The Top Rums From Barbados

The fourth release in the Exceptional Cask Selection. Foursquare provides a rum aged for five years in ex-bourbon barrels and then an additional six years in ex-zinfandel wine casks. The rums were blended and bottled in September of 2015.

This rum was created by Mount Gay Rum's Master Blender Allen Smith to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Barbados independence. Each bottle comes with its own wooden keepsake box and booklet detailing the history of Barbados rum. They are only 3000 bottles allocated worldwide with bottles available in Australia, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, and United States.

Hailing from the island of Barbados comes the Real McCoy 5-Year distilled by fifth-generation distiller Richard Seale at Foursquare Rum Distillery among the cane fields of Saint Phillip.

Barbados-based Foursquare Distillery is held in exceptional regard in the rum world. Master Distiller Richard Seale is an outspoken advocate for “authentic rum,” free of post-distillation additives like sugar. Foursquare sells rum under several different house labels, including Doorly’s. The Doorly’s labels are instantly recognizable by their iconic Macaw birds, a different breed for each expression. In addition to their own brands, Foursquare sells bulk rum to blenders and other producers, so you likely have had Foursquare rum at some point. The distillery uses a mixture of pot and column stills to create a classic Bajan-style rum. The Doorly’s 12 resides at the top of their range and is aged in used-bourbon white oak casks, then finished in port and madeira casks, spending a minimum of twelve years in wood. Previously available only at the distillery, this rum recently received US label approval.

A blend of column and pot-still rums from Barbados aged for nine years in used bourbon and sherry casks. It is then finished for an additional three years in former Cognac casks.

Foursquare Distillery, located in St. Philip, Barbados, is one of the stalwarts of Caribbean rum production. This release, conceived by 4th generation distiller Richard Seale, is a throwback to a time in early rum production when rum was transported in used sherry and port barrels. In this instance, the rum, produced in a combination of column and pot stills, was aged 3 years in ex-bourbon barrels and an additional 6 years in ex-port barrels.

While most Bajan rums are a masterful blend of pot and column-stilled rum, Mount Gilboa is unique in that it’s 100 percent pot-still, made by the same distiller and facility that produces rums for Mount Gay. Unlike the vodka world, triple-distilling really means something with this expression. It makes three separate passes through the distillery's double-retort pot still. The production runs on this rum were relatively small and distribution was limited, so don’t pass up the opportunity purchase one if you find it for sale.

The Extra Old was released to mark Alexandre Gabriel’s 20th anniversary at the helm of Cognac Ferrand. The Extra Old showcases Plantation’s oldest Bajan rum reserves, aged for 12-20 years in bourbon casks. The selected rums are blended at Château de Bonbonnet in France and finished in small French oak casks for 12-18 months.

This limited edition rum is created at the Mount Gay Distillery in Barbados by Master Blender Allen Smith. It is created using a blend of copper pot and copper column rums ranging from 10-30 years of age. Released annually beginning in 2009, this rum batch has recently undergone an updated packaging and and was formerly known as 1703 Old Cask Selection. This release will have 12,000 bottles available worldwide.

Foursquare Rum Distillery is located in St. Phillip, Barbados. Owned and operated by fourth generation distiller, Richard Seale, this distillery produces some of the most distinguished brands in Barbados. Released in September 2015, this rum is part of a new line of vintage releases by the distillery. It was created by distilling molasses using a combination of pot and column stills. These rums were combined and aged for eleven years using ex-bourbon casks.