Tag Archive for: Barbados

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Dead Reckoning Barbados PX – December 2024

Who wished for a fantastic FOURSQUARE rum for Christmas? Who’s letter to Santa includes the words ‘DEAD RECKONING?

Have you been good this year? Well SIT DOWN and pull up a GLASS or TWO and BUCKLE UP!

The Rum Tribe have DELIVERED for your CHRISTMAS! Nothing less than two of the hottest rum brands around – FOURSQUARE and DEAD RECKONING combining forces in the one bottle…Dead Reckoning Barbados PX!

The Dead Reckoning Barbados PX is 10 year old Single Cask. A blend of pot and column distilled Foursquare rums, tropically aged for 8 years in Barbados in an ex-bourdon cask, then brought to Adelaide and given 12 months in a 40 year old Spanish Pedro Rodriguez Pedro Ximénez cask and then yet another year in the dry heat of Adelaide resting in an old ex Makers-mark bourbon cask before being bottled at 50%abv. Strictly limited – but don’t sweat – we’ve got first dibs!

Now we know you’ve all been wanting Foursquare so we’ve saved this one for our final rum of the year – and we know you are going to LOVE it. We’re thrilled to be offering this rum just as Richard Seale and Foursquare have taken out the honours for Rum Producer of the Year at the 2024 International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC).

Dead Reckoning Barbados PX

But Foursquare is no stranger to this award. In fact, this year’s IWSC Rum Producer of the Year award makes an incredible combined total of 11 ‘Rum Producer of the Year’ awards from two of the world’s most respected and vaunted alcohol competitions – the IWSC and the ISC (International Spirits Challenge) since 2016. Richard Seale and Foursquare are arguably the world’s best rum producers, period.

Justin Boseley’s Dead Reckoning are Australia’s first Indy rum bottlers and to say the brand has piqued the interest of Australia’s (and the worlds) rum drinkers is laconic Aussie dryness at its best! And it’s just that sort of dryness – well dry ageing anyway – that seems to give all of Justin’s rums a little bit of ‘X-factor’ (as well as bumping up the ABV in the casks during maturation!). This ‘dry ageing’ that Justin carries out in specially selected finishing casks never fails to produce incredible rums with body, complexity and nuance.  This month’s Barbados PX is no exception.

International markets are SCREAMING for Dead Reckoning after the many glowing write-ups by renowned international reviewers like ‘the Fat Rum Pirate’ and Singapore’s ’88 Bamboo’. We’re pretty lucky to have ‘direct to the source access’ to this brand that brings the very best rums from all around the world into the country.

Dead Reckoning Barbados PX
Killik Vanilla Bean
Want a rummy cocktail base that hits all the Christmas fruity notes?

Our Tasting Notes:

Nose: Foursquare funk at it’s finest here! Subtle notes of overripe fruit salad sit over wafts of fragrant flowering jasmine, biscuit spice and just a touch of polythene glue sweetness.

Palate: Lovely and mouth-coatingly oily at first with huge red fruits and plum pudding notes (how seasonal J), choc-liquorice bullets and salted caramel.

Finish: The sweet and oily mouthfeel of the palate evolves into quite a crisp and clean spirit (the column still component in action I’ll wager). Not lacking in ‘stick to your teethiness’ though – this just lasts and lasts with spiced fruit mince, rich espresso crema, and dark chocolate.

So BIG, so round, so complex and oh so very satisfying. In fact it’s so big, it’s almost a journey in every pour. The sticky sweet-to-dry evolution on the palate, the fruits and wafts of flowering vines mixing with those other glue-like esters that somehow make it better. So many flavours and smells to discover here – it’s just so pleasant to sit on a big pour and contemplate the journey this rum has had before ending up in your glass.

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Dead Reckoning Barbados PX
Dead Reckoning Barbados PX Statistics

FROM DEAD RECKONING

Following on from the “best independently bottled foursquare I’ve ever tasted” quote Fat rum pirate release, I thought I’d showcase what a quality PX sherry cask can offer . 

Aged 8 yrs in Barbados tropical aged & 2 more years secondary aged in both PX Sherry and bourbon casks undergoing Australian dry ageing in Adelaide. 

Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla is located in the historic centre of Jerez, Spain. Their collection of Sherries is made up of the finest wines from the area, ranging from the pale, light and elegant Finos, to the mahogany coloured Olorosos, to the unique Antique Sherries aged for up to 30 years in traditional barrels.

The bodega’s reputation is based on the excellence of the Antique Sherry range of intensely pure and complex single solera Sherries that undergo extended ageing times in the cellar, lending to their stunning complexity and depth.  

On the nose is the unmistakable waft of that Foursquare goodness & a hint of figs & red fruits. 

The palette delivers a multidimensional waterfall of delicate flavours, figs, walnuts , prunes & dates backed up by the familiar delight of vanilla , caramel slice , black pepper & oak spice 

Regards 
Justin Boseley

ABOUT FOURSQUARE

Foursquare Rum Distillery is located on a former sugar plantation that dates back to approximately 1720, within the tiny Caribbean island of Barbados. The distillery was re-opened by the Seale family in 1996, distilling operations and blending are currently directed by Richard Seale, 4th Generation Trader/Distiller of R.L. Seale & Co.

Despite being sat in the middle of a sugarcane plantation, foursquare are forced to import most of their molasses from Guyana. Surprisingly, given the number of different brands of rum produced at foursquare, they utilise a singular fermentation practice. Using distillers yeast imported from South Africa, the two-step process is computer temperature controlled, progressing very slowly molasses is added during the latter stage over a period lasting 24 hours. Rums produced at foursquare are all a blend of pot and column stills. Blends are undertaken both before and after ageing, with all casks filled with various blends of the pot and column stills. Master distiller Richard utilises American oak, ex whiskey casks for the majority of Foursquare’s rums, often also experimenting with Sherry, Madeira port & Zinfandel , Andean, Boudreaux casks which offer nuanced variation in flavour.

The Foursquare distillery is owned by R.L.Seale & Co which is a 4th generation family-owned rum trading company dating back to the 1920’s. Now run by David Seale and his son Richard – they oversaw the expansion of the family business to include distilling in 1995 with the purchase of an abandoned sugar refinery. After restoring, refurbishing and installation of fermentation tubs and custom-made distillation equipment, the distillery opened in 1996.

