The Rum Howler Blog

(A Website for Spirited Reviews)

  • Copyright

    Copyright is inherent when an original work is created. This means that the producer of original work is automatically granted copyright protection. This copyright protection not only exists in North America, but extends to other countries as well. Thus, all of the work produced on this blog is protected by copyright, including all of the pictures and all of the articles. These original works may not be copied or reused in any way whatsoever without the permission of the author, Chip Dykstra.

  • Cocktails and Recipes

    Click Image for Awesome Recipes

  • Industry Interviews

    Interviews

    Click the Image for Great Interviews with the Movers of Industry

  • The Rum Howler Interview (Good Food Revolution)

    Click on the Image to see my interview on Good Food Revolution

  • The Rum Howler Blog

    Unknown's avatar

  • Rum Reviews

  • Whisky Reviews

  • Gin Reviews

  • Tequila Reviews

  • Vodka Reviews

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,092 other subscribers

  • Subscribe

  • Visitors

    • 15,570,923 pageviews since inception

  • Archives

  • Follow The Rum Howler Blog on WordPress.com

Archive for December, 2010

« Previous Entries

Review of Potter’s Special Old Rye Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 28, 2010

Potter’s Special Old Rye Whisky was originally produced by Potter’s Distilleries (founded by Ernie Potter in 1958). When Highwood Distillers finalized the purchase of Potter’s Distilleries in 2005, they brought all of the aging whisky stocks from the Potter’s warehouse facilities in Kelowna, British Colombia to their new warehouse facility in High River, Alberta and continued to let them age at their site in the foothills just east of the Rocky Mountains. From these aging whisky stocks Highwood has kept the Potter’s Whisky brands alive, incorporating them into their portfolio of whisky products.

Potter’s Special Old Rye Whisky is primarily a corn-based whisky which has been aged in charred American White Oak barrels for 4 – 5 years.  As per Canadian tradition, the whisky is labeled as a “Rye Whisky” because of the rye flavour profile which has been imparted by adding a percentage of aged rye grain whisky to the blend.  The bottle I am reviewing was given to me by Allan Owen, the Highwood Distillers Sales Rep in my area.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…A clean spicy rye is out in front carried by light oak and the combination delivers a nice wonderful mouth-feel full of what I can only term as old-time traditional Canadian Whisky flavour. In fact this might just be the closest that I have come to recapturing the Canadian Whisky flavour that I remember from my younger days…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Potters Special Old Rye Whisky

Please enjoy the review and the cocktail that follows.

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Arctic Wolf’s Christmas Eggnog

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 21, 2010

This year I am going to re-post my favourite recipe for the Christmas Eggnog.  This is a simple recipe in terms of ingredients, but it will require a bit of a baker’s touch get it just right. I switched up the Rum and the Whisky in the recipe from last year and found it to be as good as ever.

Arctic Wolf’s Christmas Eggnog
(This makes about four servings. )

3 eggs at room temperature, (yolk and whites  separated)
3/8 cup sugar (for the yolks)
3 tablespoons sugar (for the whites)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
a touch fresh ground cloves (About 1/16 of a teaspoon)
a pinch of fresh grated nutmeg (About 1/8 of a teaspoon)
a dash of fresh ground cinnamon (About 3 /16 of a teaspoon)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, chilled
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup dark rum ( Mount Gay Gold Eclipse)
2/3 cup Canadian Whisky (Potters Special Old)

……………………………………………………..

First the yolks

Separate your egg yolks and your egg whites in two bowls. Whisk the first amount of sugar and the vanilla into the egg yolks.   A a touch of  ground cloves, a pinch of nutmeg and a dash of cinnamon into the yolk bowl.   Add the cream, the milk and the rum and whisky (for adult consumption only). Make sure everything is mixed thoroughly.

Now the whites

This is where a baker’s touch is necessary.
Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks (3-4 minutes). Add the second amount of sugar slowly during this beating process.

Now we combine

Gently and with large circular motions blend the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture, trying to keep things as ‘poofy’ as possible.

