Foursquare Touchstone Exceptional Cask Selection Mark XXII

TOUCHSTONE represents the latest bottling from Foursquare Distillery, Barbados. The twenty-second release (Mark XXII) in the award-winning Limited Edition Exceptional Cask Selection series.

This release enjoys an element of collaboration as a part of its maturation. In January 2019 Foursquare Distillery became the home to the ten casks of the CAMUS Caribbean Expedition Cognac program. After a year, in early 2020 the casks were disgorged and the liquid shipped back to France. However, the casks remained, and were re-filled with 2008 Vintage, 12-Year-Old Foursquare ex-bourbon cask Single Blended Rum, and matured for a further two years to complete its dual maturation.

The story for TOUCHSTONE doesn’t end there, as this Rum was then further blended with another 14 Year-Old Rum; A dual-maturation comprising 5 years in ex-bourbon cask, followed by a further 9 years in ex-cognac cask. A dual maturation blended with a dual maturation is the level of detail that enthusiasts have come to expect and enjoy from Foursquare releases.

TOUCHSTONE is a Single Blended Rum, in that it is a blend of heavy and light marques of Rums distilled in the copper double retort pot-still, and the continuous twin column stills of Foursquare Distillery. Entirely matured, blended, and bottled in Barbados, and presented at 61% alcohol by volume, without chill-filtration, at its natural colour, and free from sweeteners and other flavourings.

Tasting Notes by Peter Holland, Foursquare Brand Ambassador (UK)

(Tasting notes derived from a glass of TOUCHSTONE that has been allowed to breathe for a while.)

Nose: An engaging riot of ripe mango skin, tart Victoria plum, crisp white pear, and parsnips. Seville orange oils, and green sugar cane bark. Bourbon vanilla, gentle toffee and butterscotch. Leather, freshly shelled hazelnuts, dried coconut, and gentle notes of fabric sticking plaster.

Palate: A soft, juicy fruit bite onto the palate. Packed full of red grapes, dried pineapple, and strawberry jam. Rose Turkish Delight, and juicy sultanas. Delicate caramel and black tea. Tart and lip smacking.

Finish: A soothing delivery of chewy honeycomb sweetness, green walnuts, cumin powder, more Seville orange oils, delicate eucalyptus, all intertwined with a delicate oak grip, that reveals the long years of maturation at Foursquare.

Overall: This is a Rum to take your time with. It opens, and engages, and draws you in. Genuinely difficult to put down once you’ve a glass of TOUCHSTONE in hand.