Richard aims to bring authentic Barbadian rums to market and prides himself on the purity of the rum he produces with no sweeteners added throughout any of his bottlings. Pushing boundaries and lifting the global perception of quality of rum, Richard often releases products that would surprise and delight any single malt connoisseur out there.

All Foursquare rums are made form a combination of pot-still distilled spirit and continuous column distilled new make. Their continuous column still is a technological marvel that operates under vacuum to allow distillation temperatures to be decreased.

A two-step fermentation process is used in all Foursquare rums, using a specific yeast imported from South Africa. This 2-step process is computer controlled with the temperature increased slowly and the molasses gradually added over 20 hours.

The majority of maturation at Foursquare is done in ex-bourbon casks. However, Richard loves to experiment with casks so Sherry, Port, Madeira and (in the case of the Indelable) Zinfandel. They fill their casks at 65-68% alcohol to allow greater interaction between the spirit and the wood. The majority of producers not filling at less than 70% and many cask their spirit at levels approaching 80% abv. Foursquare age all their rum for a minimum of 2 years and pride themselves on never using flavouring additives in their rum.

ABOUT DEAD RECKONING

Justin Boseley, has immersed himself in rum for the past 20 years; a journey starting as a deck scrubbing lad with a thirst for Rum and adventure culminated in him becoming a Chief Officer; driving billionaire’s mega yachts around the world. This life of salty seadog adventure took him to Rum’s heartland, the Caribbean islands for 6 months a year, every year.

When he wasn’t at the helm of a mega-yacht he could be found hanging off a bar or at a distillery sampling the best the Caribbean rum scene had to offer. Upon ending his days at sea there was only one thing he knew better that navigating around the world’s oceans- that was Rum. For 10 years Justin has scoured the globe discovering & importing the world’s best rums into Australia.

Dead Reckoning is Australia’s first independent rum bottler, and each release from his bond-store is an anticipated event that never fails to please! The Dead Reckoning brand has also recently branched into the US market with huge success. The Rum Tribe is incredibly proud of our close association with Justin and Dead Reckoning.

Holmes Cay Heritage Blend – Esotico Edition – May 2023

With a specialist mix of rums from Barbados, Venezuela and Martinique…we are proud to bring the Holmes Cay Heritage Blend Esotico Edition exclusively to the Tribe in 750ml of rum goodness!

The Holmes Cay Heritage Blend Esotico Edition is a collaboration between Holmes Cay and Daniele Pola (Head honcho of Miami’s famous Esotico Rum Bar). It is blended to be delightful in a daiquiri, make a mighty mojito, and be super straight up.  

The Heritage Blend Esotico Edition is a rum that pays homage to all the traditional rum styles and techniques in the Caribbean and thus is made of 3 components.

The first is a molasses based pot and column still blend from Barbados (known as the ‘English Style’). The second component is Venezuelan Ron – molasses based, and column distilled (known as the ‘Spanish Style’) And the third in this rummy trinity is a column distilled sugar cane juice Agricole rhum from Martinique representing the ‘French Style’.  On paper, what one would hope to get from such a blend is a rum with a bit of funk, but also some sweet, grassy, herbaceous notes (from the cane-juice based), with the clean crisp mouthfeel of a column distilled molasses rum. And on tasting it – that’s exactly what you get!

Holmes Cay Heritage Blend

Now, we here at the Rum Tribe are no strangers to independent bottlings of fine rums. For example, our good friend Justin Boseley and his Dead Reckoning brand have brought some amazing rums to us that otherwise wouldn’t have existed.  In the same way Justin picks and chooses rums from all over the world for his Dead Reckoning brand, so does Eric from Holmes Cay. And just as Justin believes in using NO additives in his rum, so does Eric and Holmes Cay. No colour, No sugar and non chill-filtered.  You can see why we love this rum!

Holmes Cay Heritage Blend

Holmes Cay Heritage Blend Tasting Notes:

Nose: Funky fruit salad with a side of floral frangipani(?) garnished with an herbaceous, grassy grassy note.

Palate: Super creamy banana custard at first, then it dries out and turns on a more candied rind quality.

Finish: More citrusy notes and a slight aniseed leaning at the back end of this short crisp finish.

This is a rum that has been designed to sip neat, slide nicely over ice or slap into your favourite cocktail or tiki drink with negative perspiration! It plays nice anyway you like it.  And you’re gonna like it, I promise. There’s just nothing not to like in this easy drinking rum/rhum/ron combo!

**STOP PRESS! Killik WIN Multiple Medals At World Rum Awards **

  • PRICE : $139

  • ABV : 43%

  • BOTTLE: 750ml

  • REGION: Barbados, Venezuela and Martinique

  • NO Added Sugar / NO Added Colour

Holmes Cay Heritage Blend

FROM HOLMES CAY

The limited edition Heritage Blend is Holmes Cay founder Eric Kaye’s tribute to the three rum traditions that arose in the Caribbean basin. The Esotico edition’s label design is a collaboration with Esotico’s Daniele Dalla Pola. The design is an homage to vintage travel posters, and to the thrill of travel – The novel, the beautiful and the delicious are always waiting to be discovered.

Bottled at 43% alcohol by volume, the Heritage Blend shows up gracefully in classic and tiki cocktails and is a great sipper on its own.

The components of the blend were chosen to celebrate the diversity and versatility of rum, incorporating the three styles of rum, rhum and ron.

Barbados Rum Molasses-based Pot / column still blend Venezuela Ron Molasses-based Column still Martinique Rhum Cane juice-based Column still

In the Heritage Blend, aged pot and column distillates from molasses and cane juice sources create the unique flavours. No sugar, no colour and no other flavours are added in the making of this rum. 

Tasting Notes:

Vanilla custard, dried fruit and citrus notes on the palate, with a finish of oak and baking spice.

ABOUT HOLMES CAY

Holmes Cay (pronounced ‘key’) Rum curates a continuously evolving collection of the best small-batch, limited-edition rums from all over the world. Single Cask selections are aged in cask, while Single Origin editions are younger single expressions or blends.

