The Real McCoy Tasting Collection Barbados Rum 4x10 cl 40-50%

Bill McCoy ran liquor up the American east coast during Prohibition and never watered it down. That reputation followed him ashore and lodged itself in the language. Four bottlings from Barbados stand side by side here, from young and sharp to twelve years under a Caribbean roof.

The expert's description

The Real McCoy Tasting Collection Barbados Rum 4x10 cl 40-50% is a tasting set of four Barbados Single Blended Rums matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled between 40 and 50%.

The set holds four 10 cl bottles: The Real McCoy 3 years old Single Blended Rum 40%, The Real McCoy 5 years old Single Blended Rum 40%, The Real McCoy 12 years old Single Blended Rum 40% and The Real McCoy 12 years old Prohibition Tradition Limited Edition Single Blended Rum 50%. Line up four glasses and the whole span of ages sits open in front of you.

The rum comes from Foursquare Distillery in St. Philip, Barbados, where Richard Seale runs production. Single Blended means the pot still and the column still both belong to that one distillery, and the two distillates are married without buying anything in from elsewhere. No sugar and no flavouring go in after maturation. That rule is what the brand is built on, and it is why the name lands: the genuine article, undiluted.

Maturation happens on Barbados in American oak ex-bourbon casks. The tropical climate works fast and the angels take a far larger share than they would in Scotland, so twelve Caribbean years leave a deeper mark than twelve years in a cool warehouse. Prohibition Tradition is pitched at the strength Bill McCoy himself sold, and 50% lifts both spice and oak.

Tasting notes

Nose

The young bottlings open dry and light with coconut, banana and fresh oak. The twelve year old expressions sit darker, with vanilla, dried apricot and a note of tobacco leaf. Prohibition Tradition is the most gathered of the four, tighter and more resinous.

Palate

Dry the whole way through. The three year old is sharp and direct with green banana and pepper, the five year old slides rounder caramel underneath, and at twelve years dark toffee, orange peel and baked apple arrive. The 50% in Prohibition Tradition pushes cinnamon and oak bitterness right to the front.

Finish

Short and peppery at the young end, long and dry at the old. Oak hangs on without anything turning sweet along the way, and that shift is exactly what the four glasses side by side let you follow.

Specifications

Name: The Real McCoy Tasting Collection Barbados Rum 4x10 cl 40-50%
Distillery: Foursquare Distillery
Producer: The Real McCoy
Region/Country: Barbados
Type: Barbados Single Blended Rum
Age: 3, 5 and 12 years
ABV: 40-50%
Size: 4 x 10 CL
Cask type: Ex-bourbon casks
Edition: Tasting Collection
Serving suggestion: Neat in tulip glasses, in rising age order with water alongside

Flavour profile

Dry · Vanilla · Oak · Spiced · Tropical fruit

Did you know?

Foursquare Distillery was built in 1996, yet it stands on the grounds of a sugar plantation dating back to 1636. The old windmill and part of the original estate buildings survive and now serve as a museum on the distillery site.

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Frequently asked questions about The Real McCoy Tasting Collection Barbados Rum 4x10 cl 40-50%

What separates the four bottles in the set?

Age and strength. Three, five and twelve years show what extra time in an ex-bourbon cask does to the same rum, and the fourth bottle is Prohibition Tradition, a twelve year old bottled at higher strength. Taste them in order and you hear the distillery move from bright and sharp to dark and dry.

Is The Real McCoy Tasting Collection worth collecting?

Yes, largely because of the fourth bottle. Prohibition Tradition is a Limited Edition, and limited Foursquare bottlings have a habit of vanishing from shelves. A complete set with all four miniatures intact is harder to track down than the individual bottles.

What does Single Blended Rum mean?

That the blend contains distillate from one distillery only. Foursquare marries its own pot still with its own column still and buys in no Rum from other producers. The term is borrowed from Single Blended Scotch and exists to make the origin unmistakable.

Why does twelve year old Barbados rum taste older than twelve year old whisky?

Because heat drives the process. Barbados stays warm year round, the cask never rests, and evaporation runs many times higher than in a cool warehouse. Twelve tropical years therefore deliver more colour, more wood and more concentration.

What is the best way to work through the set?

Start with the three year old and climb. Use tulip glasses so the aroma gathers, give each pour a few minutes to settle, and keep Prohibition Tradition for last, since 50% will otherwise flatten the lighter bottlings.

Does the set work as a gift?

Yes, it is built to be shared. Four small bottles take up less room than four full ones, they cover an entire age range, and the recipient can taste their way towards the expression that earns a place on the shelf afterwards.

Who was Bill McCoy?

An American sailor who carried liquor from the Caribbean to the US east coast during Prohibition. He was known for never cutting his goods with water or wood alcohol, and the brand takes its name from that habit.