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Review: Roca Patrón Reposado Tequila

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 25, 2017

Roca Patrón Tequila is a pure 100% Agave Tequila made from agave grown in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. The agave is 6 to 7 years old when harvested, and the heart of the plant or the piña is all that is used. After harvest the piñas are chopped in half by hand and slowly steamed in masonry brick ovens for about 79 hours to soften them. The softened piñas are then shredded and placed into a traditional stone pit, where they are crushed by a large 2 ton stone milling wheel called a Tahona.

According to many Tequila producers, the manner in which juice is extracted from the piñas has a noticeable impact upon the flavour of the final distilled tequila. This was very evident when I tasted the Roca Patrón Tequila which has a noticeably softer earthy flavour than the regular Patrón Tequila distilled mainly from juice extracted by a roller mill.

Roca Patrón Reposado Tequila is distilled twice in copper pot stills , and then aged for 5 months in used American oak bourbon barrels. It is also one the best tasting Reposado tequila spirits I have encountered.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Roca Patrón Reposado Tequila

“… I discovered a lightly sweet, mildly punky agave aroma lifting from the glass. It has a fruity smell; but it did not carry the typical sharpness of citrus and white pepper which I usually find in highland tequila. Rather the citrus and pepper are blunted as the air above the glass also carried a subtle earthy quality which resembled aromas of baked zucchini and squash …”

Please enjoy my review which includes my recipe recommendation, Arctic Wolf’s Tequila Old Fashioned.

Chimo!

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Review: Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 21, 2017

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 to create their Eclipse branded rums. Mount Gay 1703 Eclipse Silver Rum is composed of rum distillate produced from both pot and column still distillation. Although this rum is clear, it has nevertheless been matured in charred white oak barrels, barrels which previously held American whiskey. The lightly aged rum is filtered clear and bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

Today (across ten US states and through parts of the Caribbean) another total eclipse of the sun may be witnessed by those lucky enough to be in its path. It seems an ideal day to revisit and update my previous review for the Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum.

Review: Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum

“… I found that the white rum displayed an inviting aroma to my nostrils above the glass. The scents and smells of light butterscotch were evident as was a firm presence of banana, a mild citrus zest, and a light minty aroma. As the glass decanted a vague grassy vegetal scent began to waft upwards as well. Allowing the glass to breathe resulted in a strengthening of this ‘grassiness’ which seemed to imply a more complex character than I may have originally anticipated …”

Please enjoy the Eclipse today whether it be the astronomical phenomena or the great rum from Mount Gay!

Chimo!

Posted in Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum

Review: Rig Hand White Dog Corn Distillate (An Aging Simulation)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 19, 2017

Rig Hand White Dog Corn Distillate aged for 14 weeks in a small 1 liter cask.

The Rig Hand Craft Distillery (formerly Big Rig Distillery) opened their doors on October 17, 2015 and they already have an impressive line-up of spirits for sale at their boutique store within the facility. These spirits include their Premium Vodka and their selections of White Dog Distillate (not whisky for three years yet); and as well as their intriguing Sugar Beet Brum.

The distillery’s White Dog Malted Corn Distillate is produced from 100 % Alberta grown corn distilled upon the company’s main still (Mighty Morley). This is a versatile still consisting of a large wash still, two columns, and a condenser. The columns are different sizes, a short 4-plate column is used for stripping the spirit (reducing the water content), and a tall 16-plate column is used for Vodka production. The Corn Distillate is distilled twice through the through short 4-plate column to produce a more flavourful spirit than if the 16 plate column had been used. After distillation the spirit is either filtered and reduced to bottling proof (53.4 % alcohol by volume for my sample) to be sold as White Dog Corn Distillate, or it is placed in re-used oak casks to become whisky in three years.

For this review, I decided to aged the distillate for 14 weeks in a small 1 litre oak barrel in an attempt to simulate the maturation of a premium well-aged whisky. As you can see from the picture I snapped of the final product (placed in a new decanter), the hue of the whisky had reached deep copper .

I thought it would be interesting to share my simulation results as a ‘Whisky in Progress Review’.

You can read the results here:

Review: Rig Hand White Dog Corn Distillate (An Aging Simulation)

” … The harsh astringency of the new make distillate and its firm vegetal notes had been soothed by the time in the barrel, and firm woody notes, hints of chocolate and pungent baking spice were now the dominating aspects of the whisky …”

Please enjoy my review, Chimo!

