Foursquare 9 Single Cask Cask Strength (Rolling Fork)

Rating: 12/23 N: Big oiliness. A hint of burnt sugar. As it warms up in my hand, faint brown sugar and tropical fruits come out. A hint of ethanol. P: Oily and sweet and hot. It tastes a bit on the young side, but not super young. Hot, but not harsh. There's some sweet water flavor, but I do get some typical rum flavors. Maybe that's largely the cane sugar coming through though. I get a little bit of wood and spice, but it's not a lot. On the late palate, there's a wave of vanilla, which is nice. It's watery, but enjoyable in a lightly decadent way. This isn't the most complex palate, but it's pretty sippable, aside from the high proof. F: Oiliness for sure. Lingering caramel hints - slightly on the burnt side. There are bits os spices lingering here as well. Maybe faint hints of tropical fruit and just a tiny waft of vanilla. - Conclusion - This isn't crushing Obtainium 13 Light Whiskey (13/23), but it's certainly winning. Diamond Port Mourant 13 (Hamilton) (13/23) Is more rich and complex than this, but isn't as sweet and fun. It's less hot though. So this doesn't seem as good and now I have a non-transitory preferences problem. Oh, I'm getting more of that rich, bold oiliness from the Obtainium now. This is much lower proof, but has similar heat. I'm now thinking that this isn't as good. It's quite close though, I'm thinking a 12 or 13. I think that this might just be a bit too harsh for a 13. Seems like a 12. Coming back to this, I'm appreciating the vanilla more. Russell's Reserve 10 (16/23) is slaying this. It's so much more complex and refined, with delicate floral vanilla and cherry. I'm definitely thinking that the 12 to 13 range is appropriate here. I'm unfortunately leaning slightly toward a 12. There's plenty to like here, but this is really disappointing for a 9 year old Foursquare. It just doesn't have the expected maturity and it's rough. It's not decadent or complex enough. Looking back at the description of this rum, it's ostensibly finished in rye barrels.Maybe that explains some of the heat, spice, and clean water, but the rye finish isn't really adding here, unfortunately. Digging in, I do taste some rye character, but it's not great. It tastes young and I don't think that it's a good match for this rum. This is just an underwhelming Foursquare.