Aroma visualization from community tastings
Foursquare ECS XXVI Magisterium 2008
Most tasters land on "really rounded and balanced," with the sherry maturation adding nutty dried fruit and dark chocolate without steamrolling the classic Foursquare backbone. Expect coconut, coffee, caramel, vanilla and warm cinnamon spice, with the 58% mostly well tucked in. A few find it a touch one-dimensional or metallic on the finish, and one called it a weaker ECS. A little water opens it up.
The community says- Well-integrated 58%
- Creamy sherry roundness
- Similar to other ECS
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The look inside the bottle
How does Foursquare ECS XXVI Magisterium 2008 taste?
Aggregated from 80 community reviews.
Rounded, sherried Foursquare with chocolate and spice Widely liked as one of the better sherried Foursquares — creamy, round, well-integrated ABV. The catch: it doesn't stray far from other ECS bottlings, and a few find the finish flat or bitter.
Foursquare fans who like sherry-cask depth and dark chocolate notes
Anyone wanting bright tropical fruit or something that breaks the Foursquare mold
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
30 of 80 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Foursquare ECS XXVI Magisterium 2008 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.5 sits in the “Very good” band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
19% rate it between 6 and 8. 20 selected write-ups from 80 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Basti
Most helpful positive review
The nose is very restrained at first, but opens up with plenty of time in the glass. Then lots of spicy and woody aromas, but also a nice coffee/malt note that is somewhat reminiscent of the Diamond SVL/MDS bottlings. More on the spicy, woody side on the palate. All in all, I like it very much. Rating confirmed in another (blind) tasting. Stands out clearly from the other FS bottlings due to the distinctive coffee note.
Review by Henry Davies
Most helpful mixed review
Overall it’s a weak ECS for me. Undoubtably still a good run but find it really uninspiring and have now tried it a number of times and just doesn’t hit the mark for me. Nose is light with coconut and a bit of meaty bacon. The mouth is soft with a backbone of bitterness, coffee and overall less plump sweetness and caramel than most ECS offerings. The finish is long but a tad flat and one dimensional with an ultimate metallic edge. One of my least favourite Foursquares
Review by Johannes
For me, without direct comparison, one of the best Foursquare bottlings. Alcohol very well integrated, lots of pot on the palate, column not in the foreground. Edit: compared to the Distilia FS Apollo better integrated and less column.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#5016 31.12.2024 A nice little rum after dinner now waiting for the big fireworks at midnight. Nose Light wood, sweet, round, fruits, light berries, light pineapple, spice. Palate Oily, wood, faint smoke, fruity, sweet, spice, dried fruit, light chocolate, light cherry. Finish Medium to long, wood, light roasted, fruits, light pineapple, spice, light tannins, light plum. The empty glass has light leather, raisin and light cinnamon.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Really nice Foursquare! Not too sweet and the sherry finish is not too dominant. Coconut, dark chocolate, cinnamon, some caramelized pineapple, caramel, cinnamon and pleasant tannins. Really a very well-rounded wine and available at a very fair PLV!
Review by zabo
For me once again a nice elegant Foursquare bottling for a long time. This time I only got one bottle for a split, which makes me a little regretful. As usual, every Foursquare ECS bottling is of a high standard with very few exceptions. That's why this one doesn't really stand out, but that still makes it a very good rum for me personally.
