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Review: Pendleton (Let ‘er Buck) Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 24, 2011

Pendleton (Let ‘er Buck) Canadian Whisky is distilled and aged in Canada. The spirit is then transported to Oregon where it is brought to bottling proof by Hood River Distillers using the glacial fed waters from Mt. Hood. The whisky is named to honour the Pendleton Round-up, a well-respected rodeo in Pendleton, Oregon, and in fact, Pendleton Whisky sponsors numerous rodeos, including the aforementioned  the Pendleton Round-Up, the Cheyenne Frontier Days, and the Walla Walla Frontier Days.

A few websites mention that the spirit is aged for 10 years in American Oak barrels, but I could find no age statement on my whisky bottle or confirmation of a minimum age on the Hood River Distillers website. I think it is probably more correct to assume the brand is blended to a specific taste profile and the actual age of the blend may vary from batch to batch.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The whisky has a crisp and smooth delivery. Rye and light oak spices lead out in front. Sweeter flavours of honey and toffee follow which are rounded out by ginger and a light touch of vanilla. I also taste hints of grain and straw, and a light touch of corn…”

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: Pendleton (Let ‘er Buck) Canadian Whisky

I have also included a nice cocktail suggestion at the end of the review called, The Canadian Mammy.

Please enjoy the review!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Pendleton (Let ‘er Buck) Canadian Whisky

Review: Pristina Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 21, 2011

You might say that I am a bit of a Highwood Distillers enthusiast. I toured their distillery last year (See Highwood Distillery Tour), and I have unabashedly fallen in love with the quality of their whisky which seems to me to be one the best kept secrets of the whisky world. In spite of my fondness for this distillery, I find myself continually underestimating their abilities.

And so we come to Pristina Vodka…

I guess I should have known when I received my sample bottle that what was inside would be nothing short of marvelous. But maybe it was the uninspiring bottle and label, or maybe it is just a case of us Canadians being a little too self conscious to believe we can be as good as everyone else in the world. Whatever the reason, when I put the Pristina in a flight of Vodka samples at a recent tasting where it was up against an Authentic Russian Vodka called Black Stallion, a real Polish Vodka called Alchemia Czysta, and a Vodka made in France called Grey Goose, I was not expecting what happened.  What happened was that every person at my tasting session chose the same Vodka as their favourite, and every person said it wasn’t even close. That favourite, the clear head and shoulders winner without reservation in everybody’s opinion, was of course the Pristina Vodka from Highwood Distillers.

I guess I have already tipped my hand that the score will be high, but here is an excerpt from my review:

“…My good feelings towards the Vodka continued as I took my first large swallow (shot). I was happy to taste no vegetal tones and to feel no burn at all in my throat. The swallow was clean and completely smooth. The back of my mouth received a mildly spicy warmth; but my throat felt no heat, even with a substantial swallow of the Pristina Vodka…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Pristina Vodka

As well I have included a suggested recipe in the form of a Vodka Tonic.

Please enjoy the review!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Vodka, Vodka Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Pristina Vodka

Review: Pristina Espresso Flavoured Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 19, 2011

Four of us were gathered around my kitchen table sampling four flavoured Vodkas and two new rums on a lazy Sunday afternoon a couple months ago. The line up of flavoured Vodkas included Alchemia’s Chocolate Infused Vodka and their Ginger Flavoured Vodka. We also had the Birch Special from Nemiroff.  And the two rums were great, Panamonte’s Panama Red 108, and Atlantico’s Private Cask Rum. If you follow the links you can read all the reviews; but, I did save the last review from that lazy Sunday afternoon flight of spirits for the one which surprised me (in a most delightful way) the most. The Pristina Espresso Flavoured Vodka towered over the rest in that informal tasting session, and it is time for me to provide a review.

