Foursquare ECS XVI Shibboleth 2005
Loved by Insta: spiritofbernard 🇫🇷 , Sebastian Kornett & 148 more
For experienced palates who enjoy dry, mature Barbados. RumX members praise Shibboleth’s coconut, vanilla, dried fruit and dark chocolate layered over elegant oak. At 56% and 16 years, it’s a serious yet very drinkable sipper that rewards slow tasting and a splash of water if you like.
- Elegant profile
- Great alcohol integration
- Complex coconut-vanilla oak
+9
Details about Foursquare ECS XVI Shibboleth 2005
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How does Foursquare ECS XVI Shibboleth 2005 taste?
Aggregated from 175 community reviews.
Dry, coconut‑vanilla Foursquare powerhouse For experienced palates who enjoy dry, mature Barbados. RumX members praise Shibboleth’s coconut, vanilla, dried fruit and dark chocolate layered over elegant oak. At 56% and 16 years, it’s a serious yet very drinkable sipper that rewards slow tasting and a splash of water if you like.
Bourbon and oak lovers who enjoy cask‑strength, unsweetened Barbados rums with coconut, vanilla, dried fruit and dark chocolate, and want a drier, more mature take on the classic Foursquare style.
Those new to rum, anyone sensitive to higher ABV, or drinkers who prefer very sweet, dessert‑style profiles with soft oak and obvious sugar.
How is Foursquare ECS XVI Shibboleth 2005 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict — 8.6 lands squarely in the "Very good" band. 98% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Insta: spiritofbernard 🇫🇷
The best Foursquare I've ever tasted ❤️
Review by Sebastian Kornett
Reminiscent of all vintage bottling, only that this is rounder and more intense. The 16 years stand him well. Longer, however, it should not be. Fortunately, I was able to get hold of three bottles.
Review by Double Barrel
Great and Idiomatic (to stay in that peculiar semantic field Richard seems to enjoy so much) Foursquare even if, dare i say it... it's even better with a dash of water. I miss some perfectly interwoven layers like in the Criterion to score it even higher. Edit : forgot to mention the delicious Banoffee Pie. One more point.
Review by Portman
Exquisitely versatile and yet not overwhelming! Sweet vanilla-almond-date aromas with underlying wood and chestnut hints. Subtle malt, carefully integrated alcohol. A fine example of the ECS series!
Review by Stefan L
Again a really good Foursquare.
Review by Galli33
My personal winner of todays FS tasting shibb>2009>empery. This one has the best round overall feeling. Alcohol is integrated better than in others. All in all, all three are very similar in tastes/smells. Nose: solvents, dried fruits, coconut, raisin, carmel, butterscotch, woody, oak, roasted nuts, cashews Mouth: dry, sharpness, round, elegant, full bodied, complex, balanced, coconut, raisin, dried fruit, caramel Finish: Medium, dry, round, dried fruits, sweet, caramel, oak(barrel), vanilla, roasted nuts, cocoa, dark chocholate roasted
Review by Benoit Mahe
An elegant and intense Foursquare, a beautiful selection
Review by Timo Groeger
Schöner Foursquare hier. In der Nase haben wir eine schöne Mischung bestehend aus Vanille, Kokosnuss und Holz. Am Gaumen ebenfalls angenehm süß, zur Vanille gesellen sich hier Karamell und Schokolade, außerdem wieder Holz und Kokosnuss.
Review by Michal S
A soft, delicate Barbados in which the wood recedes into the background and lighter notes of dried fruit and vanilla stand out. Of course, there is no shortage of coconut or chocolate, and although I'm cutting back a bit in the rating, I still consider this rum one of the best "normal" Foursquares.
Review by John Coffey
Un excellent FS.. manque juste un peu de longueur.. Bon côté fruité et ce côté fraîcheur très intéressant.. Belle réussite..
Review by Tim
On the nose, vanilla caramel alternates with spicy wood. Sometimes a hint of fruit or chocolate shines through, but the fruit is more discreet compared to the FS 2008. Very tasty profile! Rather less spicy in the mouth, despite 56%. Still naturally spicy, woody, chocolaty, fruity. Now far too expensive, a very good rum anyway.
Review by DomM
Rounder on the nose vs ECS 2008 and 2009. Overall a little more elegant (some additional years in the barrel(s) seem to pay off here), but otherwise more or less on par with his brothers.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
A very nice and well balanced rum especially thinking about how well the wood has been integrated without being dominant. Lovely rum that is already hard to obtain. Price to quality is not so good, but still a good rum.
Review by Jakob
Surprisingly mild - alcohol well integrated, plus a fruit note rather unusual for Foursquare. No revolution in taste, but a good representative. If with increasing age actually further flavors in the known spectrum, one can hopefully look forward to further releases of similar (tropical) maturity. I like it well.
Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Rum nagykövet
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Community purchases
561 bottles logged by 52,000+ RumX members. The ratio of closed / opened / emptied, indicates whether this rum is meant to be drunk or is a collector's item.
Also on the wishlist of 39 members.
About the Foursquare distillery
The Foursquare distillery is located in Barbados. Rums from Foursquare have been reviewed 12,737 times with an average of 8.3/10.
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