The Last Drop Releases 22 Year Old Barbados Rum
The oldest rum Foursquare Distillery has ever released spent its last three years in very old Port pipes, and only 566 bottles exist. The Last Drop Distillers has announced Release No. 43, a 22 Year Old Barbados Rum created by Foursquare owner and distiller Richard Seale. It is the brand's first rum Signature Creation, and it pairs one of the most respected names in rum with a label built around rare, aged spirits.
Did You Know?
This is the oldest rum in Foursquare's history, and it is the first rum Signature Creation for The Last Drop.
Seale says he had this 2004 blend in mind for The Last Drop from the earliest days of his involvement with The Last Drop Assembly.
Foursquare has adapted the classic double-retort pot still, a traditional style of still used in rum making, to run under vacuum.
The Release
Release No. 43 is a 2004 blend of Barbados rum. According to Seale, it moved through a second ex-bourbon cask before spending a final three years in very old Port pipes. A pipe is a large cask traditionally used for Port wine. That means the rum had a long, slow stretch in used wood before a last chapter in some of the oldest casks around.
By 2025, Seale says, the blend had become something exceptional. He describes Foursquare's approach to maturation as one that works "deliberately, patiently and with the cask always serving the spirit." That fits the release: the focus is on time and restraint rather than flashy finishing.
The rum was bottled by hand at Foursquare in St. Philip, Barbados, in April 2026, at 106 proof (53.0% ABV). Only 566 bottles were filled. Each 700ml bottle is individually numbered and signed by Seale. It arrives in a handcrafted wooden case with a certificate of bottling verifying its authenticity.
Collectors also get a 50ml miniature, so they can taste the rum before deciding when to open the full bottle. A tasting book tells the story of Release No. 43 and leaves space for personal notes.
According to the distillery, the rum has a deep mahogany color. The nose offers marzipan, grapefruit zest, ripe plum and guava. The palate moves through dried mint, pineapple, treacle and baking spice, and the finish brings dry tobacco leaf and clove.
The release also played out in public before the shelf date. A US launch dinner was held at AVANT in San Diego on September 17, 2026, led by Rebecca Jago of The Last Drop and Gayle Seale of Foursquare.
The Story of The Last Drop
The Last Drop Distillers was founded in 2008 by Tom Jago and James Espey, two veterans of the spirits industry with more than 80 years of experience between them. Their idea was to find remarkable aged spirits across categories and share them with people who want something truly extraordinary. In 2016, the brand was acquired by The Sazerac Company, one of America's oldest private, family-owned distillers.
The brand's rule is that each release has to stand on the quality of the liquid, not on a category or label. Some bottles come from a forgotten cask that someone rediscovers. Others are created with the expertise of The Last Drop Assembly, a collective of leading spirits makers the brand set up to encourage collaboration across the global spirits world. Seale is a founding member, and Release No. 43 is described as a significant new chapter for the group.
Earlier in 2026, the brand's collection included a 25-year-old Caroni Trinidad rum (Release No. 41) and a 60-year-old Carsebridge single grain Scotch (Release No. 42). Release No. 43 follows those as another rum with serious age and a clear maker behind it.
Why It Stands Out
Aged rum collecting has long been shaped by closed distilleries and old stocks. Here, the rum comes from an active distillery and a named maker who chose the blend and watched it age. Kizito Owusu-Sarfo, the brand's Brand Director of World Aged Spirits, says the release delivers "extraordinary liquid, true provenance and a story that could only come from the maker." Seale is also a fourth-generation rum producer, and Foursquare sits on the historic Foursquare estate in St. Philip, a site with centuries of sugar, molasses and rum-making history.
The Details
Style: 22 Year Old Barbados Rum, Signature Creation (Release No. 43)
Age: 22 years (2004 blend)
ABV/Proof: 106 proof (53.0% ABV)
Cask/Finish: Second ex-bourbon cask, then a final three years in very old Port pipes
Release Size: 566 bottles worldwide, 700ml each
Packaging: Numbered and signed by Richard Seale, wooden case, certificate of bottling, 50ml miniature, tasting book
Price (SRP): $1,700 (local taxes and fees apply)
Availability: Limited quantities through Sazerac's US and global distributors to retailers, bars and restaurants. A limited supply is also offered through Legacy de Forge, powered by Blockbar (shipping restrictions apply).
Release Date: October 2026
Tonights Poison Take
This is a rum for people who care about who made it and how it matured, and the price and bottle count put it firmly in collector territory. The details that matter most are the maker, the age and the unusual Port pipe ending. If you cannot justify a full bottle, the included miniature shows how seriously the release treats the idea of tasting before opening.
Bar Talk: This is the oldest rum Foursquare has ever released, and only 566 bottles exist.
Send this to the rum collector who already has the Foursquare shelf and wants one more reason to keep looking.
Please enjoy responsibly.
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