Founder Eric Kaye — a lover and collector of rum as well as a lifelong entrepreneur — started with a clear vision of the spirit’s wide open potential. His purpose for Holmes Cay is to give spirits lovers access to great rums that they can learn about, collect and savour.

In the US, the rum category is still largely defined by dated references, tropical themes, and limiting cocktail programs. The opportunity to lead authentic elevation of the category nevertheless exists. Rum is not only about pitchers of pina coladas or Tiki Tuesdays, because like any expertly made spirit, the right rum can be savoured and explored with great pleasure.

Holmes Cay was founded to help spirits lovers discover the exciting diversity of rum flavours by curating a wide variety of rum profiles. All are made with expertise and without short cuts. Holmes Cay is a modern take on an aged product — One that lets the authentic, unadulterated beauty of rum shine through. When you see Holmes Cay on the label, you know the liquid and its source have been carefully chosen to ensure that the flavours showcase the very best of their home distilleries. Each Holmes Cay product is an expression of craftsmanship and quality ingredients. Each needs no embellishment or additives.

Holmes Cay focuses on bringing special, limited-edition casks from respected and up-and-coming distilleries that are difficult or impossible to find in the United States with its Single Cask rum line. As with any high-quality aged spirit, these rums cannot be replicated once they’ve been depleted. With recent additions to the more accessible Single Origins and blends, Holmes Cay is about finding the best rums of any age in the world and sharing them for as long as they last.

ABOUT ERIC KAYE

Eric Kaye is the founder of Holmes Cay Rum, a premium brand that seeks and curates the finest rums from around the world and releases them without additives.

After exploring nearly every island in the Caribbean, and drinking exceptional rum along the way, Kaye realized the U.S. spirits market lacked access to those special, rare rums from around the globe. Recognizing that access to unadulterated rums was extremely limited in the United States, Kaye saw an opportunity to focus on hard-to-obtain aged expressions, presented with transparency, and launched Holmes Cay in 2019.

Foursquare Indelible – July 2022

It’s the Tribe’s 2nd Birthday! What better way to celebrate than to release one of the most awesome, collected and coveted rums in the world. The one that kicked the Tribe off for our members – A Foursquare Rum! For July, we have nothing less than Number 18 in the Foursquare ‘Exceptional Cask Series’ – the Foursquare Indelible!

What a stunning rum it is, the Foursquare Indelible is a blend of pot and column distillate that is aged for 11 years in Barbados in ex-bourbon and ex-Zinfandel casks.

Foursquare Indelible Rum

The Foursquare Indelible is a molasses-based rum – a blend of pot and column distilled spirit. Some of which has been aged for 11 years in ex-bourbon casks and the other portion is the same stock as their famous (and it’s demise much lamented) 4th Edition of the Exceptional Cask Series – the ‘Zinfandel’. The ‘Zinfandel’ portion is a ‘double matured’ spirit.

Aged for 5 years in ex-bourbon cask and a further 6 years in ex-Zinfandel (a red wine known for it’s jam, blueberry, black pepper, cherry, plum, boysenberry, cranberry, and licorice notes).  As per the Foursquare creed – no added sugar, no added colouring, nonchill filtered.

This is an absolute stunner of a rum. But don’t just take our word for it – the Fat Rum Pirate gives it a fat 5 stars and raves about it:

“For me it drinks way beyond its ABV and has a remarkable depth and complexity. It’s dangerously drinkable and all in all a pretty stunning rum. I’ve really enjoyed this and I hope I can find another…sadly unlike its name its been rather easily removed from most Retailers…” – The Fat Rum Pirate!

The Rum Barrel also has an excellent review!

Why do we love Foursquare Indelible so much? Firstly, the rum is so very, very good. But another reason we love the Foursquare brand is that they (with Richard Seale at the helm) are leading the charge for control of additives in rum.   And as you know we love our pure rums at the Tribe. If it’s got sugar, caramel, colouring or … whatever added, fine… BUT LET US KNOW! And at what point of adding ‘stuff’ to it should it still be called rum?? Richard – we salute your efforts!

The Rum Tribe launched back in July 2020 with an epic first rum – the Foursquare Sagacity. It seems only fitting to mark our second birthday by having a quick reflection on where we’ve come from to where we are now. Oh, and of course rum. Lots of rum.  

Foursquare Indelible Rum

Our Foursquare Indelible Tasting Notes:

Nose: Dark Chocolate, Cherry, Vanilla Bean, Figs, Cola, toasted coconut, toasted brown sugar, 

Palate: Medium mouthfeel, Dark Chocolate Cherries, Vanilla, Fig, Raisins, toasted coconut, toasted brown sugar, slight banana, plums 

Finish: Medium length finish, Raisins, Dark Chocolate covered cherries, toasted coconut, black pepper 

  • PRICE : $159

  • ABV : 48%

  • BOTTLE: 700ml

  • REGION: Barbados

  • NO Added Sugar/ NO Added Colour / Non-Chill Filtered

Foursquare Indelible Rum

FROM FOURSQUARE

The Foursquare Indelible Rum is a blend of two distinct single blended rums, both 11 years of age. One aged 11 years, entirely in Ex-Bourbon Barrels, and a second, double-maturation, aged 5 years in Ex-Zinfandel then 6 additional years in Ex-Bourbon Barrels. Bottled at 48% ABV – 96 Proof. No sugar, no flavour additives, no filtration.

ABOUT FOURSQUARE DISTILLERY

Foursquare Rum Distillery is located on a former sugar plantation that dates back to approximately 1720, within the tiny Caribbean island of Barbados. The distillery was re-opened by the Seale family in 1996, distilling operations and blending are currently directed by Richard Seale, 4th Generation Trader/Distiller of R.L. Seale & Co.

Despite being sat in the middle of a sugarcane plantation, foursquare are forced to import most of their molasses from Guyana. Surprisingly, given the number of different brands of rum produced at foursquare, they utilise a singular fermentation practice. Using distillers yeast imported from South Africa, the two-step process is computer temperature controlled, progressing very slowly molasses is added during the latter stage over a period lasting 24 hours. Rums produced at foursquare are all a blend of pot and column stills. Blends are undertaken both before and after ageing, with all casks filled with various blends of the pot and column stills. Master distiller Richard utilises American oak, ex whiskey casks for the majority of Foursquare’s rums, often also experimenting with Sherry, Madeira port & Zinfandel , Andean, Boudreaux casks which offer nuanced variation in flavour.

