Dead Reckoning Barbados ‘The Bosun’s Persuader’

An incredible ‘Malt-ernative’ for this Members Extra..a rum! Oh, but not just any rum, the Dead Reckoning Barbados ‘The Bosun’s Persuader’!

The Dead Reckoning Barbados is a rum so complex that whisky drinkers will enjoy dissecting this both as an academic exercise – and sensational sipper alike! This is an absolutely incredible rum, a 14 year old Foursquare presented at a staggering 61% abv. Aged for 8 years in tropical Barbados, then a further 6 in the dry South Australian heat…seriously premium rum does not get better than this and as whisky drinkers we think its worth an experience.

As you may know, we also run the ‘Rum Tribe’ – a rum club that runs along the same lines as the SMWC… but with Rum. A month ago we offered our Rum Tribe members a rum that was just so good, we’ve snapped up the entire lot – including all that was supposed to go to the U.S. market (too bad yanks!). This rum is just so good, we felt we needed to make it available to the members of BOTH our clubs – and so, we’re offering this as the Clubs’s Members Extra…but onto the rum!

• 8 years in Barbados and another 6 dry aging by Dead Reckoning (and we know what that means!)
• An exceptional Foursquare Cask selection – Others have won so many awards we needed to list them below
• Bottled at a BRAWLING 61%
• EXCLUSIVE in Australia
• Surely the cheapest 14 year old Foursquare you will find

A Bosun’s Persuader, was a weighted, flexible club used by Royal Navy boatswains (Bosuns) to discipline lazy sailors or enforce press-gangs to recruit men by hitting them, often on the head, to ensure they worked or joined the ship. These antique naval tools featured lead weights at the ends, connected by a shaft of flexible material like baleen or whalebone, covered in intricately knotted twine or cord, serving as a harsh disciplinary instrument.

Like the name suggests, the The Dead Reckoning Barbados ‘The Bosun’s Persuader’ is an unassuming weapon of a rum that packs more than a punch at a brawling 61% abv. Tropically aged in Barbados for 8 years in an unnamed ex-bourbon cask, it was then transferred to Justin’s care in Adelaide, poured into a 200 litre first-fill Makers Mark ex-bourbon barrel and further ‘dry aged’ in Adelaide for another 6 hot, dry South Australian years.

During this dry aging time in Adelaide (one of the driest places on earth based on average humidity) the abv climbed in the barrel by an astonishing 14% – yep you read that right, fourteen percent – reaching 68% abv before being disgorged.  But that has come at a price – no less than 22% of the barrel was taken by the Angels in that time, around 44 litres. Greedy Angels!

Interestingly, three Foursquare ECS (Exceptional Cask Series – foursquare’s ‘flagship’ series) bottlings matured 14 years (same as this months Bosun’s Persuader) have taken out the top awards in both those shows over the last 4 years. The ECS Equipoise, Equidem and Redoubtable all showing that 14yo Foursquare is not only some of the worlds best rum – but worlds best spirit.

Not only is the Dead Reckoning also a 14yo rum from Foursquare (a little different to the ECS series as the Bosun’s persuader a single cask, unlike any of the ECS series) – but is is presented at the same 61% abv that all three of the 14yo Foursquare ECS releases that took out these awards were released at. So it seems 14yo and 61% is a winning formula for Foursquare – and Justin has listened to the master.

Trying to summarize the astounding success that Richard Seale and Foursquare have achieved since Richard took the reigns of the company is difficult in a paragraph. So lets break it down into some dot points from just TWO of the worlds most respected spirits comps.

International Wine and Spirits Competition Awards

IWSC Rum Trophy Wins – Foursquare Distillery

• 2025 Rum Trophy – Foursquare EQUIDEM 14-Year-Old named the IWSC’s Rum Trophy winner (the highest rum honour) — marking four total Rum Trophy wins (2016, 2020, 2024, 2025).
• 2024 Rum Trophy – Foursquare 14 YO Equipoise Rum won the IWSC Rum Trophy as the world’s best rum.
• IWSC Rum Producer Trophy 2024 – Foursquare Rum Distillery named Rum Producer of the Year.
• IWSC Rum Producer of the Year (Multiple Years) – Foursquare has won this title multiple times, including 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2024.
• IWSC Outstanding Spirits Producer of the Year 2021 – Foursquare Distillery earned this top accolade across all spirits categories.
• Richard Seale – Personal IWSC Recognition
• IWSC Industry Champion (2023) Richard Seale was named IWSC Industry Champion — a prestigious honour recognizing his influence, advocacy, and contributions to elevating rum (and particularly Barbados rum) on the global spirits stage. This was the first time the title was awarded to a sole rum producer and someone from the Anglophone Caribbean.

International Spirits Challenge Awards

• 2018 Supreme Champion Spirit Foursquare 2005 First rum ever to take the top title at ISC.
• 2021 Supreme Champion Spirit Foursquare Redoubtable 14 Year Old (2021) Overall winner across spirits categories.
• 2021 ISC Rum Producer of the Year Recognises excellence across Foursquare’s portfolio.
• 2021 Master Distiller of the Year Richard Seale. Awarded in tandem with Foursquare’s 2021 success.

Nose: A rich bowl of Titanically deep slightly over-ripe tropical fruit notes, sweet, hot, dripping caramel and Christmas cake spices by the absolute bucketload, fragrant vanilla pods just-cut and scraped, and freshly opened Allen’s jube lollies complete this olfactory symphony. I could spend hours with my nose in this glass – sumptuous, inviting, warm and just so, so good you’ll find yourself with your glass under your nose for 99% of the time you have this rum in your hand.

Palate: A warm heat with some peppery prickles that build and then quickly melt away as sweet waves of fruit mince crash onto a luscious base of vanilla custard, mixed-peel citrus, Jasmine flowers and

Finish: Gives away the column still component as it fades with an interesting sweet yet dry-ness. More citrus peel notes sit alongside hi-cocoa dark chocolate, subdued but discernible [Barbadian] funk . Lip smackin’, cheek suckin’, long chewin’ goodness!

Once again a Dead Reckoning release to pour, sniff, swirl, sniff, taste and chew whilst revelling in the whole experience. If you’re a cigar smoker – crack out a good one.  Huge fruity depth of flavour with lovely first fill American oak notes – some pepper and that slight dryness keeps it all in check and balanced. Masses of layers to unpack, and [ideally] chat about with your drinking pal.

Barbados, arguably the birthplace of rum with Mount Gay kicking it off. Nowadays, with a more modern take on rum, Foursquare have been been a market leader for decades.

Looking back to 2019 the first bulk rum I purchased for a long term ageing project had to be a Foursquare. It had a lot going for it , worlds best distillery & distiller awards , & countless ECS series releases that just kept getting better .

After this particular release spent 8 years Tropical ageing in Barbados it then spent a further six years in a ex Bourbon Barrel Australian dry ageing in Adelaide. Not so coincidentally South Australia with the lowest recorded humidity in the world combined with at times ,brutally hot summers with the Barrel aging Warehouse reaching over 50°C in summer and prolonged months cold of winter.

The six years the rum has been in Adelaide. I had an ABV increase of 15% and an angels share of 22%.

Released at 61% which was water down from its cask strength of 69%.