Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port wine is (as the name implies) a style of Port which is bottled later than the more prestigious Vintage Port. LBV Port wine remains in neutral wood between four to six years, rather than 2 years which would be typical for a Vintage Port. Since Port wine matures more quickly in oak vats than it would in the bottle, it is ready to be served when it is bottled.
However, Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage Port, (unlike many other LBV Ports) is not filtered before it is bottled, as a result the Fonseca will continue to age and should continue to improve if stored properly.
The wines used to produce Fonseca LBV were drawn from a reserve of some of the best full-bodied red ports produced during the 2008 harvest. These grapes were grown both on Fonseca’s own vineyards as well as on other properties in the Cima Corgo and Douro Superior areas of the Douro Valley. The wines are aged in wood vats of 50 pipes (27,500 litres) capacity and then bottled after five years.
Here is a link to my review of this outstanding Port Wine:
Review: Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage Port 2008
Please enjoy this review of the unfiltered Fonseca LBV Port, a few more Port Wine reviews will follow in the coming weeks.
Chimo!
In 1862, Facundo Bacardi and his brother José bought the Santiago de Cuba Distillery and began to distill what would become the most popular commercial rum in the world. Using a method of charcoal filtering, and oak barrel aging along with a still of copper and cast iron, Facundo Bacardi created a smoother more refined version of the locally made rum. His smoother version of the spirit became local favourite, and over time, an international sensation.
I found this recipe upon the Bacardi Company website in their cocktails section. It is apparently a variation of the classic Old Fashioned Cocktail created by Dick Bradsell. Dick manages several bars in London (England) including: The Colony Room, Zanzibar and The Pharmacy. I have modified Dick’s recipe using sugar syrup instead of caster sugar, but otherwise his mixed drink is unchanged.
Captain Morgan 100 Spiced Rum is an overproof variation of the Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum. It is bottled at 50 % alcohol by volume rather than at the 35 % alcohol by volume strength of the original spiced rum. The overproof Spiced Rum is a blend of Caribbean rums which have been aged in white oak barrels. It should be pointed out that the particular bottle of Captain Morgan Rums which is the subject of this review is a Canadian bottling which I acquired several years ago. In the past, Captain Morgan Rums sold in Canada included both Caribbean and Canadian distilled rum in their blends for tax purposes. Although it is unclear whether this practice will continue going forward, I note that my sample bottle does make mention of the Canadian Rum in the blend upon the front label.
The Rum Howler Blog 