than others. This is the “mid price” of the three at £79.99 for a 70cl. The other two are Empery. a part of the Exceptional Cask series and retailing at around £63. Patrimonio, a bottling in conjunction with Velier at £200. All the ex-sherry casks used are ex-oloroso sherry.

You can try asking Richard which one is his favourite but he is usually quite tight lipped about which of his own expressions, he prefers the most.

Hereditas as mentioned is only available from The Whisky Exchange. It has been bottled at Cask Strength of 56% ABV. There were 2520 bottles available on release. The Whisky Exchange have released this rum as part of their 20th Anniversary celebrations. I know, because I got a very big sticker all about it on my bottle. I’ve noticed others don’t seem to have the sticker. So I was “lucky”. A few weeks after release you can still pick it up, though I have been told its sold very,very well!

I’m not sure if I have anything else to say about this rum? No….can’t think of anything else so we might as well get on with the tasting.

Oh, no hang on….

Now I’ve never really drank much sherry in my life. However, as part of my “research” into various rum reviews. Dos Maderas I’m looking at you, I did obtain a few small sherry samples to see just how influential some “sherry finishes” are. I was quite surprised to find how close to some “Premium Rums”, some of the aged sherries were in terms of sweetness. Wet barrels anyone? And the rest.

Now I really enjoyed last years Premise release from Foursquare, which was also matured for some time in ex-sherry casks. I know some others were less enthusiastic about Premise – the ABV was a sticking point for some. I however took it for what it was and thought it was outstanding. For the record I still do.

So I’m expecting pretty good things with this rum, so lets see how much I enjoy it.

In the glass we have a very dark brown liquid, with a reddish/orange hue around the edges. It looks “old”, at 14 years old this is amongst one of the oldest Foursquare bottlings I have tried. Certainly, the oldest release which is all tropically aged (and released by Foursquare rather than an Independent).

There isn’t a great deal of “booze” on the nose. In fact its quite “light” in that respect. In terms of a Cask Strength spirit. The nose has a slightly charred note to it. Almost a bit like a camp fire. However, rather than chestnuts roasting on an open fire, here we have rich plump raisins and currants, orange peel and lime zest. In short we have Christmas cake.

Further nosing reveals plums and apple crumble. There are light notes of vanilla and a touch of honey. On top of all this is the sherry influence which casts it net wide. Whilst individual notes can be picked out it is all enveloped in the sweet aromas of aged sherry. If you dislike sherry, it is unlikely you will enjoy this rum. It is the most sherry influenced of the three rums released this year.

It’s a rich, fruity nose with a nice spicy undertone and a hefty amount of oak to give the nose a bit of a kick. It’s a lot “meatier” than last year’s Premise. The extra ageing is very apparent.

Sipped, we are back in slightly more traditional Foursquare territory. The sip is not as sweet as the nose. There is more vanilla, coconut and oak spices, especially on the entry. The mid palate, however develops quickly into a very rich currant and raisin heavy mouth. A nice hit of ginger as well. There is a slight bitterness and oak char which adds a further layer of flavour to the rum.

Hereditas is quite a tricky rum to describe. It’s sweet but at the same time, it has some more bitter and more savoury notes. It’s quite light in some ways but at the same time it has a certain heaviness – particularly on the finish. This is a rich and very complex rum.

There is a lot going on with this rum. As the mid palate develops you get more stewed plums and some licorice. Dark chocolate and a touch of smoke. The finish is very long and really enjoyable.

With so many released from Foursquare and the consistent high quality it is becoming increasingly difficult to score the rums without constantly giving out 5 star ratings. However, with only a ten point scoring system (I use half stars clever dick) it leaves me with little leeway really. Such is the quality.

This is a rum which is probably a very good one to start to try drinking at Cask Strength, if you haven’t tried Cask Strength rum before. I haven’t had to add any water to the rum whilst reviewing this. I can’t imagine a drop or two would do it any harm though. There are no prizes for drinking rum at Cask Strength either. Drink as you enjoy.

I am very enthusiastic about this rum but if you want the perspective of those who maybe aren’t so enthused by sherry finished rums you might wish to take a look at the reviews of Steve James and Roger Caroni. They both like this a lot as well but maybe not as much as me!

So the question is did Sukhinder and Co at The Whisky Exchange get a good Private Cask Selection?

Put it this way I’ll be getting a few more bottles come pay day!

Sweet but not sweetened rum.

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