Sprinkle a little left over spice on the top of each glass, and enjoy with your favourite chocolates!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Howls | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Arctic Wolf’s Christmas Eggnog

The Emperor Rum: Appleton 30

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 17, 2010

The Appleton Estate Limited Edition 30 Year Old Rum (produced of course by Appleton Estate in Jamaica), is a well aged rum composed of several marks of rum selected by the Appleton Estate Master Blender. These selected marks were originally aged for 8 years in oak barrels. However, once they were blended, they were then placed in oak barrels once more where they were matured for an additional 22 years in an unusually long dual aging process. According to the published information from Appleton Estate, only 1440 bottles of the 30 Year Old Rum were produced, and these were released onto the word-wide market in 2008.

Now this is a special rum and I was determined to get the review right. To that end, my review of the Appleton 30 year Old Rum is based upon 5 independent tasting sessions in my private tasting room. As well I also carried out side by side tastings with several other well aged spirits which included two Scotch Whiskies (Mosstowie 1979 28 Yr, Cask No.s 12771 & 12772, Bottle No. 162, and Bunnahabhain 1978 29 Yr, Cask No. 2584, Bottle No. 275 of 581); one 30 year Old Canadian Whisky (Canadian Club 30 Year Old 150th Anniversary Edition); and one Dominican Rum (Oliver and Oliver, Opthimus 25). I felt it was important (even though I am a regular consumer of aged spirits) to compare the Appleton 30 Year old with other well aged spirits as part of the review process.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The rum is a dark and rich reddish-brown colour which leaves a thick film on my glass when it is tilted. This film slowly releases thick fat legs back into the rum. As I watched the legs slowly crawl down the sides of the glass, the rum was bringing heavy notes of a woody sap and oak tannin to my nostrils….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Appleton Estate Limited Edition 30 Year Old Rum

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on The Emperor Rum: Appleton 30

Review: Mount Gay Eclipse (Gold)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 15, 2010

As mentioned two weeks ago, the distributors for Mount Gay (Select Wines) have arranged for me to receive a few samples of their Mount Gay Rum for the purpose of reviewing them on my website. This is the second review in this series and today I am sharing my experiences with the Mount Gay Eclipse Rum.

It was in 1910 that the appearance of Haley’s comet coincided with a total solar eclipse, and this event is said to have inspired Mount Gay Rum to create the Eclipse Rum. The Eclipse is a traditional double distilled rum produced from copper pot stills and aged in white Kentucky oak barrels which were previously used to age bourbon. I found that when I was patient with the spirit, I could catch glimpses of the Kentucky Bourbon in both the aroma and flavour.

Here is an Excerpt from my Review:

“…The initial aroma from the glass is laced with caramel and orange peel.  Allowing the glass to decant reveals the scents of deep brown sugar and toffee spices. Interestingly I also catch wiffs of a nice woody apricot brandy, a ribbon of bourbon and vanilla, and more subtle smoky aromas of dried fruit, tobacco and oak tannin…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Mount Gay Eclipse (Gold)

Please enjoy the review and the two cocktails which follow!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Mount Gay Eclipse (Gold)

Review: Sweet Sippin Canadian Maple Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 11, 2010

As I promised a few weeks ago, I have completed my full review of a nice Maple Whisky Liqueur from Highwood Distillers.   To refresh your memory,  Sweet Sippin’ Maple Whisky is the fusion of three ingredients, Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky (a five-year old wheat based Canadian Whisky), 100% pure natural Amber Maple Syrup from Quebec, and Pure Natural Spring Water.  No additives are used in producing the Maple Whisky which probably accounts for the inviting flavour profile I encountered.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…In the glass, the liqueur has a very nice aroma. A gentle sweet maple rising up with just a hint of rye whisky. The maple is very dominant and effectively hides the more subtle nuances of the whisky.  If one allows the glass to sit caramel tones become apparent,  and very light alcohol tones begin to disperse as well….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Sweet Sippin’ Canadian Maple Whisky

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Liqueur, Whisk(e)y Review, Whisky Liqueur | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

« Previous Entries