Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Foursquare Sassafras 2006
"An den Sassafras muss man sich etwas rantasten," one member puts it — give it 30-45 minutes and it opens up. The 11 years in Cognac casks push dried apricot, prune and coconut over the classic Foursquare frame of vanilla, caramel and dark chocolate. At 61% it runs big and woody, with charred oak and spice on a long finish. Divisive: adored by many, "too much wood" for some.
The community says- Cognac-cask depth
- Dried fruit, coconut
- Very woody
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Buy Velier Foursquare Sassafras 2006:
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Foursquare Sassafras 2006 taste?
Aggregated from 220 community reviews.
Big, woody Cognac-cask Foursquare sipper Most rate it near the top of the Velier Foursquares — rich, spicy and Cognac-marked. The recurring catch: heavy oak and heat that need patience, and it doesn't quite match the hype for everyone.
Foursquare fans who like dark, woody, Cognac-influenced sippers
Anyone who dislikes heavy oak or higher ABV heat
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
94 of 220 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Velier Foursquare Sassafras 2006 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.8 sits in the “Very good” band. 98% 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?
7% rate it between 6 and 8. 20 selected write-ups from 220 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
One of the community's most-rated rums
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Foursquare has done it again. A nice intense and complex rum for those who like good rum. Wow. The nose is wonderful once rested for 15-20 minutes. Then you're almost overwhelmed by a nice bouquet of fruit and spices. In the back I find coconut and some charred wood. The palate doesn't disappoint considering the wonderful nose. Naturally sweet, lightly dry. Intense, balanced and complex all in one go..... Then you have fruit and spices followed by caramel and charred wood. The finish is very long and has plum and vanilla finishing with charred wood. Retasting today confirms it's a winner.
Review by cigares
Equal parts varnish and tropical fruit, giving the nose a sense of balance. Lively and elegant, it reconciles opposites. A slight acetone gives it depth. On the palate, great elegance with mellow aromas. A vibrant, complex palate with noble bitters that give the rum character. The finish is long, and as soon as it's finished, you want to pour yourself another glass. The empty glass reveals a hint of dirt, as with the 2009. A very fine Foursquare, lively, elegant and deep.
Review by Oliver
Personally, too much wood and somewhat unbalanced.
Review by DomM
Velier FS (+ a fee spected other contenders) blind cross tasting: Honestly, the results here were very close. The Belier bottlings display a very high quality thourgout the range. Triptych and Pleni came out on top for me closely followed by Destino. I was somewhat surprised, that Sassafras and 2006 came out rather at the bottom, while I enjoyed both very much on their own. Raconteur also quite low in the ranking with Principia clearly at the bottom.
Review by Tschusikowsky
Exciting tasting. And overall also very tasty, although for me not quite as tasty as viellicht the reputation of the Foursquare / Velier bottlings is. With the Triptych, the wood influence was much too dominant for me. Positive memories of children's chocolate came through. With the Patrimonio, associations on the nose of Indian korma and watermelon. But sharp and dry. Principa I found very awesome at first. Nice fruit components but still FS DNA. But on the finish, the alcohol is too biting. Sassafras pleases me well, but is clearly woody. Plenipotenzario stands out for me with complexity. Very cool. But the clear winner is the Destino. Fruity, harmonious, complex and very tasty! From my memory also a tick better than the 2006. Whether he is worth the money that you have to take today to hand, however, I doubt.
Review by Johannes
Amazingly good Foursquare!
Review by zabo
Edit: Zum großen Crosstasting der Velier Abfüllungen haben sich noch der Swell und der Barbados 2006 Flag Series mit dazu geschmuggelt. Leider war es bis jetzt noch nicht möglich ein Sample vom 70th. zu bekommen. Im allgemeinen ist zu sagen dass es im Blindflug keine großen Unterschiede an der Nase gab. Beim Geschmack selber sind jedoch Unterschiede erkennbar. Nach meiner Meinung fallen aber drei deutlich aus der Reihe und bilden mit Abstand das Schlusslicht. Franconian Tasting Gang Leider ein wenig enttäuschend, wenn man schon mal den 2006er im Glas hatte. Danke @Flo1977 dass du 27,5m heim gelaufen bist um ihn extra zu holen. Aber irgendwas stimmt mit dem nicht, entweder war der zu lange offen oder er ist doch einfach gar nicht so gut.
Review by Benoit Mahe
A good Foursquare as we like them. The finish is of a superb greediness. A lot of pleasure but the woody and spicy flavors don't make it sickening. On the other hand the alcohol could be better integrated.
Review by Leo Krüper
Extrem gefälliger breiter Cognac FS. Mir gefällt er super und hat sicher das größte Allrounder Potenzial. Auch für Einsteiger geeignet.
Review by Giorgio Garotti
A foursquare masterpiece!