The Foursquare distillery is owned by R.L.Seale & Co which is a 4th generation family-owned rum trading company dating back to the 1920’s. Now run by David Seale and his son Richard – they oversaw the expansion of the family business to include distilling in 1995 with the purchase of an abandoned sugar refinery. After restoring, refurbishing and installation of fermentation tubs and custom-made distillation equipment, the distillery opened in 1996.

Richard aims to bring authentic Barbadian rums to market and prides himself on the purity of the rum he produces with no sweeteners added throughout any of his bottlings. Pushing boundaries and lifting the global perception of quality of rum, Richard often releases products that would surprise and delight any single malt connoisseur out there.

All Foursquare rums are made form a combination of pot-still distilled spirit and continuous column distilled new make. Their continuous column still is a technological marvel that operates under vacuum to allow distillation temperatures to be decreased.

A two-step fermentation process is used in all Foursquare rums, using a specific yeast imported from South Africa. This 2-step process is computer controlled with the temperature increased slowly and the molasses gradually added over 20 hours.

The majority of maturation at Foursquare is done in ex-bourbon casks. However, Richard loves to experiment with casks so Sherry, Port, Madeira and (in the case of the Indelable) Zinfandel. They fill their casks at 65-68% alcohol to allow greater interaction between the spirit and the wood. The majority of producers not filling at less than 70% and many cask their spirit at levels approaching 80% abv. Foursquare age all their rum for a minimum of 2 years and pride themselves on never using flavouring additives in their rum.

Dead Reckoning Rum – Barbados Tawny Barossa Cask – June 2022

Let’s get this rum brilliance straight! 8 years old tropically matured FourSquare rum then 1 year in a 60 year old Seppeltsfield Winery ex-Tawny cask and then further 6 months in a high-char ex-bourbon barrel…rum does not get better than this! We are super excited to announce the 4th Dead Reckoning release exclusive to the Tribe – The Dead Reckoning Rum Barbados Tawny Barossa Cask!

“The best independently bottled FourSquare I have ever tried” – The Fat Rum Pirate!

For June, another superb release from Aussie Indy Bottler Justin Boseley and his – fast becoming world renowned – Dead Reckoning Rum. This month we are thrilled to release the latest expression form Dead Reckoning that we’ve been eagerly awaiting for some months now. World-renowned independent rum critic ‘The Fat Rum Pirate’ has given this rum more accolades than we can list here and gave it a full 5 stars. In a (growing) stable of fantastic rums, this is possibly the best Dead Reckoning Rum yet.

Dead Reckoning Rum Barbados Tawny Barossa Cask

This single cask, triple–matured, pure rum – no less than 9 and a half years old – is a mix of FourSquare pot and column distilled spirit – tropically matured in Barbados for 8 years in ex-bourbon then transported to Adelaide for ‘the Boseley treatment’. A year in a 60 year old Seppeltsfield Winery ex-Tawny cask  and then a further 6 months in a high-char ex-bourbon barrel to tame the tannins from the Tawny cask.

The result is an absolute stonker of a rum – rich, bold, complex and dangerously drinkable. Huge, stewed fruits and a liberal sprinkle of all those Christmas cake spices we expect from a tawny cask finish. Add in bananas, coconut and a real custard-y note and a finish that you can chew forever!

This is truly sensational rum. It’s just sublime. And apart from a few bars we love – we’ve got it all! Yep, it’s all ours!  Once again, the Rum Tribe has scooped it all up!

We’re proud to have an ongoing relationship with Justin – his Dead Reckoning expressions have taken us all over the ‘rum world’ and each one just seems to get better and better.  This month’s ‘Barbados’ is just an exquisite expression of everything a premium rum should be! His masterful use of wood to realise the full potential of the spirit is displayed here in droves.  It’s not just us that thinks so – we know for a fact that companies like EA Sheer are very interested in what Justin is doing, so lookout European market!

Dead Reckoning Rum Barbados Tawny Barossa Cask

Dead Reckoning Rum Barbados Tasting Notes:

Nose: Lots of dark fruits – sultanas, berries, plumbs… plus vanilla and mixed peel. All draped with a wispy web of oak

Palate: Wow! Big mouthfeel powered by a lovely all over medium spiced which then gives way to caramel a-plenty. The tawny cask is pretty identifiable here –with the stewed fruits and biscuit spices. There’s also a pastry note there too, so the accumulative effect is like a Spicy Fruit Roll biscuit in a glass!

Finish: Nice and bold. Easily long enough to chat about it with your drinking buddy. Lots of stewed fruit, caramel, vanilla and a lingering spice that really warms.

  • PRICE : $159

  • ABV : 48%

  • BOTTLE: 700ml

  • REGION: Barbados/Australia

  • NO Added Sugar/ NO Added Colour / Non-Chill Filtered

Dead Reckoning Rum Barbados Tawny Barossa Cask

FROM DEAD RECKONING RUM

The 4th release for Dead Reckoning Rum was created to educate rum drinkers on the correct use of a port cask. A secondary maturation must be conducted in a way that a 50 / 50 mix in flavour, so your original rum used isn’t lost by the port cask and visa-versa. It’s very easy to over age a rum & loose it’s identity, in this case a build-up of tannins associated with wine & port were present from the tawny cask. This is the reason why a triple barrel maturation method was used. The heavy char (charcoal) on the 3rd barrel used removed the tannins & re-introduced some slightly lost identity of the original rum bringing back caramel & vanilla notes.

Tasting Notes: Upon first sipping you get oak & a hint of spice combined with dates, prunes, raisins, the middle palette provides the unmistakable FourSquare vanilla , toffee & caramel

The aftertaste leaves you with the char used in the makers mark bourbon barrel, then those fruity notes come back to remind you of the Seppletsfield tawny barrel used.

ABOUT FOURSQUARE DISTILLERY

Foursquare Rum Distillery is located on a former sugar plantation that dates back to approximately 1720, within the tiny Caribbean island of Barbados. The distillery was re-opened by the Seale family in 1996, distilling operations and blending are currently directed by Richard Seale, 4th Generation Trader/Distiller of R.L. Seale & Co.

