Transcontinental Rum Line Barbados 6 (2015) La Maison & Velier

Review by: Raygun

A quick note before anything else for the sake of transparency. This review was done with an industry sample provided free of charge, with no expectations beyond drinking them. As always, I do my best to provide my unbiased opinion, and readers can decide how they want to take this review. For more information, see our Ethics & Transparency statement.

The Transcontinental Rum Line is a series of bottlings that, according to LM&V, aims to showcase the diversity of rum production around the world. The line consists of rums from seven countries and one blend of rum from three countries. This is the Barbados entry, featuring a blend of pot and column still rums fermented from molasses. Aged five years in Barbados and one year in France. Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 15 minutes.

Distillery: Foursquare

Bottler: La Maison & Velier

Region/style: Barbados single blended molasses rum

ABV: 55% 

Age: 6 years: 5 in Barbados, 1 in France. Distilled in 2015 and bottled in 2021.   

Cask type: Ex-bourbon

Color: 0.8 deep gold. Natural color and free of additives

Nose: Caramel, molasses, and date syrup. Some cocoa. Smells very rich.     

Palate: Vanilla, root beer, and a definite touch of chocolate. There’s a hint of spice, but hard to pin down. The richness from the nose is quite apparent. Nice texture to it.   

Finish: Caramel, vanilla, root beer. A mild herbal touch. Some cinnamon.   

Conclusion: Very nice. Reminiscent of bourbon in many ways, with the vanilla and root beer flavors. This makes sense coming from Foursquare, which isn’t on the label but is revealed on the LM&V website. In any case, it’s a good, accessible rum that I think most drinkers would enjoy.   

Score: 81

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent rum worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

Published by Raygun

Unknown's avatar

I drank Scotch occasionally (mostly at family gatherings) for years, but started getting more interested after an introduction and tasting from a Scottish acquaintance. That led to buying my first bottle (Highland Park 12). Now 600+ spirits later, Scotch is still my first love, but I drink other whisky and dabble in brandy as well.

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