Richard Seale had a 2004 blend in mind before The Last Drop Assembly had finished teaching him what it could become. The Last Drop and Foursquare rum is Release No. 43, a 22-year-old Barbados rum created by Seale, bottled by hand at Foursquare Distillery in St. Philip, Barbados, and announced by The Last Drop Distillers on October 8, 2026. The bottle is The Last Drop’s first rum Signature Creation and the oldest rum ever released by Foursquare Distillery (Fredminnick2).
The release brings The Last Drop and Foursquare together. The Last Drop Distillers, founded in 2008 by Tom Jago and James Espey and acquired by The Sazerac Company in 2016, built its name around aged spirits selected in small numbers. Foursquare, under Seale, works from St. Philip in Barbados, where sugar, molasses and rum-making history remain tied to the estate. Release No. 43 pairs a fourth-generation rum producer with a 22-year maturation, 106 proof, 566 bottles worldwide (Fredminnick2).
Why The Last Drop’s Foursquare Rum Matters Now
Foursquare Distillery has released many rums under Seale’s hand, and this 22-year-old Barbados rum sets a new ceiling for the distillery’s public releases. Foursquare collectors follow cask treatment, vintage, proof and bottling partner. The Last Drop belongs to a category where allocation, provenance and maker signature matter before anyone opens the case.
The Last Drop has issued Release No. 43 as its first rum Signature Creation, which places rum inside a house better known for rare aged spirits. He created the expression, and each 700ml bottle is individually numbered and signed by him. The hand remains visible in the signed, individually numbered bottles.
Release No. 43 is limited to 566 bottles worldwide. Restaurants, bars, retailers and private buyers will seek access to the release. The suggested retail price is $1,700, with local taxes and fees applying. Those numbers tell you the conditions under which the bottle will move (Fredminnick2).
Release No. 43 links 22 years of age with method. The bottle presents twenty-two years as a trophy. It asks whether Seale’s cask choices kept the rum intact.
The Foursquare Distillery Partnership and Seale’s Lineage
Seale is Foursquare Distillery owner and distiller, a founding member of The Last Drop Assembly, and a fourth-generation rum producer. Those titles place the rum inside Seale’s lineage. The Last Drop Assembly was formed as a collective of spirits makers, with collaboration as its stated purpose. The maker is directly involved in the bottling. He is the person who chose the rum, shaped the maturation and signed the finished bottles.
Foursquare sits in St. Philip, Barbados, on an estate tied to sugar, molasses and rum-making history. Under Seale’s stewardship, the distillery has paired traditional methods with modern precision, including adapting the classic double-retort pot still to operate under vacuum. Seale adapts inherited tools with purpose, kept in service of rum rather than display.
The Last Drop’s side of the bench brings Tom Jago, James Espey, and Kizito Owusu-Sarfo to Release No. 43. Tom Jago and James Espey founded the company in 2008, and Sazerac acquired it in 2016. Kizito Owusu-Sarfo, brand director of world aged spirits, is part of the team carrying Release No. 43 to market through Sazerac’s United States and global distribution networks. The public-facing bottle may carry Seale’s signature, but the route from cask to collector runs through several named stations (Fredminnick2).
The Last Drop release is a collaboration built around an individual maker inside a luxury spirits house. The oldest Foursquare release did not arrive as an isolated anniversary bottle. It arrived through a collaboration that trades on patience, age and provenance. Release No. 43 was distilled in 2004, aged 22 years, hand bottled in April 2026 at Foursquare, and released into the market from October 2026.
Tasting Profile and Production Details
Seale’s maturation path gives the drinker the first technical map. The rum moved through a second ex-bourbon cask before spending its final three years in very old Port pipes. By 2025, it had become something exceptional, said Richard Seale.1
The sequence keeps the cask from becoming decoration. The second ex-bourbon cask suggests another period of American oak influence before the Port pipes took the rum into its final three years. The important number is the decision to move the rum, then wait again, and to make the call by 2025 before hand bottling in April 2026.
The official tasting notes place the rum in a deep mahogany register, opening with marzipan, grapefruit zest, ripe plum and guava. The palate moves through dried mint, pineapple, treacle and baking spice. The finish is described through dry tobacco leaf and clove. Those notes carry fruit, sugar, herb and spice without losing the darker end of aged rum.
Release No. 43 is bottled at 106 proof, or 53.0% ABV. That proof keeps the rum out of a soft luxury register and closer to the cask-led conversation Foursquare drinkers already know. The bottle format is 700ml, individually numbered and signed by Seale. The presentation includes a handcrafted wooden case, a certificate of bottling, a 50ml miniature and a tasting book. The miniature lets an owner taste without immediately opening the full bottle.
The Last Drop also carries the geography of its bottling. It was bottled by hand at Foursquare in St. Philip, Barbados, rather than framed only through a London or American luxury channel. That matters for a rum whose maker and distillery are central to the claim. The bottling place keeps the last physical step close to the cellar and the distiller’s hands.
What Collectors Should Read in the Allocation
The allocation math includes a suggested retail price of $1,700 and distribution through Sazerac’s United States and global networks from October 2026. A limited supply will also be available through Legacy de Forge, the global platform powered by Blockbar.
Retail will likely depend on Sazerac’s network and local allocations. Bars and restaurants may receive bottles for pour programs, where the 50ml miniature in the presentation set becomes less relevant than whether a beverage director chooses to pour the full bottle. Legacy de Forge adds another route for buyers who use digital allocation platforms for high-value spirits.
The bottle will not be judged only by scarcity. Foursquare collectors already track maker, age, proof and cask history. The Last Drop’s involvement adds a separate layer of provenance, but the rum still has to answer through the glass.
For bars, the question is different. A $1,700 suggested retail price pushes the bottle into a program decision: display, list, pour, cellar, or reserve for a specific guest base. The tasting notes give a path for service, with marzipan, grapefruit zest, ripe plum and guava at the opening, then dried mint, pineapple, treacle and baking spice through the palate. The finish of dry tobacco leaf and clove gives a sommelier or spirits lead language for pairing or after-dinner placement without dressing the rum in borrowed whisky terms.
For The Last Drop, Release No. 43 tests how its Signature Creation idea travels into rum. For Foursquare, it places a new age marker into the distillery’s record. For Seale, it puts a 2004 blend into the hands of collectors after more than two decades of waiting, moving and waiting again.
Where the Release Goes Next
The release is 22 years old, 53.0% ABV, hand bottled at Foursquare in St. Philip, Barbados, and signed by Richard Seale.
Retailer allocation will show collector demand. A bar placement would put the rum into pour service. Seale’s 2004 blend has reached the market as The Last Drop’s Release No. 43.