Despite being sat in the middle of a sugarcane plantation, foursquare are forced to import most of their molasses from Guyana. Surprisingly, given the number of different brands of rum produced at foursquare, they utilise a singular fermentation practice. Using distillers yeast imported from South Africa, the two-step process is computer temperature controlled, progressing very slowly molasses is added during the latter stage over a period lasting 24 hours. Rums produced at foursquare are all a blend of pot and column stills. Blends are undertaken both before and after ageing, with all casks filled with various blends of the pot and column stills. Master distiller Richard utilises American oak, ex whiskey casks for the majority of Foursquare’s rums, often also experimenting with Sherry, Madeira port & Zinfandel , Andean, Boudreaux casks which offer nuanced variation in flavour.

Dead Reckoning – HMS Antelope – January 2022

In the spirit of kicking off the new year in a BIG way – we’re leading 2022 with a brand-new Dead Reckoning release the Dead Reckoning HMS Antelope. A distinct blend of 5 world class rums from Australia, Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados…this Navy Strength (55% ABV) is a smooth flavour explosion typical of Dead Reckoning and The Rum Tribe gets the first taste!

This is the 3rd Dead Reckoning Rum release (following The Sextant and Mutiny ‘South Pacific’) and they have all been HUGE hits with the Tribe. All different but all exceptional and the Dead Reckoning HMS Antelope is great, complex and well balanced combination of flavours and a homage to ‘Navy Rum’.

The Dead Reckoning HMS Antelope pays homage to ‘Navy Rum’ with a blend of four-year-old pot still Rum from Australia (in fact Australia’s oldest distillery), 3–5-year-old column still rum from Trinidad, three-year-old pot still rum from Jamaica, 2–5-year-old pot and column still Rum from Guyana plus to round it off three-year-old pot and column still Rum from Barbados (Foursquare).

True to Justin’s ethos of adding nothing to the rum (until it’s poured in a glass that is – then all bets are off!) – the Dead Reckoning HMS Antelope is made entirely without any colouring or added sugar or flavours.

Dead Reckoning HMS Antelope

This release is very personal to its creator – Independent bottler, Justin Boseley. Not only is the Dead Reckoning HMS Antelope an ode to traditional Navy Rum – it also pays tribute to a Royal Navy ship with an impeccable WW2 record, and is dedicated to one of the sailors who served aboard her – Justin’s Grandad, Sidney Boseley – This rum is dedicated to Sid.

‘Navy Rum’ is what the Royal Navy (interestingly, the RAN never served a rum ration to its sailors) served as part of the revered ‘Rum Ration’ or ‘Tot’ to their sailors. Starting as early as 1655, the RN’s daily ‘tot’ began as beer or wine, but gradually it changed to rum. By 1790, the ‘rum tot’ was standardised over the whole of the RN.  Of course, it was cut with water and lime juice (to combat scurvy) – and the rum itself was no stranger to colouring (ie caramel) and sugar (however no such additives in any Dead Reckoning release). ‘Navy Rum’ was blended from rums from around the world (obviously mainly British colonies). 

To be considered a ‘Navy Rum’, its minimum strength must be 54.5% ABV or higher. It is widely considered that a ‘true’ Navy Rum should contain aged rums from at least two or more of the following colonies: Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad.

There was never an official Navy rum recipe. Whilst there was almost certainly a flavour profile it changed over many decades. Through out time Rum from Caroni in Trinidad, Martinique, Cuba, Australia, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Antigua, Saint Kitts and Nevis and the Virgin Islands has been used. 

Dead Reckoning HMS Antelope

Dead Reckoning HMS Antelope Tasting Notes:

Nose: Banana-ey funk at first but then it’s more a banana custard with subsequent sniffs which shares the spotlight with sultana aromas. A tropical fruit presence is there also- with fresh fruit notes and floral hints.

Palate: Thick and rich and oh so creamy. Real Christmas pud spices and a bug dollop of home-made custard in this one but those tropical vibes from the nose don’t give up either! So much delightful fruity sweetness! There is a slight funkiness in the mouth, but very mild – and acts to tie in the rest of the flavours rather than sitting apart and dominating them.

Finish: Lovely and long and with a jumble of fruitiness, more cakey spices and a nice touch of mild pepper creeps around it as it fades.

Look, I won’t be mixing this one (much). It’s just so good on it’s own in this swabbee’s humble opinion. Just a great, complex and well-balanced combination of flavours that swirl around each other without any one of them taking control or dominating. So easy to sip, so little alcohol burn, so … well so bloody good! Now I’m going to stick my neck right out on this one – it’s also fantastic in a ‘Moreton Bay Mud’ – Ice, milk, rum.  Simples. Best drunk in an enamel cup at low tide on a sand bar at dawn with a bacon and egg sanga! Optional garnish – esky full of fish on ice from the overnight session in the boat.

  • PRICE : $149

  • ABV : 55%

  • BOTTLE: 700ml

  • REGION: Australia, Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados

  • NO Added Sugar/ Non-Chill Filtered

FROM DEAD RECKONING

I felt a tribute to not only my grandpa but all those sailors that served in WW2 was needed in the rum world. Stories of my pops days at battle and his daily TOT were a mainstay in my child hood, whilst playing darts and snooker at the local RSL.

This rum blend came from the heart, I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did creating it, To Sid  !

Tasting notes courtesy of Cody Banks from Hains & Co bar in Adelaide.

The HMS Antelope immediately jumps out the glass with a mix of sweet, rich plums and dark cherries. Sweetness turns slightly spicy with a whack of soft liquorice anise and gentle ginger. This rests on a subtle honeycomb backing that is neither too sweet or cloying, simply adding structure to an already interesting nose. 

The nose is thick and cakey, as the ABV starts to show itself so too does the tropical fruit funk of the Jamaican start open up. Pineapple skin, papaya and green apple skin present as much fresher tropical notes than the more usual over fermented stew of pineapple, mango & bananas many straight Jamaican rums have. 

Thick and viscous on the palate, it retains a great amount of fresh tropical fruit, stone fruit also presents itself via apricots and orange melons, intertwined with dark berries and plums. 