Review by Stefan Persson
Tasted this great rum during Sweden Rumfest 2025. It’s a blend of rum distilled in a copper pot still and a twin column still. It’s aged in a combination of three different rums being aged in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks for 16 years and bottled at 58%. The nose is full bodied, intense, tart and fruity with aromas of fudge, dark chocolate, banana, raisins, sultanas and mango and hints of orange and coffee. At the palate it’s complex, full bodied, silky, tart, soft, salty and oily with flavors of caramel, toffee, vanilla, dates, raisins, cherries, and pineapple. The finish is rather long, fresh, warm, fruity and spicy with flavors of pineapple, mango, ginger, lemon, oak and anise.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,5:On the nose, round, roasted wood notes with chocolate, caramel, burnt sugar, leather, spicy, glue and nail polish, toasted coconut and pineapple, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration citrus and dried fruits like prunes, raisins, arise, baking spices, roasted nuts and hints of cardboard. 8,7:On the palate, the attack is sweet with toasted oak and sherry notes like butterscotch, coffee, spicy with baking spices, various fruits with coconut, citrus and dried fruits like apricots, raisins, some of the citrus fruits are candied.When the rum is well oxidized, the rum is very creamy, smooth with dark chocolate, vanilla, pastry, caramelized, roasted nuts, peanuts, some tobacco is out. 8,6:The finish is long, dry and tannic, slightly metallic, as sweet toasted oak notes like cardboard, peanuts, dark chocolate, pastry, coffee, spicy, pair sweet, candied, caramelized molasses with tobacco and dried, citrus fruits, pineapple. Edit:14.3.26
Review by abaker-rum
Another good representation of Barbados rum. The sherry cask finish seems to replace the typical tropical fruits with dried fruit. You get woody, caramel, and vanilla notes throughout the expression. A quality ECS but it doesn’t stand out much from some of the others.
Review by Timo Groeger
Hätte ich ganz anders erwartet diesen Rum. Also Fruchtigkeit ist hier, abgesehen von der Coconut, nicht erkennbar. Statt dessen eher leicht süßlich, Vanille, Schokolade und Karamell sind hier das Maß aller Dinge ;)
Review by Tim
Sehr guter Foursquare, wie immer auf hohem Niveau. Im Vergleich zum Sovereignty schneidet der Magisterium vielleicht etwas schlechter ab. Kaffee, Schokolade und Gewürze, ergänzt von etwas Trockenfrucht und Karamell erwarten einen, wenn man sich diesen Rum gönnt. Dadurch aber auch bitter und trocken. Einer der besseren ECS.
Review by Jussi Piirainen
This rum did sit in the glass for a good 20 minutes before the review. On the nose: Sherry cask influence is there, but is doesn't overtake the nose. Woody, roasted with typical coconut and caramel notes in the background. Round. Taste: Woody and sherry notes from the cask. Sweet notes. Mouthfeel becomes little bit creamy. Then you get baking spices and some mild bitter dark chocolate notes. Finish: Woody, spicy, dark chocolate. Light pineapple notes. Little bit of tannings. Dry and lightly bitter. I would this rum somewhere in the middle in the ECS series ranking. Typical Foursquare, but with gentle sherry cask influence.
Review by Schnubbii
Wie kommt es eigentlich, dass ich den Magisterium noch nicht bewertet habe? Schon in der Nase wunderbar rund und fruchtig. Am Gaumen ergänzen sich das Foursquare Profil und die Sherry Reifung perfekt. Das Fass drückt hier nicht so sehr wie beim Equidem, gleichzeitig finde ich auch keine Bitterkeit durch die lange Reifung wie beim Covenant oder Fidelitas. Einfach nur lecker. Zur Perfektion fehlt mir nur noch ein wenig mehr Komplexität, das ändert aber nichts daran, dass ich den Magisterium unglaublich rund, ausgewogen und einfach brutal lecker finde. Wie viele FS ECS wird er mit etwas Wasser noch besser. Mir persönlich gefällt der Magisterium von den aktuellen ECS Abfüllungen bisher am besten. Anstatt dem Fidelitas hinterher zu jagen für das Geld lieber 2 Flaschen Magisterium kaufen (oder mehr).
Review by Julien Ries
Sa couleur est caramel et le nez suit cette couleur. On est saisi par la typicité de Foursquare, sans la classique noix de coco râpée. A la place, du toffee, ce bonbon anglais de caramel et de crème qui nappe les narines. Quelques épices chaudes accompagnent un cortège de fruits exotiques séchés : mangue, papaye. On a aussi des notes de fève de cacao grillée, voire de Tonka, de chocolat noir puissant. Le boisé est bien présent aussi. Le palais amène encore cette sucrosité du toffee. Le liquide est épais, sirupeux. On est encore dans les épices, la vanille, la cannelle. Le chocolat devient plus doux, vire au crémeux. La finale est moyennement longue sur les épices et le boisé. Si l'ADN de Foursquare est bien là, ça change un peu de ce qu'on connait de cette distillerie.
