Aroma visualization from community tastings
Foursquare ECS IX Empery 2004
"Still one of best in ECS rum line," one member says, and most agree this 14-year sherry-finished Foursquare is a well-made Bajan. Expect dried fruit, dark chocolate, tobacco and plenty of oak, with coconut and vanilla underneath. The 56% is mostly well integrated, though a few taste a little heat or sulphur that oxidation clears. Many find it very good but not markedly different from other ECS bottlings.
The community says- Dried fruit and chocolate
- Well-integrated 56%
- Sulphur note early
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The look inside the bottle
How does Foursquare ECS IX Empery 2004 taste?
Aggregated from 131 community reviews.
Rich, oaky sherry-finished Foursquare sipper A high-quality sherry-finished Foursquare with chocolate, dried fruit and oak. Most rate it strongly; the recurring note is that it doesn't break away from the rest of the ECS line.
Foursquare fans who like sherry-finished, oaky sippers
Anyone put off by cask-strength heat or sulphur notes
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
47 of 131 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Foursquare ECS IX Empery 2004 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.4 sits in the “Very good” band. 96% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
15% rate it between 6 and 8. 20 selected write-ups from 131 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Most helpful positive review
21.10.2025 Retasting and I still like it. ---------- Another good bottling from this company. The nose is fruity with some vanilla and chocolate topped with wonderful oak. The palate is well balanced and complex with fruit and spices, lightly sweet with a tad of chocolate, tobacco and oak. The finish is nice and long with dried fruit, vanilla and some coffee ending on a nice note of oak.
Review by JFehr
Most helpful critical review
Weich, rund, dezente Süße. Kaffee und Kakao. Ich werd mit Foursquare einfach nicht warm
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
very tasty foursquare, nice coffee & cocoa note! This is definitely daily easy sipping material. Extremely round and drinkable. The port barrel harmonizes very well with the rum without making it sweeter, but brings in nice notes of figs, citrus, tobacco and tannins. Very horny number.
Review by Johannes
Too much sherry influence for me personally
Review by Galli33
Lovely smell and taste of Oak. One sip and your mouth fills up with the taste of oak. Awesome experience 😍 A very good and balanced rum with a great finish! Nose: Intense, Sherry, dried fruits, coconut, prunes, fruity, raisin, caramelized, woody, spicy, oak, vanilla, roasted nuts Mouth: complex, balanced, dry, full bodied, delicious, cognac, tobacco, sweet, caramel, dried fruits, dried dates, raisin, oak, woody, vanilla, dark chocolate, roasted nuts Finish: Medium, dry, tannins, tobacco, dried fruits, prunes, caramelized, oak(barrel), vanilla, roated nuts, dark chocolate, smoky
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Foursquare je destilerka z Barbadosu produkujici uzasne rumy ke kazdodennimu popijeni. Je to rum, ktery oceni zejmena rumari, kteri maji plne zuby cukru a hledaji jemny, nasladly rum plny kokosu, vanilky, cokolady a karamelu. Proste prijemne a nijak agresivni chute.
Review by cigares
Despite the alcohol, the nose is sweet. Pastries and leather, varnished wood and overripe banana. A slight sourness spoils the party. The finish is average, rather varnish-like. The empty glass gives voice to the tropical fruit. A disappointing rum, with parasitic aromas we could have done without. To be retested with more oxidation. Re-tested with oxidation and all is much better, the fruit is ample and the sulphur has vanished. Three more well-deserved points.
Review by Johannes Oscarsson
Well balanced oak, sweet and coconut notes. Strong alcohol on the nose and initial hit but pleasant warmth.
Review by zabo
A brief comparison test of the Foursquare Equipoise and the Foursquare Empery. As was to be expected, both are at the usual high level. All in all, however, neither of them breaks out at the top. In the meantime, although I really appreciate Foursquare, my conclusion would be, you know one, you know them all.
Review by DomM
Nice Foursquare expression of high quality as always. The sherry finish works well with the rum and is not overpowering. Rich dried fruits and nougat/choclate notes dominate alongside wood. On the downside, however, there is just a bit too much of an alcoholic sting on the plate which other FS bottlings just manage better. Therefore, „very good“ but on the lower end of FS ECS bottlings for me.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,7:On the nose, strong barrel impact with citrus fruits and toasted coconut, glue, roasted wood notes with nuts, leather, cocoa, butterscotch and maybe burnt sugar, flowery molasses, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, sherry finish dried fruits reveal themselves with raisins, prunes, apricots, dark chocolate and some bourbon yellow fruits. 8,7:On the palate, the attack is dry, oaky at first, cognac like, fruity with toasted coconut, dried apricots and raisins, later dates, sweet with roasted wood notes like butterscotch, dark chocolate, spicy with vanilla and cinnamon, pepper, salty, as the molasses is earthy with tobacco, herbaceous.On oxidation, the wood is slightly resinous, bitter. 8,6:The finish is long, dry&tannic, very oaky-furry, cognac notes are strong, the molasses is earthy with tobacco, musty.Fruity and roasted notes from the palate linger on...