As a bit of background information, the Pristina Espresso Flavoured Vodka was introduced to the Western Canadian market in 2009 by Highwood Distillers. The product is produced from Highwood’s own quadruple distilled, triple filtered, wheat vodka (called Pristina Vodka), and flavoured with the extracted oils from real espresso coffee beans (and inverted sugar from Taber, Alberta). A final filtration is completed after the flavoring process is complete to ensure spirit clarity and removal of any suspended particles. The result of Highwood’s care and attention to detail is evident in the final spirit.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…I wish that I would have had a video camera rolling when I poured those first shot glasses of Pristina Espresso on that lazy Sunday afternoon with three of my friends. The reactions each of them had as they raised the glass to their noses to take a sniff was absolutely priceless. It was a look of shock, mingled with joy and excitement, and that look was the same on all of the faces (probably my face as well)…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Pristina Espresso Flavoured Vodka

Please enjoy the review and the suggested recipe that follows!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavoured Vodka, Vodka, Vodka Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Pristina Espresso Flavoured Vodka

Review: Bowmore 18 Year Old Single Malt Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 17, 2011

The Bowmore Distillery sits at the edge of Loch Indaal where the briny breezes of the sea blow directly across and into the warehouses full of Bowmore whisky barrels. This means that at least some of that salty brine is bound to make its way into the casks and set its imprint into the flavour.  The distillery itself contains two pairs of stills, six Oregon washbacks, and it is one of the few remaining Scottish distilleries to produce its own malt on its own malting floor. The location of the distillery next to Loch Indaal, and the peated barley produced under Bowmore’s own malt drying kiln have been linked to the unique flavour and character of the whisky know as Bowmore.

I should mention that due to the sheer volume of whisky produced by Morrison Bowmore, there is insufficient room to age all of the casks in the Bowmore seaside warehouse facility, nor does the facilities’ malt floor have the capacity to produce all of the malted barley to meet Bowmore’s requirements. However, both portion of whisky aged in the Bowmore warehouses, and the portion of malted barley produced on their malt drying floor are significant such that these unique characteristics of the Bowmore Distillery are well worth noting.

The Bowmore 18 Year Old Single Malt Whisky is part of the core range of Bowmore Single Malts. This whisky is matured in a combination of American Bourbon Casks and Spanish Sherry casks. I was given a small set of 3 200 ml sample bottles of the Bowmore 12, the Bowmore 15 (Darkest) and the Bowmore 18 year Old Single Malt Whisky for review here on my website. My review of the Bowmore 18 Year Old is the third review in the series.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The Bowmore 18 leads out with the rich taste of chocolate toffee which permeates all of the other flavours I encountered. The peat and sherry smoke flavours become evident immediately as they ride in the currents of that chocolate accenting the flavour with herbal tones from the peat and dry fruits (like raisins and prunes) from the sherry. The oak is making things just a little heated in the mouth but a strong undercurrent of sweetness works with this heat making everything taste delicious…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Bowmore 18 Year Old Single Malt Whisky

Please enjoy the Review!

Posted in Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: Bowmore 18 Year Old Single Malt Whisky

Review: Alchemia Czysta (Pure) Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 14, 2011

Alchemia Vodka is distilled in Poland by a company called, Bialystok S.A., which is apparently one of Poland’s largest producer’s of distilled spirits. The Alchemia Czysta (pronounced chis ta and meaning ‘pure’) is a rye grain Vodka, and I was given a sample bottle for the purpose of this review by Paul Charabin of PB Beverages, an Alberta based company which imports and distributes a wide selection of spirits from around the world. The bottle I was given was the 750 ml size, and the label tells me the Czysta Vodka is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

Here is an excerpt from my Review:

“…When I brought the glass to my nose I noticed light rye-like spices in the air but no light citrus aromas. I let my nose take a few more sniffs...”

You May read the full review here:

Review: Alchemia Czysta (Pure) Vodka

As well I thought it was time to introduce one of my favourite cocktails as my recommended recipe for the Alchemia Czysta Vodka, the Sloe Comfortable Screw.

Please enjoy the review and the cocktail!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Vodka, Vodka Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Alchemia Czysta (Pure) Vodka

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