As the palate evolves, so too does the fruit, turning darker and spicier as it lingers longer. This is certainly reminiscent of great navy rums of old, as it descends into true dark molasses, pimento, ginger and anise. 

A long finish of blackcurrants and spices, I would recommend drinking this at its bottled 55%, water doesn’t do this true navy rum justice.

THE STORY OF SID AND THE HMS ANTELOPE

The Sailor 

Sidney Boseley was born and raised in Kent, England_. Like tens of thousands before him, When the call for arms was put out to serve King and country, Sid enlisted in the Royal Navy . Sid served on the British destroyer HMS antelope between the years of 1939 to 1945. 

The Ship 

HMS antelope was an A class destroyer ,323 feet long with the top speed of 35 kn ,displacement 1773 tons, Her armaments consisted of 4 x 120 mm guns, 2 x 40 mm anti aircraft guns , 2 x quadruple 21 inch torpedo tubes & six Depth charge chutes

WW2

On the outbreak of the Second World War the destroyer HMS antelope was assigned to the 18th destroyer Flotilla, channel force, based in Portsmouth. For the rest of 1939 and early months of 1940, antelope carried out patrol and convoy escort duties in the English Channel and western approaches. On on 5 February 1940, antelope was the sole escort of the outbound Atlantic convoy 08 84 south of Ireland when the German submarine U– 41 attacked the convoy, sinking the freighter Beaverburn and damaging the tanker Ceronia. 

Antelope retaliated, by depth charging and sinking the U boat. It was the only you boat at sea at the time in the area and was the first U boat in history to be sunk underwater by a single destroyer. 

Norway 

In April 1940 antelope was attached to the home fleet for operations as part of the Norwegian campaign. Antelope after operations in Scapa flow collided with the destroyer Electra. Antelope then returned to the UK for repair. 

Atlantic Operations

August 1940 antelope sailed in a convoy to take part in operation Minus the attack on Dakar west Africa. During the convoy antelope encountered the German U-boat U-31 of North West Ireland. Depth charges from the antelope drove U-31 to the surface where her crew abandoned ship. Antelope attempted to board U-31, but collided with the unmanned submarine damaging the destroyer and sinking the boat. Antelope rescued 44 of the German U-boats crew and returned them to the United Kingdom. 

And August 1941 antelope to park in operation Gauntlet ,antelope formed part of the escort for the Arctic convoy to the Soviet Union.

Antelope formed part of the destroyer escort for the battle cruiser Hood and battleship Prince of Wales in the chase for the German battleship Bismarck. Separated from the battleships during the battle of the Denmark straight antelope then searched for survivors from the sinking of the Hood of which only three people survived. 

Malta 

Antelope sailed to Gibraltar in 1942 escorting US aircraft carriers in an attempt to deliver badly needed 62 spitfire aircraft to Malta. During this convoy they were under constant attacked from German U boats and the German Luftwaffe. 

Antelope took part in another 5 escorts delivering an additional 55 more spitfires and much needed military supplies to Malta in May. 

Antelope was then based off west Africa, antelope escorted troop convoys taking part in operation Torch, the Allied invasion of West Africa.

In July 1943 antelope took part in operation Husky the Allied invasion of Sicily .

On June 5 and six 1944 ,the antelope took part in D- Day.

JimmyRum Barbados – September 2021

FOURSQUARE + AUSTRALIA = JIMMYRUM! Boom! A blend of 3 different Foursquare rums uniquely blended and independently bottled in Australia by JimmyRum. We are totally psyched to present from Victoria’s first dedicated craft rum distillery (and Rum Tribe member!) the JimmyRum Barbados.

‘Barbados’ is an independent bottling of 3 different aged rums from none other than powerhouse distillery – Foursquare. Yep – you heard right. The JimmyRum Barbados is a blend of three, five and eight year old Foursquare rums with zero, zip, nada sugar, colouring or chill-filtering. Each bottle does, however, come with a liberal dose of funky tropical-aged goodness. This rum was blended and created by JimmyRum and cannot be found elsewhere in the world.

JimmyRum Barbados

JimmyRum understands the value of pure, unadulterated rum. They love it so much, they set out and became the first dedicated craft rum distillery in Victoria. JimmyRum is a young distillery and have lots of their own rum currently maturing in barrels (that we are sure we will see as Rum Tribe releases in the future) and whilst waiting for their rums to age into existence, Owner and Head Distiller, James McPherson (aka JimmyRum) has decided independent bottling of some world class rums is what they need to pass the time.

So this month were offering a fantastic rum from a celebrated distillery that we think is exceptional value and well worth a space on your rum shelf, plus we’re featuring a fellow Tribe member to boot! That’s gotta be a win for everyone! The JimmyRum Barbados.

Created to be best enjoyed neat or over ice, it has been crafted to be a smooth premium sipping rum..

JimmyRum Barbados

Our Tasting Notes:

Colour: Pale Yellow

Nose: That Foursquare funk is all over this with lipstick-ey banana and pineapple. There’s also a noticeable cookie-dough note (choc-chip I think)

Palate: fairly sharp initially – lots of pineapple and passionfruit notes shock, but fade in a moment to a nice warm buzz. All the while there is a coconut creme-brulee thing going on there too!

Finish: Medium length, warming but not pepper-spicy, fruits fade to notes of bread pudding

You’ll know the JimmyRum Barbados is Foursquare as soon as you pop the cork. It’s got ‘that’ smell. Textbook funk and I would love to try it at 50%-ish! But that’s a first world problem – this is truly ‘easy-drinking’ rum – and the upside of the 40% is you can have a few more! So who’s complaining? – NOT ME! Nice one, Jimmy!

  • PRICE : $115


  • ABV : 40%


  • BOTTLE: 700ml


  • REGION: Barbados

  • No Added Sugar/ No Added Colour/Non-Chill Filtered


JimmyRum Barbados

FROM JIMMYRUM

We are the first dedicated craft rum distillery in Victoria. We are on a mission to show you what rum can be with our Australian crafted distinctive and delicious rums. We think rum has been misunderstood for far too long and we want to share with you how diverse, unique, and exciting rum can be.

Why do we do it? We live, breath and make rum, why should JimmyRum import someone else’s? Pretty simple really, we are here to shout about rum more than we are here to shout about JimmyRum, by importing we get to bring in different premium rums and in different regional styles. Think Funky Jamaican, smooth barrel finished Mauritian or the herbaceous French rums of Martinique.

