This whole post could technically be over very quickly as any one that follows my Twitter or Facebook accounts will know that whenever the question “can someone recommend a rum for me to try?” gets asked, R.L Seale’s 10 ALWAYS forms part of my answer…..so really, you all know my thoughts on this bottle, and to a lesser extent, my thoughts on anything that comes out of Richard Seale’s wonderful Foursquare Distillery. But “R.L Seale’s 10 is great” doesn’t make a very good read, so I’ll attempt to provide my thoughts on just why I’m a fan…..
My Foursquare Distillery collection dominates my Barbados Rum shelf as on there you’ll find R.L Seale’s 10, Doorly’s 3, Doorly’s 5, Doorly’s XO, Rum Sixty Six, Foursquare Spiced, Bristol Classic Fine Barbados Rum Foursquare 2003, a small plastic taster bottle of E.S.A Field, Taylor’s Velvet Falernum and a bottle of the quite magnificent St Nicholas Abbey 10.
It is however, impossible to talk about the rum or the distillery without briefly mentioning the man……
I first saw the name Richard Seale in print within Dave Brooms 2003 book “RUM”….the paragraph was talking about controlling heat during fermentation and it covered semi-continuous fermentation and more specifically, the closed, cooled fermenter that Richard uses….
Briefly looking online there are numerous sources and ridiculous amounts of articles about Richard Seale and his Foursquare Distillery and terms such as “legend” and “finest rum producer” are used with reckless abandon…..I’ve never been fortunate enough to meet Richard (hopefully that will be rectified at Rumfest, and hopefully he’ll be clutching a bottle of Doorly’s 12), but judging by the articles that I’ve read about the high regard in which he is held, along with the considered arguments, razor-sharp wit and dry sense of humour on display via social media, Richard Seale comes across as a man who possesses great integrity.
Reginald Leon Seale, Richard Seale’s Great Grandfather founded the company in 1926, so as a Fourth Generation owner, this really makes Foursquare Distillery a true family enterprise. Richard looks after both Distilling and Aging for all rums produced at the Foursquare Rum Distillery, with George Prescod acting as Master Blender for approaching 40 years. Numerous awards have been handed out to the rums that are produced there along with awards for the distillery itself. Richard was also inducted into the Rum Hall of Fame at Rumfest in 2013. But now its time to talk about the rum……
R.L Seale’s 10 Year Old Rum – 43% abv
R.L Seale’s 10 Year Old Rum has a striking presentation. The bottle has an angled neck and what appear to be finger grips on one side….it is reminiscent of the leather flasks that sailors would’ve used many moons ago. It’s very tactile and everyone that has seen my bottle wants to pick it up and have a good look at it…….this always leads onto the obligatory taster! With presentation of this standard, the contents surely must equal or even better your expectations? The rum is a blend of molasses based rums whereby the youngest in the blend is 10 years old and it is aged in used bourbon casks. There are absolutely no additives used that will adapt or modify the taste characteristics of the rum. Richard Seale is a vociferous opponent of the process of adding sugars and flavourings to ‘enhance’ the flavour of a rum.
This all works out for the consumer though as you know exactly where your money is being spent when you pick up a product from Foursquare Distillery and to be honest, the fact that you can pick up a bottle of R.L Seale’s 10 for below £33 if you shop around, almost makes you feel like a thief!
Tasting Notes
In the glass: The rum displays itself as a beautiful burnished gold with intense darker flashes reminiscent of honeycomb. You can sense the aromas bubbling over the glass before you’ve even approached it. When you do get close the rum has a buttery and nutty aroma which is carried on a bed of vanilla. Time spent in oak is apparent as this is the blanket that envelops the other aromas and helps carry them. After awhile the more subtle aromas lift up and announce themselves. The sponge layer from a Bakewell tart with its marzipan is brought to mind along with creamy Scottish tablet. There is also a little red apple edge to the rum. This is a really pleasant and approachable rum that hints at the treasures to be found within the glass.
In the mouth: Immediately you know that you’re not dealing with a sugary sweet rum as the initial entry is bone dry. Vanilla and red apple are the first flavours to reveal themselves along with a light hit of spice in the form of cinnamon and a little white pepper. This spice tickles my saliva glands and along with the accompanying red apple, assists in combating that initial dryness. The buttery, nuttiness now hits me and washes over my tongue in waves. It’s magical stuff. The oak is next to turn up to the party and this really kicks it up a notch. Subsequent sips (and there have been many at two bottles in) leave the buttery, nutty, vanilla fudge to build into a wonderfully warming and long finish. There is no harshness and no kick in excess of what you’d expect from a neat spirit and it’s hard to believe that this sits at 43% abv. such is the perfectly balanced nature and well-rounded character of the rum.
You really can appreciate the effort that has gone into making this rum. It appeals to many markets too. It is often mentioned that this rum would be a good introduction for whisky drinkers……well I have proof that this is true. I recommended the rum to my friend Scott who writes his own whisky based site (Whisky Moose, which can be found in my links), he picked up a bottle and he really enjoyed it.
It’s my go to rum. When I look at my shelf and am overwhelmed with choice, I know that I’ll find exactly what I need in this bottle. It also, I find, makes an unbelievable Corn ‘n Oil using Taylors Velvet Falernum. I personally believe that anyone who has a passing interest in rum has to invest in Foursquare Distillery rums. If you don’t own a bottle, and heaven knows why not, you need to rectify this. You really are missing out on an uncommon treat…….flavour by the bucket load…..a true rum in every sense of the word and all for less than £33 if you shop around. It hasn’t always been this way for me though…..I grew into my first bottle, initially preferring sweeter rums and finding none of those flavours in the arid desert dry, nutty and buttery R.L Seale’s 10. I still enjoy the sweeter side of rum, frequently, but my palate has developed to appreciate more and more of those differing styles of rum…..I firmly believe that it was this rum that opened that door to appreciation for me. If asked to compile my list of desert island rums…..this would always be on the list.
As always, feel free to pop in for a taster……
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