Review by alex
Encore un foursquare qui ressemble beaucoup à tous les autres, mais que je trouve bon et j’aime bien de temps en temps Comme d’habitude, de belle notes de caramel, boisé, pimenté avec une touche de vanille et de café Ça se déguste bien. Belle rondeur et belle longueur
Review by Fuwi
Bei Sherry Finish bin ich seit meiner Whisky-Zeit sehr vorsichtig, bei der Rum habe ich damit selten gute Erfahrungen machen können. Hier ist die Abfüllung wirklich gut geworden, das nahezu typische FS Profil mit dunklen Früchten, kandiertem Obst und schokoladigen Anteilen wird noch durch eine witzige Zimt-Schärfe erweitert, die man kurz an der Zungenspitze spürt und sich dann in ein volles, rundes Aroma entwickelt mit Vanille, Holz und Leder, begleitet von dunklen Gewürzen und Früchten. Die Nase ist zunächst nichtssagend, kommt aber mit der Zeit und verströmt herrliche Eindrücke von Leder, Fass und Schokolade. Die 58% sind verdammt gut integriert und mich würde ein direkter Vergleich gegen Equidem, Absolutio und Fidelitas interessieren. Mega PLV!
Review by Maxime Clr 🇫🇷
Un beau nez : coco, boisé, rôti, des baies comme les groseilles, le piment. Une bouche sur la coco, le chocolat, le beurre, les raisins secs, mais trop de piment. C’est gourmand mais alcool mal intégré.
Review by Jack M
Tasted at the UK RumFest, and not a fully in depth tasting - overall impressions were that it’s a very smooth rum and the sherry brings a nice seeetness to the typical foursquare profile. I have a bottle of Sovereignty (also a sherry double maturation blend) on the go at home and I think the Magisterium tops it. I’ll certainly be hoping to get a bottle when it is released. The guys on the Foursquare stand were really knowledgeable and welcoming. I also got to meet Richard Seale later in the day too as he staed around after his masterclass.
Review by ordogh
This rum reached my expectations. Hard not to love with its complexity (well integrated abv), balance and roundness. And it still has a solid, but recognizable Foursquare character. I’m usually not the fan of sherried notes, but this is so elegant, creamy, that I completely forgot about the sherry.
Review by Adrianv
Interesting Foursquare, nose is coming slowly, rich on palate, nice finish, balanced, woody, metalic, spicy rum
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Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 8.0/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by The Auditor Reviews
Read full review →This is a great rum, it falls in that vein of Raspberry menthol cough syrup, but not as intense as others in that flavor vein that Ive had. Nevertheless, this is a great and tasty rum
Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →It is long and very satisfying with a very lip smacking flavour! This is a another great entry into the Exceptional Cask Series. I have really enjoyed re-acquainting myself with a Foursquare rum as I haven't had one for a while. Still producing really good stuff and still upping the...
Details about Foursquare ECS XXVI Magisterium 2008
A Pot & Column Still Rum from Barbados, distilled by Foursquare, at 58%.
Community purchases
161 bottles logged by 124 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
11% opened, 2 emptied and repurchased.
What does Foursquare ECS XXVI Magisterium 2008 cost?
Community paid 104–149 €.
Current best price: 159.00 € – 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+ →
+5 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
161 purchased · 82 tasted · 35 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 XXIII Covenant 2005
Foursquare ECS XXIII Covenant 2005Oaky, dry 18-year Foursquare sipper
Foursquare ECS XXIV 2011
Foursquare ECS XXIV 2011Classic oaky, coconut-vanilla Foursquare at full strength
Foursquare ECS XIX Sovereignty 2007
Foursquare ECS XIX Sovereignty 2007Sherried Foursquare, hot but rewards resting
Foursquare ECS XX Isonomy 2005
Foursquare ECS XX Isonomy 2005Woody, chocolatey, well-balanced Foursquare
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I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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