Barbados helps us to show you a Bajan style of rum, soft, gentle and easy drinking. It also helps us show you what an aged rum can taste like, with our specific blend of 3, 5 and year old rums from the Foursquare Distillery in Barbados we get to showcase a rum style that will take us 10-12 years to produce.

Barbados, is a great entry into sipping premium rum, with a natural sweetness (no added sugar) combined with hints of butter and caramel it slides down. We are not afraid to mix it, with it being mixed in a Cuba Libre (think rum n coke, but only with a dash of cola and lime) or all the way out to one of our bar specialties with a watermelon sour…I’m still getting over the mental scars of one of our beautiful sipping rums sitting in a pink fluffy cocktail, but you know what, it works! Feel free to try it your way, you’ve paid for it. Try it with a dash of soda, over a big ice block or even put it in your old fashioned. Enjoy!

ABOUT JIMMYRUM

Jimmy Rum Distillery is the brainchild of James McPherson. Just like our last two Aussie producers, independent bottler Justin Boseley and Australian distilling legend Ian Schmidt, James McPherson is a ex- mariner. I’m not sure – but there seems to be some sort of pattern forming here with rum and a maritime association…. Can you imagine that? 

As his 20 year career at sea as a marine engineer was coming to an end, James McPherson started a ridiculous rumour of opening a rum distillery. The idea started to grow and before he knew it, James was on a trip to North America, the Caribbean and Europe to do some deep and thorough research on craft distilling (it was a tough trip!). Arriving home, well and truly bitten by the craft spirits industry, James was inspired by the incredible passion the distillers had for their product and the craft.

So there you have it. Who’d have thought that a throwaway line would come true? What started as a ridiculous rumour is now JimmyRum—a passion project to distil premium craft Australian rum.

The JimmyRum Distillery opened in 2019 in the town of Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.  They have an excellent bar and restaurant – and run distillery tours and rum education sessions frequently! If you’re in non-lockdown Melbourne, the distillery is only a day trip away. I’m pretty sure if you mention you’re part of the ‘Tribe, Jimmy will make sure your visit is special!   

Dead Reckoning ‘The Sextant’ – December 2020

Welcome to the world launch of a new rum brand! Yes, this month we take on the world with the world-wide release of the ‘Dead Reckoning’ rum brand – and we are beyond stoked to be able to showcase it for the first time ever, anywhere!

As is only fitting – The Rum Tribe members will be the first IN THE WORLD to taste this new rum. With only 330 individually numbered bottles produced – we’ll be accounting for the vast majority of the entire world supply of this release! Bad luck, rest of the world – but the Rum Tribe gotta rum!

Blended from 4 major distilleries, Dead Reckoning is the baby of rum legend, Justin Boseley – ex- mega-yacht captain, and nowadays importer of high quality rums into Australia. ‘The Sextant’ adds yet another feather to Justin’s enviable cap – rum blender and brand owner!

‘The Sextant is a blend of 4 Caribbean rums from FourSquare (Barbados), Worthy Park (Jamaica), Angostura (of the ‘bitters’ fame) and Demerara (Guyana) all blended into the Dead Reckoning ‘The Sextant’ here in Australia.

Dead Reckoning ‘The Sextant’ is a 5 year old Column still rum from Trinidad (Angostura), a 3 year old Pot still rum from Jamaica (Worthy Park), a 5 year old pot and column still rum from Guyana (Diamond Distillers). To round out the palate Justin has selected a 3 year old pot and column still rum from Barbados (Foursquare).

All the rums used in The Sextant are 100% tropically aged, then bottled & blended in Australia at 49% ABV.

Our Tasting Notes:

Nose: A huge funky fruit salad – bananas jump at me first, then sweet pineapple and pawpaw. All wrapped up in a creamy egg-nog envelope.

Taste: A deep velvety demerara rush coats the whole mouth at first then a warm spice hit cuts through… and the tropical fruits come through again! A very long finish with luscious stewed fruit with just enough spice to contrast, but not overpower, the delicious lingering sweetness.

Dead Reckoning ‘The Sextant’

  • PRICE : $139


  • ABV : 49%


  • BOTTLE: 700ml


  • REGION: Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados


Dead Reckoning ‘The Sextant’

FROM THE BOTTLERS

DEAD RECKONING, in navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating current position of some moving object by using a previously determined position, or fix, by using estimations of speed, heading direction and course over elapsed time

A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of celestial navigation.

Dead Reckoning ‘The Sextant’ Rum Release is a step back in maritime history, a masterful blend of four offerings from Justin’s favourite distilleries. A well balanced mix of rums from arguably some of the finest distilleries in the world.

It is well known the British royal navy’s daily rum ration or ‘Tot’ was a mainstay of life upon the seas. Rum sourced for the now legendary tot was often procured from the chain of British colonies around the world. Some of the rums selected for Dead Reckoning releases have been loved and recognised for 3 centuries and have fortified many a thirsty mariner.

Dead Reckoning ‘The Sextant’

ABOUT THE BLENDER AND DISTILLERIES

Justin Boseley

Justin, has immersed himself in rum for the past 20 years; a journey starting as a deck scrubbing lad with a thirst for Rum and adventure culminated in him becoming a Chief Officer; driving billionaire’s mega yachts around the world. This life of salty seadog adventure took him to Rum’s heartland, the Caribbean islands for 6 months a year, every year.

When he wasn’t at the helm of a yacht he could be found hanging off a bar or at a distillery sampling the best the Caribbean rum scene had to offer. Upon ending his days at sea there was only one thing he knew better that navigating around the world’s oceans- that was Rum. For 10 years Justin has scoured the globe discovering & importing the world’s best rums into Australia.

Having an intimate knowledge of the Australian market, Justin identified space for unique, rare blends. Enter Dead Reckoning Rum. An Australian Independent label specialising in master-mixed rum blends, single casks and some rare, forgotten ‘barn-finds’ of the Rum world. Justin has his sights set on truly unique and memorable releases by his label.

The Diamond Distillery

Located in Guyana is the culmination of a rich history of Rum making that stretches back to the 1650s. In its heyday it boasted over 300 sugar estates, each with its own still producing world class Rum.

