Richard Seale, the High Class

28 February 2024 | Buyer's Guide
Richard Seale, the High Class

On February 20th, Richard Seale, head of Foursquare Distillery, honored us with a Master Class at the Excellence Rhum store in Paris. It had been several years since he last conducted one in France. The agenda included history, rum, and current events!

Foursquare Covenant

The Foursquare Covenant, organized with Marussia, provided an opportunity to delve back into the Doorly's range. The brand from Foursquare Distillery offers a fruity and round profile, while maintaining a strong presence on the palate. However, the star of the evening was undoubtedly the Foursquare Covenant, an 18-year-old Foursquare, the oldest rum released in the range. This is a molasses rum, aged in ex-Bourbon casks, bearing the mark XXIII. The rum was distilled in both column and pot-stills. This is fundamental to Richard Seale's philosophy. Although the Barbados Rum Geographic Indication project, spearheaded by Richard Seale among others, allows for distillation in column or double-retort pot-stills, for him, the identity of Barbados rum lies in the blending of both types of rum.

The Foursquare Covenant has a rather herbal attack that quickly evolves into excellent fruitiness with surprisingly tannic notes. There are also subtle chocolate notes. It has a long fruity finish, slightly earthy. It is a fatty, powerful rum, pleasant on the palate, and a bit drier than what is usually found at Foursquare. It has an alcohol content of 58%.

Let's talk about Barbados Rum GI (Geographical Indication)

Of course, when you have Richard Seale by your side, it's tempting to gather his thoughts and opinions on the Barbadian rum scene. Barbados is somewhat repopulating its sugar cane. All distilleries have their fields in a country where the majority of the molasses remains imported. The Barbadian sugar industry, kept afloat more for political reasons than economic ones – and why not – only provides a small portion of the molasses. Historically, Barbados sourced its molasses from Guyana, but today, it comes from the Dominican Republic. In the Geographical Indication project submitted by Foursquare, Mount Gay, and St Nicholas Abbey distilleries, the molasses can come from outside… But everything else must be done on-site, from fermentation to bottling.

And what about bulk export? For Richard Seale, the debate needs to be refocused on the question of value. Historically, Barbados rum was often exported in bulk and aged in Europe. This is still the case today to a much lesser extent. Building the GI is about protecting Barbadian value. Wealth production must be done locally, not in American and European cellars. Richard Seale emphasized that bulk export will remain possible. On the bottle, you cannot write "Barbados Rum"; however, the independent bottler can still write "Foursquare," "Mount Gay," or others, and indicate at the bottom of the label "distilled in Barbados." Thus, the aim is to valorize the word "Barbados" without hindering the rum trade.

Richard Seale en pleine explication
Richard Seale en pleine explication

There are many points that could naturally be addressed about this GI whose registration lingers, but recounting the exchanges with Richard Seale provides a different perspective on the topic.

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Written by

Matthieu Lange
Matthieu Lange
Spirits Advisor