Foursquare Penultimus - Exceptional Cask Selection Mark XXX

The first release from Foursquare that features Spanish Moscatel Wine Casks in the maturation, PENULTIMUS is a fifteen-year-old Rum that will be eagerly sought out. 
PENULTIMUS is the thirtieth release (Mark XXX) in the Award-Winning Exceptional Cask Selection series. There is no need to approach this release with a sense of impending finality; rather, enjoy it with excitement and anticipation. 
It is a blend of Rums distilled in the copper double retort pot-still and the continuous twin column stills of FOURSQUARE RUM DISTILLERY, and aged for fifteen years in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Moscatel Wine casks. 
More specifically, for the detail-oriented, it is a blend of two aged Rums. A dual-maturation comprising ten years in ex-Bourbon casks, followed by five years in ex-Moscatel Wine casks. This is then further blended with a fifteen-year-old ex-Bourbon Cask Rum. Excitingly, for those who follow the various releases from FOURSQUARE RUM DISTILLERY, this is the first time that Spanish Moscatel Wine Casks have featured as a part of the maturation bill. 
This excellent expression of Single Blended Rum has been distilled and fully matured at FOURSQUARE RUM DISTILLERY before blending and bottling, presented at 57% alcohol by volume, without chill-filtration, at its natural colour, and free from sweeteners and other adjuncts.
 
TASTING NOTES
NOSE: Complex evolving layers of dark, bitter chocolate, black tea leaves, ground mixed spices, and Medjool dates vie with desiccated coconut, green grape skins, dried banana chips, and a hint of zesty lemon.
PALATE: Soft, oily and sweet on the palate. A sense of freshness. Golden melon, ripe pineapple, gentle caramel, and more dark chocolate.
FINISH: Grippy and long-lasting. A tangy, juicy lemon sherbert rush gives way to more green-grape-skin astringency that lasts and lasts.