However, over the centuries, a process of amalgamation saw the various estates combine, with only a small number of unique stills surviving the test of time. The heritage stills as they are now known have all been relocated to Diamond Distillery on the banks of the Demerara River under the governance of Demerara Distillers Limited.

Foursquare

The owners of Foursquare Distillery, the Seale family, can trace its roots on Barbados back to the 1650s, and can reference five generations of rum-making expertise dating back to 1820. The establishment of the foursquare brand, however, came much later. While the family could lay claim to one of Barbados’ oldest trading houses, Reginald Leon Seale was prohibited, like other traders, from selling rum directly to consumers under the Barbados Excise Law. Solution? Establish a distribution business in Bridgetown. In the early 1900s R. L. Seale was born.

Despite being sat in the middle of a sugarcane plantation, foursquare are forced to import most of their molasses from Guyana. Surprisingly, given the number of different brands of rum produced at foursquare, they utilise a singular fermentation practice. Using distillers yeast imported from South Africa, the two-step process is computer temperature controlled, progressing very slowly molasses is added during the latter stage over a period lasting 24 hours. Rums produced at foursquare are all a blend of pot and column stills. Blends are undertaken both before and after ageing, with all casks filled with various blends of the pot and column stills. Master distiller Richard utilises American oak, ex whiskey casks for the majority of Foursquares’ rums, often also experimenting with Sherry, Madeira port & Zinfandel casks which offer nuanced variation in flavour.

Worthy Park

Worthy Park has been producing rum intermittently since the 1740’s. There was an oversupply of Jamaican Rum following World War II and under agreement with the Spirits Pool Association of Jamaica production was ceased in 1962. After being out of the distillation business for decades, the Clarke family decided in 2004 that there was room for a Jamaican rum, made with quality ingredients by distilling in the Traditional Jamaican Pot-Still method, however with modern efficiency, utilising state-of-the-art equipment. In 2005, the new distillery was complete! By 2007, the flagship brand of Rum-Bar Rum was launched and has forever changed the Jamaican rum industry.

Angostura

The House of Angostura’s award-winning rums are steeped in nearly 200 years of tradition. Dr. Johann Siegert first produced aromatic bitters in Angostura, Venezuela (today called Ciudad Bolivar) in 1824 to use as a tonic in his medical practice. In the 1870s, he and his three sons migrated to Trinidad, where they began to produce their aromatic bitters on a larger scale and add them to cocktails.

Angostura rums are column-distilled using a combination of two rigs. The first is a large single column system responsible for their heavy rum production. Their five-column setup handles the light rum production. If such a setup sounds familiar, it’s largely on par with Puerto Rican Rum production, as a point of comparison. The idea is to keep enough flavour components on hand while also ensuring a clean spirit. According to Angostura’s long-serving—though now semi-retired—master distiller John Georges, you want to keep “just enough of the funky stuff”.

Foursquare Sagacity Mk XI – July 2020

Please make way for our very first ‘Rum of the Month’… the Foursquare Sagacity Exceptional Cask Selection Mk XI.

The Foursquare Exceptional Cask Series have received worldwide acclaim and each release sees them more popular and thus, harder to get.  In fact – only 100 bottles of the Sagacity have been allocated to Australia… and we get first dibs for our members!

The Sagacity is a blend of rums from the same distillery – FourSquare. Spirit from both their traditional pot still, and a 2-column Coffey still is combined then divided again and aged 12 years in ex-Bourbon and ex-Madiera casks before being re-united and bottled. There is no sugar added, nor any flavour additives. It’s all about the spirit and the wood.

We know that more than a few of you have been eagerly awaiting our initial offering – probably for longer than you’ve been a member of the Tribe! It’s such an eagerly anticipated release we thought it fitting we should both offer it as our Rum of the Month – and organise it so the Rum Tribe will be the first in Australia to taste it! So please make way for our very first ‘Rum of the Month’… the Foursquare Sagacity Exceptional Cask Selection Mk XI.

The head distiller (and 4th generation distiller of R’L Seale & Co.), Richard Seale hand selects each cask to be blended for the Sagacity. Each Sagacity expression is a one-of-a-kind rum, with Richard selecting and blending only barrels that he deems to be of exceptional quality.

Foursquare Sagacity

  • PRICE : $149

  • ABV : 48%

  • BOTTLE: 700ml

  • REGION: Barbados

Foursquare Sagacity

FROM THE DISTILLERS

A blend of 2 distinct 12-year Single Blended Rums, one aged for 12 years entirely in Ex-Bourbon barrels, the other aged for 12 years entirely in Ex-Madeira barrels. Bottled at 48% ABV. No Color. No Sugar. No Additives. No Filtration.

ABOUT THE DISTILLERY

The Foursquare distillery is owned by R.L.Seale & Co which is a 4th generation family-owned rum trading company dating back to the 1920’s. Now run by David Seale and his son Richard – they oversaw the expansion of the family business to include distilling in 1995 with the purchase of an abandoned sugar refinery. After restoring, refurbishing and installation of fermentation tubs and custom-made distillation equipment, the distillery opened in 1996.

Richard aims to bring authentic Barbadian rums to market and prides himself on the purity of the rum he produces with no sweeteners added throughout any of his bottlings. Pushing boundaries and lifting the global perception of quality of rum, Richard often releases products that would surprise and delight any single malt connoisseur out there.

All Foursquare rums are made form a combination of pot-still distilled spirit and continuous column distilled new make. Their continuous column still is a technological marvel that operates under vacuum to allow distillation temperatures to be decreased.

A two-step fermentation process is used in all Foursquare rums, using a specific yeast imported from South Africa. This 2-step process is computer controlled with the temperature increased slowly and the molasses gradually added over 20 hours.

The majority of maturation at Foursquare is done in ex-bourbon casks. However, Richard loves to experiment with casks so Sherry, Port, Zinfandel and (in the case of the Sagacity) Madeira. They fill their casks at 65-68% alcohol to allow greater interaction between the spirit and the wood. The majority of producers not filling at less than 70% and many cask their spirit at levels approaching 80% abv. Foursquare age all their rum for a minimum of 2 years and pride themselves on never using flavouring additives in their rum.