UNICORNS OF ANOTHER ILK
As bourbon unicorns become fewer and farther between, many collectors have moved to either A) single-malt Scotch, where well-aged, well-priced offerings are rarely allocated, or B) other spirits that are bourbon-like caramel and vanilla flavor bombs. Accordingly, these distilleries and independent bottlers have begun playing to the bourbon crowd, offering single-barrel, cask-strength, limited-edition, and pricy bottlings to tickle their fancies. (While some, like the Sazerac-owned Corazón tequila seem preternaturally raised to be unicorns, as the tequila is aged in George T. Stagg and William Larue Weller barrels.)
As bourbon unicorns become fewer and farther between, many collectors have moved to either A) single-malt Scotch, where well-aged, well-priced offerings are rarely allocated, or B) other spirits that are bourbon-like caramel and vanilla flavor bombs. Accordingly, these distilleries and independent bottlers have begun playing to the bourbon crowd, offering single-barrel, cask-strength, limited-edition, and pricy bottlings to tickle their fancies. (While some, like the Sazerac-owned Corazón tequila seem preternaturally raised to be unicorns, as the tequila is aged in George T. Stagg and William Larue Weller barrels.)
Here are three contenders.
Foursquare Rum ($75-$125)
Located on an 18th-century sugar plantation on the Caribbean island of Barbados, Foursquare Rum’s distilling operations have only been going on since 1996. Stateside fame has come even more recently, when in the mid-2010s, whiskey connoisseurs began to realize how bourbon-y a lot of the rum brand’s top releases were. (Many are even aged in ex-bourbon barrels.) Reasonably priced (though rising!) and readily available (though less so than before!), well-aged, high-proof, one-off releases like Empery and the Exceptional Cask selections seem poised for future unicorn status. While rum nuts certainly like Foursquare, many tend to favor funkier rums like those from Hamden Estate and Worthy Park. Alas, if Don Julio is the Pappy of tequila, Foursquare has surely become the “Pappy of rum.”
Foursquare Rum ($75-$125)
Located on an 18th-century sugar plantation on the Caribbean island of Barbados, Foursquare Rum’s distilling operations have only been going on since 1996. Stateside fame has come even more recently, when in the mid-2010s, whiskey connoisseurs began to realize how bourbon-y a lot of the rum brand’s top releases were. (Many are even aged in ex-bourbon barrels.) Reasonably priced (though rising!) and readily available (though less so than before!), well-aged, high-proof, one-off releases like Empery and the Exceptional Cask selections seem poised for future unicorn status. While rum nuts certainly like Foursquare, many tend to favor funkier rums like those from Hamden Estate and Worthy Park. Alas, if Don Julio is the Pappy of tequila, Foursquare has surely become the “Pappy of rum.”
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