Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados has launched Mark XXIX Mandamus, the newest expression in its Exceptional Cask Selection (ECS) series. The 16-year-old bottling is a Single Blended Rum that underwent a double maturation process, available now in the United States.
The rum was first aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon barrels. It was then transferred into ex-port pipes for an additional six years of maturation.
This release marks the third time Master Distiller and Master Blender Richard Seale has used ex-port casks for an ECS expression. The previous bottlings were Mark II, Port Cask Finish, released in June 2014, and Mark XIV, Détente, which debuted in August 2020.
Bottled at 57% ABV (114 proof), Mandamus has a suggested retail price of $159.99.
The Exceptional Cask Selection series comprises limited and rare offerings from the distillery. Each expression is personally selected by Seale when he deems it to be of exceptional quality.
In line with Foursquare’s production standards, all blending, aging, and bottling for Mandamus occurred entirely on-site at the distillery in Saint Philip, Barbados.
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The rum contains no added color, sugar, or flavor additives and is not chill-filtered.
The term “Single Blended Rum” signifies a blend of heavy and light rums from a single distillery, combining distillates from both traditional pot stills and column stills. This is a key part of Foursquare’s rum-making philosophy and its advocacy for transparency in rum categorization.
Foursquare Rum Distillery operates on a former sugar plantation dating to the 1720s and was reopened by the Seale family in 1996. Richard Seale represents the fourth generation of his family in the rum trade. Under his leadership, the distillery has gained international acclaim for its advocacy of traditional production methods, contributing to the global premiumization of the rum category. The brand is imported in the U.S. by Altamar Brands.
