Review: Foursquare Mark XXVIII “Convocation” Single Blended Rum

Convocation is release #28 in the long-running Exceptional Cask Selection Series from Barbados-based Foursquare, one of the bluest of blue chip rum operations anywhere.

This rum is a blend of two distinct 14-year-old single blended molasses rums from coming from the double-retort pot still and twin column Coffey still at Foursquare. One was aged in bourbon barrels, and one was aged in ex-Madeira casks. The rum features no additives, including sugar or color, and is bottled at a blazing 62% abv.

Foursquare Mark XXVIII “Convocation” Single Blended Rum Review

The involvement of Madeira casks had me nervous with this rum, and the nose indicates more than a little involvement from that divisive wine style. While there’s plenty of rummy vanilla and baking spice and a lacquering of molasses, it’s the oxidized wine that makes the biggest aromatic impact. Those notes of heavily extracted plum and cherries, put through a balsamic wringer, are impossible to miss, and they settle inside the nostrils for the long haul.

The palate continues to see the sweet wine theme moving ahead full force, the palate veering quickly into a blend of maple, vanilla candies, and reduced sherry, together creating a decadent dessert sauce-like quality. Citrusy and rich, the rum is unabashed and in-your-face, pouring on that unmistakable Madeira quality, so rich it gets between your teeth. Elements of coconut nectar, peach melba, completely brown banana, and a thick swirl of molasses dosed with cloves make this one of the sweetest and most decadent rums I’ve ever tasted. A tiny dose goes a long way, and the finish sits with you: Caramelized brown sugar, some tropical notes, and more baking spice.

It’s hardly tiki material, but fans of aggressive and out-there rums should seek this one out.

124 proof.

A- / $160

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