Please bear in mind that this was only a simulation and all conclusions reached should be interpreted with caution.

Posted in Moonshine and New-make | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: Rig Hand White Dog Corn Distillate (An Aging Simulation)

Summer Cocktail #5 – The Daiquiri

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 16, 2017

Simple Daiquiri

Today (in the USA) is National Rum Day, and I cannot think of a better way to toast the cane spirit than with the quintessential rum cocktail, the Daiquiri. Like that other quintessential rum cocktail, (the Cuba Libre’), the mixed drink appears to have originated in Cuba and was given its present name shortly after the Spanish-American War ended in 1898.

Let me share a recipe for the most basic form of the cocktail.

A Simple Daiquiri

1 1/2 oz. Light Rum
1/2 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
1 tsp. Sugar Syrup (1:1 ratio)
Ice
Slice of Lime for Garnish

Combine the first three ingredients into a metal shaker with ice.
Shake until the metal shaker chills.
Strain into a chilled  glass.
Garnish with the lime slice

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It is probably true that this classic cocktail was being served in Cuba and perhaps elsewhere in the Caribbean (in one form or another) for many years already; but the libation appears to have been given its popular name when an American mining engineer working in Cuba, named Jennings Cox ran out of gin while entertaining his friends. He switched over to the local rum, mixed it over ice with Lemon Juice and Sugar, and named his new-found drink, the Daiquiri. Incidentally, this was also the name of a beach nearby and an iron mine near Santiago de Cuba. (We don’t know whether it was the beach or the iron mine which served as the inspiration for the cocktail’s name.)

The new name for the drink caught on and was apparently brought over to America by US Navel OfficerRear Admiral Lucius W. Johnson, who enjoyed the libation while serving in Cuba in 1909. When back in America he introduced it to the bar in Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C.. The Daiquiri (once introduced to American bartenders) slowly spread across the USA and beyond.

Today (as shown in the recipe above) Lime Juice has supplanted Lemon Juice as the main citrus component, although many variations exist with substitutions (or additions) of other citrus and fruit juices and even flavoured liqueurs.

My own 11 A.M. Daiquiri

Last year (while sampling and reviewing Captain Morgan White Rum), I constructed this variation which I call the 11 A.M. Daiquiri.

11 A.M. Daiquiri

2 1/2 oz Captain Morgan White Rum
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Orange Juice
3/8 oz Sugar Syrup (1:1)
Ice
Lemon Slice

Add the ingredients into a metal shaker with ice
Shake until the outside of the shaker begins to frost
Pour into a crushed ice-filled hurricane glass
Garnish with orange and cherry.

Enjoy Responsibly!

If you are interested in more of my cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

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Note: My Review for Captain Morgan White Rum  Can be found here:

Review: Captain Morgan White Rum

“… The initial nose surprised me too as there was an ever so light mustiness rising the from the glass, as well as very apparent aromas of a mild caramel, green banana, peppery zest and light sandalwood spices …”

Enjoy National Rum Day, Chimo!

 

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Review: Aviation Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 14, 2017

Aviation North

Aviation Gin is produced by House Spirits in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon). According to the company website, Aviation was the result of a collaboration between House Spirits and American Bartender, Ryan Magarian, and many consider this spirit to be the gin which launched the American Gin style.

For those unfamiliar with what is termed American Gin, it is a style which tempers the flavour of the juniper berry (and citrus to some extent) in favour of bringing forward a more floral style of gin. That is not to say that juniper is absent among the botanicals which help to infuse their flavour into the spirit, it is just that the juniper is held in check to allow the other botanicals, (in this case: cardamom, lavender, sarsaparilla, coriander, anise and orange peel) more expression.

Here is a link to my latest Gin Review:

Review: Aviation Gin

“… The piny aroma is not as forceful as a typical London Dry Gin, as juniper lies beside rather than ahead of the coriander and cardamom with lavender pushing through quite clearly as well. There are hints of lemon, licorice (anise) and mint and if you wait for it, orange peel climbs out of the glass to join in the menagerie of scents and smells …”

Please enjoy the review which includes my cocktail suggestion, Aviation North.

Chimo!

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