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Grundsätzlich ein solider Foursquare mit einer angenehmen Aromatik. Das cognac aging oder finish bringt zusätzliche Holz Aromen und Tannine mit ein. Der Alkohol könnte ein tick besser integriert sein. Ansonsten findet sich hier eine tolle Aromatik nach gerösteten Haselnüssen, gebranntem Zucker und Eichenholz, sowie dunkler Schokolade und verkohltem Leder. Könnte aber insgesamt deutlich ausgewogener sein.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,7:On the nose, the first impression we get is mostly woody with roasted notes like nuts, caramel, spices as cinnamon and some coconut. A molasses is vegetal, we scent a glue. On aeration, it becomes more interesting with burnt sugar, caramelized, dried fruits like apricots, raisins, citrus, there are tobacco and black tea, pleasantly balancing the notes. 9:On the palate, the attack is delicious with charred wood notes like caramel, nuts, pastry and tasty with dried fruits as on the nose, toasted coconut and citrus. It is very round and full-bodied. Resting brings some dirty notes, smokiness, bacon, baking spices and ripe mango. 8,9:The finish is long, dry and also tasty with charred wood notes, hazelnut is quite strong, chocolate, some leather, vanilla joins and prunes, other notes remain as on the palate. Edit:26.7.25
Review by Lukas Jäger
So, now also VSGB No.1 opened and the much-noticed Sassafras in the glass. With Foursquare and especially Barbados in general, I could never get excited so far. However, the Sassafras convinces me with a quite multilayered and complex taste, which provides mainly dark and spicy notes. The 15 years and probably especially the 11 in the cognac barrel make themselves quite noticeable. All in all in really good, but for me not great rum. Nevertheless, my highlight so far from Barbados.
Review by Christoph H.
Foursquare, a distillery I've found to be just ok so far and for good reason compared to other distilleries. I can't say the same for this one. DDL sends its regards beautifully! Here it comes dangerously close to my favorite distillery already. Dried fruit, orange peel, glue, polish, sweet notes like caramel and nicely integrated wood. All this I also often find again in DDL, here, however, long not so pronounced and complex. The palate is incredibly drinkable, sweet, intense, with pleasant tannins and a slight bitterness. Really beautiful rum!
Review by TheRhumhoe
A real sure bet among the Foursquare wines bottled in recent years. The nose is full and greedy, with sweet, pastry notes (caramel, toffee), chocolate and a fruity roundness marked by dried and exotic fruits. The woodiness, marked by polish, and the spices bring a fine balance to a nose that gains in aroma and intensity with age. The attack on the palate is opulent, rich with spices and wood, balanced by notes of sugar, caramel and pastry. Chocolate, dried fruit and coconut add roundness. The alcohol is well integrated, but its warmth is somewhat noticeable on the palate. The finish is long and warm, with cooked caramel, toffee, sweet spices, chilli, toasted oak, dark chocolate and hazelnut. Dried fruit and coconut linger on the palate. A fine selection by Velier, well-structured and well worth the release price.
Review by Joachim Guger
Really nice Foursquare nose, unfortunately the alcohol stings neat.In the mouth then very spicy and much too woody.From the taste profile really great, but the quality is compromised by alcohol and neat wood.
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
The best Foursquare I've ever had as a Foursquare skeptic. Very pleasing, especially on the palate, without this for me obtrusive typical Foursquare characteristics too much to emphasize. For me, therefore, also winner in direct comparison with the Principia often rated here on a par.Was very pleased to have made the acquaintance of this great rum. 👍
Review by Sebastian Kornett
Yes it is good! No it does not live up to the hype. He is more balanced in taste and finish by the 11 years Cognac fasst storage. More but also not. I'd rather buy two bottles of the ESC series. They make just as much fun.
Review by F.L.O.
My first high-priced rum from back in the day.... Typical Foursquare profile with developed roasted aromas, super integrated alcohol and delicious wood flavor. After many more Foursquares, it is still at the upper limit.
Review by Tim
Solider Foursquare mit runder und fruchtiger Nase. Keine wilden Überraschungen vorhanden, aber das muss auch nicht sein. Karamell, Gewürze, Rauch im Mund, Schokolade, Holz, dezent Frucht und nicht zu verkennen nussig. Lecker und angenehm, aber definitiv ein trockener und scharfer Rum.
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Expert reviews
4 critics scored it, averaging 9.0/10. 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 The Auditor Reviews
Read full review →This is certainly an excellent expression of rum from Barbados. You get the strong classic notes I associate with Foursquare, toasted coconut, dark chocolate, a touch of nutmeg. But, there is a bit of jammy fruits here as well that is a interesting and different. It’s powerful in its expression while still staying true to Richard Seale’s version of Barbados rum. One of the best Foursquares I’ve had and up to this point, the best Velier Forusquare I’ve tried.
Expert review by In Spiritus Veritas
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Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →Especially those lucky enough to be in mainland Europe. Quite what Brexit will mean for us in the UK - I'm not too sure. So I'm pleased I was given the chance to sample the first bottle which made it over here privately! Another exceptional Foursquare.
Details about Velier Foursquare Sassafras 2006
A Pot & Column Still Rum from Barbados, bottled by Velier, at 61%.
Community purchases
576 bottles logged by 364 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
11% opened, 28 emptied and repurchased.
What does Velier Foursquare Sassafras 2006 cost?
Community paid 160–273 €.
Current best price: 295.00 € – 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+ →
+6 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
576 purchased · 229 tasted · 87 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.
To Foursquare →You may also enjoy
Rum enthusiasts who like this rum have also given the following rums high ratings:
Velier Foursquare Triptych
Velier Foursquare TriptychWoody, balanced Foursquare with dry spicy finish
Velier Foursquare Destino 2003
Velier Foursquare Destino 2003Rounded, coconut-chocolate cask-strength Foursquare
Velier Foursquare Destino Richard Seale 2003
Velier Foursquare Destino Richard Seale 2003Rich, chocolatey top-tier Foursquare sipper
Velier Foursquare Plenipotenziario 2007
Velier Foursquare Plenipotenziario 2007Complex, dry, fruit-forward cask-strength Foursquare
Velier Foursquare Raconteur 2006
Velier Foursquare Raconteur 2006Nutty, spicy Foursquare with Oloroso depth
Velier Foursquare Principia 2008
Velier Foursquare Principia 2008Sherry-heavy, intense Foursquare with hot edges
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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
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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