Foursquare : Empery Exceptional Cask Selection Mark IX

Characteristics and Tasting Tips for Empery Exceptional Cask Selection Mark IX by Foursquare

Tasting Notes

Appearance
Empery Exceptional Cask Selection Mark IX presents a dark brown colour with vivid orange and copper highlights, hinting at a notable viscosity. This deep colour, achieved without any added colouring, is the result of fourteen years of full tropical ageing in oak casks, split between ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry.

Nose
The nose is intense and layered, dominated by dried fruits (raisins, sultanas, figs, prunes, dates) and woody sherry notes. These are joined by touches of dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel, coconut, pistachios, roasted coffee and oak spices, along with a hint of toasted pipe tobacco that adds depth and complexity to the whole.

Palate
The attack is rich and indulgent, led by candied figs, caramel and raisins, before giving way to a drier, woodier and spicier structure. Dark chocolate, tobacco, ginger, a hint of black pepper and distinct oak tannins give the palate its backbone, while the 56% ABV remains, on the whole, well integrated.

Pairings and Tasting Occasions
With its dense profile of dried fruits, dark chocolate and spiced oak, Empery Mark IX is a natural match for desserts based on dark chocolate, dried fruits and nuts, such as a chocolate fondant or a candied fruit cake. The coffee and cocoa notes also suggest a pairing with tiramisu, while the tannic dryness of the finish lends itself to hard or blue-veined cheeses. This contemplative rum is best enjoyed neat, slowly, allowing the aromas time to unfold fully, ideally at the end of a meal or during convivial winter evenings.

Mixology
Empery Exceptional Cask Selection Mark IX is above all conceived as a rum for pure sipping, to be savoured neat. Its aromatic richness and rarity call for enjoying it without artifice, rather than using it in a cocktail.

An exceptional Barbados rum, single blended, enhanced by fourteen years of tropical ageing in ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks

Foursquare, an essential name in Barbados rum
Founded in 1996 by Sir David Seale on the site of a former sugar factory in Four Roads, in the parish of Saint Philip, Foursquare Rum Distillery has established itself as one of the most respected Barbados rum distilleries in the world. Now led by Richard Seale, owner and master distiller and a fourth-generation representative of the family in the rum trade, Foursquare stands out for its complete integration of the production chain, from distillation to bottling. The house champions a philosophy of transparency and integrity, with no additives or chill filtration, and favours full tropical ageing in Barbados. Foursquare combines pot still and Coffey column still distillation to create its "single blended rums", of which the Exceptional Cask Selection series is the flagship, internationally acclaimed, notably with the title of "Rum Distillery of the Year" in 2016.

Empery Exceptional Cask Selection Mark IX: a molasses rum with a rare blend
The ninth expression in Foursquare's Exceptional Cask Selection series, Empery Exceptional Cask Selection Mark IX is a Barbados rum crafted from molasses, in both pot still and Coffey column still. This single blended rum is the result of blending two fourteen-year-old rums: the first was aged entirely in first-, second- and third-fill ex-bourbon casks, while the second spent ten years in ex-bourbon before a four-year finish in ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It is the second mark in the series to explore this type of combined ageing, after Hereditas.

The entire ageing process takes place under a tropical climate in Barbados, which gives Empery a rare maturity for a rum of this age, without excessive oak or imbalance. Bottled at 56% ABV, at cask strength, with no added sugar, no colouring and no chill filtration, Empery Mark IX is produced in a limited edition, available in 70 cl or 75 cl formats depending on the market. This rarity, combined with the growing reputation of the Exceptional Cask Selection series, makes it a sought-after reference among enthusiasts of sipping rums, with valuations rising significantly on the secondary market.