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Introducing Mount Gay Eclipse Silver

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 3, 2010

I mentioned, here on my blog a week ago, that the rum renaissance is well under way in my home province of Alberta with the arrival of the Mount Gay 1703, Old Cask Selection. What I did not mention was that the distributors for Mount Gay Rum (Select Wines) had arranged for me to receive a few samples of their rum for the purpose of reviewing them on my website. The first of these reviews is for the Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum, a Bajan rum from the Mount Gay Plantation on the Island of Barbados.

Mount Gay Rum has been produced on the Isle of Barbados since the beginning of the eighteenth century, making Mount Gay one of the oldest, (if not the oldest) rum brand in the World.  Evidence exists of stills in use at the Mount Gay Plantation site as early as 1667, and we have confirmation (with the first written records) of rum produced on the site in 1703.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…It is unusual in my experience for a white rum to display such an inviting aroma in 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….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum

As well please enjoy my cocktail suggestions which follow the review.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Introducing Mount Gay Eclipse Silver

Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 30, 2010

The Highwood Distillery is the only locally (Albertan) owned distillery in the world. It sits in the heart of the High River community, producing more than 300,000 cases of bottled spirits per year. Although the bulk of their production goes towards Vodka, Flavoured Vodka, and Premixes, they also produce a sizable amount of Canadian Whisky each year. I guess you could say that I am partial to a success story that has occurred right in my own back yard, and I love to sample and review the spirits which Highwood Distillers produce.

I consider the Highwood Canadian Whisky to be a unique product unlike anything else on the whisky landscape (I also find it very tasty). What is so original about the Highwood Whisky is the grain from which it is distilled. Highwood uses local Canadian prairie wheat for the distillation base of all of their Highwood branded whisky. This is because wheat alcohol, rather than barley or corn alcohol, has less heavy non-digestible components. This makes for an extremely smooth easy to drink whisky. After sampling most of the Highwood Whisky range, I have come to the conclusion that they are making some of the smoothest whisky in the world.

At the recent Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival, I reconnected with Allan Owen, the Highwood sales Rep in my area. We had a nice chat, and he offered to drop a few more samples of whisky for me to review. The first of these samples was the Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky.

This is a Canadian whisky made from wheat grain which has been aged for at least five years in charred American white oak barrels. It is blended with an aged rye grain whisky to produce that distinctive Canadian ‘rye’ flavour profile.  Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The first thing I noticed about the Highwood Whisky as I sipped it was that it is a smooth, gentle, and mellow whisky which has the soft sensation in the mouth of a much older whisky. Honeycomb, ginger, wood spice, and a light dab of vanilla all support a wonderfully clean, dusty rye flavour….”

You may read the full review by clicking this link:

Review: Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky

Review: Admiral Nelson’s Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 27, 2010

Admiral Nelson’s Spiced Rum is bottled at 70 proof (35 % alc/vol).  The Rum is bottled in the U.S. by Admiral Nelson Rum Company of Missouri. The bottle I reviewed would have been aged in oak for at least one year as per Canadian Law. The Admiral Nelson Rum website indicates that savory spices are used to create the blend with a hint of sweet vanilla.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…When I swirled the rum, I noticed nice long slender legs in my glass. I like long slender legs as they indicate a touch of oiliness in the rum which should lengthen the finish. After I let the glass sit for a while, I took a nice deep wiff and found that the nose of this rum is quite nice. I’m getting a little vanilla, and fragrant rummy caramel which rise  up in a nice mixture.  Tidbits of other spices meander in and out of the breezes,  light accents of cloves, coriander and nutmeg. I detect very little if any oak scent at all….”

You may read my Full Review here:

Review: Admiral Nelson’s Spiced Rum

As well I included a nice recipe I call The Admiral Overboard.

Please enjoy the review and recipe.  Cheers!

Posted in Flavouerd Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Introducing: Mount Gay 1703

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 26, 2010

The rum renaissance is well under way in my home province of Alberta. Yesterday I received word the arrival of  one of the most highly anticipated premium rums, Mount Gay 1703, Old Cask Selection. The Mount Gay 1703  is a premium rum blend which features aged rum stocks from selected barrels of the Mount Gay treasured reserve.  These barrels have been aged 10 to 30 years and feature the best that Mount Gay has to offer in the areas of Craftsmanship and Quality.

But do not take my word for it, at the recently held Ultimate Spirits Challenge Mount Gay 1703 waltzed away with the coveted Chairman’s Trophy.

“This is a fantastic sign of appreciation for the brand. Remy Cointreau can pride itself on possessing the best rum in the world, as selected by the greatest experts”, stated Hugues Le Marie, their International Brand Director.

It is hard to argue the point. The Mount Gay 1703 scored a nearly impossible 97 pts out of 100, at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. As well, other spirits writers have lauded similar praise upon this premium rum. Dave Russel of R & D Reviews scored the rum 9.5 flasks out of 10, when he published his review on January 1, 2010.  And Drinkhacker gave the rum a score of A- in his recent review.

These accolades are from gentlemen whose reviews I respect. This accounts for my recent excitement at Mount Gay’s introduction of the 1703 Old cask Selection to my local.

In case you were wondering, here was my review written several months ago:

Review: Mount Gay Rum 1703 Old Cask Selection

So I spread a warm welcome to the Mount Gay 1703, hopefully your stay in our Province is for more than just a short while.

Posted in Dark Rums, Howls, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Introducing: Mount Gay 1703

Introducing: Sweet Sippin’ Canadian Maple Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 23, 2010

My Rum Chums, (Dennis and Lucas), were out and about at the Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival with me, when I became side tracked by the Highwood Distillers booth. I have come to know the local rep, Allan Owen, quite well, and so I had to mosey over to greet him. While I was busy gabbing and talking at the booth, Dennis and Lucas took the opportunity to sample some of Highwood’s Sweet Sippin’ Canadian Maple Whisky.

“You gotta try this, Chip,” was their consensus opinion.  Not one to argue unnecessarily with my friends,  I sampled the Sweet Sippin’ Maple Whisky and I was literally taken aback by the nice combination of maple and whisky flavours I encountered. The Maple Whisky (22 % alc/vol) had a gentle sweet maple flavour carried to the palate by a particularly smooth Canadian Rye Whisky.  In all it was quite nice!

So after the festival, I decided to do a little research as I wanted to know a little more about this particular flavoured Whisky which seemed to have a lot more depth and smoothness of flavour than I was expecting.  What I discovered was that Highwood’s 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.

Now a full review based upon one tasting at a festival where I probably sampled at least 40 different spirits is pretty much impossible. Fortunately for me, Allan Owen contacted me shortly after the festival and asked if he could drop off a sample of the Sweet Sippin’ Canadian Maple Whisky (and the Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky) for me to review. Being the generous fellow that I am, I accepted his kind offer and will in the coming weeks review both the Sweet Sippin’ Canadian Maple Whisky and the Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky.  I look forward to sharing the results in the coming weeks, cheers!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Howls, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: , , | 5 Comments »

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