Review by Timo Groeger
Und nich einen Foursquare, im ersten Schluck könnte er auch als El Dorado durchgehen. Aber wieder viel Kokosnuss bei diesem Rum. Ansonstenbwieder sehr röstig, dunkle Schokolade, Vanille aber auch etwas Holz haben wir hier.
Review by Tim
Der Empery, einer der letzten älteren FS ECS, die man für einen normalen Preis noch bekommt. Er besitzt eine einladende Nase mit viel Karamell und Röstaromen (gebrannter Zucker), Sherry ist erkennbar. Im Mund wirklich ganz anders, wie erwartet und wie andere ECS: sehr fruchtig und nach Cognac. Im Abgang mehr Röstiges und Fasseinflüsse. Die letzten Sherry-Releases (Sovereignty, Magisterium) waren da insgesamt besser.
Review by Chrischi78
Soft nose despite alcohol: pastry, leather, wood, banana. First disturbing varnish notes and mediocre finish. Much better after oxidation - full fruit, sulphur gone. Quite a pleasant boy. But also no top position...
Review by TheRhumhoe
An ambivalent Foursquare. The sherry-barrel-driven nose reveals a very sweet fruitiness of prune, raisin and coconut, accompanied by the typical notes of caramel and toffee. Spices, oak and toasted hazelnuts are also perceptible in this concentrated, mellow nose. On the palate, the rum is more peachy, with notes of cognac, tobacco, toast and dried fruit that accentuate the dryness on the palate. The spices (cinnamon, chili, vanilla, pepper) become more persistent, sharpening the profile which, until the first sip, had been fairly mild. The alcohol is well integrated. The finish is rather long, with typical Foursquare markers: toasty, gourmand woodiness, roasted coffee notes, caramel, sweet fruitiness and a few hints of tobacco and cognac that flesh out the roundness of the Bajan style. The influence of cognac adds a little something extra to this friendly Foursquare, which asserts its character despite an assumed sweetness.
Review by Filip Šikula
Another great performance from foursquare. This time finished in a port and sherry cask. Both went perfectly with this Barbados rum, the ex-port mellowing and rounding it all out, while the ex-sherry adds a sweetness beyond the usual level we're used to with ecs. I like it.
Review by Piotr Ignasiak
Loads of spices and dried fruit, wine influence is felt, as well as a tobacco note. Some sulphur if you smell the glass right after. Good but Redoubtable much more to my taste tonight.
Review by Schnubbii
Typical Foursquare profile, the sherry influence has a good balance, the alcohol is well integrated. A very tasty and successful Foursquare, but one that does not particularly stand out from other FS bottlings with a sherry finish.
Review by Louis Zimmermann
Après une longue aéreration, il offre un bouquet riche de fruits secs, de chocolat noir, d’épices et de bois. Une attaque intense mais bien équilibrée, offrant un mélange de saveur (chocolat noir / café / cacao) et une pointe de gourmandise bien spécifique à Foursquare. Dégustation chaleureuse idéale au coin du feu
Review by Portman
Again a typical ECS, without fault. Very harmonious and with exactly the right sweetness.
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Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 8.6/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by The Secret Rum Bar
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Expert review by Le Blog À Roger
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Expert review by In Spiritus Veritas
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Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →When blended and bottled we have three very distinct expressions. A review of Patrimonio will follow soon. For more opinions on Empery (and 2007) have a look at Rum Revelations . My advice on which Foursquare rum to buy? Buy them all. After all Empery means "Absolute Sovereignty" and at...
Expert review by Rum Diaries Blog
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Details about Foursquare ECS IX Empery 2004
A Pot & Column Still Rum from Barbados, distilled by Foursquare, at 56%.
Community purchases
397 bottles logged by 290 collectors.
A drinker & collector.
18% opened, 25 emptied and repurchased.
What does Foursquare ECS IX Empery 2004 cost?
Community paid 65–140 €.
Current best price: 189.90 € – above the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
+6 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
397 purchased · 141 tasted · 41 wishlist · as of
About the Foursquare distillery
The Foursquare distillery is located in Barbados. Rums from Foursquare have been reviewed 14,076 times with an average of 8.3/10.
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Foursquare ECS XIV Détente 2010
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