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Review: Courvoisier Cognac (VS)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 10, 2018

Baby Doll

We can trace the origins of Courvoisier Cognac to 1809 when Emmanuel Courvoisier began a small wine and spirits company with the Mayor of Bercy, Louis Gallois in the French suburb of Bercy (Paris, France). The company and its Cognac was soon to achieve fame as in 1811, Napoleon Bonaparte visited Bercy, and it is said, that after visiting this small suburb, Napoleon insisted that he wanted to have available a ration of cognac for his artillery companies during the Napoleonic Wars. And in fact, later (in 1869) Napoleon’s heir, Napoleon III stated a preference for Courvoisier and bestowed the honourable title of “Official Supplier to the Imperial Court” to the company, and this title remains on display at the Courvoisier Museum in Jarnac, France today.

In 1828, the company moved from Bercy into the Cognac region of France in the town of Jarnac. In 1909, the business was acquired by the Simon family (from England) but remained headquarters in the Cognac region. Today Courvoisier is owned by Beam Suntory, and its main business operations remain in the Cognac region of France, in the town of Jarnac, located on the banks of the Charente River.

Here is a link to my review of Courvoisier VS:

Review: Courvoisier Cognac (VS)

“… The initial aroma displays a combination of fine oak spice with woody cedar accents, some butterscotch toffee, hints of maple, bits of dried raisins, and some sweet sticky orange marmalade in the breezes. As I allowed the glass to sit for a while, the wooded sap-like scents of cedar seemed to dissipate and were replaced by light baking spice aromas (brown sugar, vanilla, allspice, cinnamon, and clove) reminding me a bit of the scents and smells from a glass of aged Demerara rum …”

Please enjoy my review which concludes with a nice cocktail suggestion, Baby Doll.

Chimo!

Posted in Brandy and Cognac Reviews, Cognac Review | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: Courvoisier Cognac (VS)

Review: Pike Creek 21 Year Old

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 9, 2018

Pike Creek 21 Year Old is part of Corby’s Northern Border Collection Rare Release which features hand-picked selections from their rarest casks. How rare are these whiskies? Corby’s doesn’t actually tell us much; however, it is significant that this particular 21-year-old whisky doesn’t even rate a mention on the Corby’s Brands website.

This particular whisky was first matured in oak casks (probably refill bourbon barrels) and then finished in refill bourbon casks which had been used to age an unspecified Speyside (Scotch) malt whisky. The final spirit was bottled at 45 % alcohol by volume.

My experience with this particular whisky is quite limited. As part of my juror duties for the 2018 Canadian Whisky Awards, I was given about 75 blind samples and as I judged each whisky (over the course of 30 days), I tasted them each three times, writing down tasting notes and scores as I did so. It was only after the judging was complete, and the awards were presented, that the contents of each of the blind samples became know to me. I still has a small amount of each whisky remaining after judging, and so with that small amount remaining and from the tasting notes I already had produced I penned my review.

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: Pike Creek 21 Year Old (Finished in Speyside Single Malt Casks)

“… The notes indicate a well-balanced Canadian Whisky which shows us some development in the glass as it breathes. I will admit, that when I discovered that this was a 21-year-old whisky I was surprised that the spirit had not shown me more …”

Please enjoy my review, Chimo!

 

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Pike Creek 21 Year Old

Review: Herradura Reposado Tequila

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 7, 2018

The Herradura Tequila brand is owned by Brown-Froman. It is produced thirty miles from Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco, in the town of Amatitan, at the Brown – Forman Tequila Distillery Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V.. Herradura is produced from agave grown in the lowlands. This is important to know, because lowland agave will usually bring more earthy/punky flavours through the distillation than highland agave which tends to bring more earthy fruit flavours through the distillation. The lowland character of the Herradura tequila was obvious during my tasting sessions and dealing with the strong earthy flavours of the spirit was particularly significant during cocktail construction.

The subject of this review, the Herradura Anejo is a true 100% Weber Blue agave tequila.According to the Brown-Forman website:

Herradura Reposado ages in the barrels for eleven months,  far longer than the two months which is required by law for this category. This gives the tequila its deep copper color. The Reposado category was created by Tequila Herradura in 1974.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Herradura Reposado Tequila

“… once we pour Herradura Reposado, our nose is immediately greeted with an intense, earthy, agave scent. Getting past the intensity of that earthy agave is difficult, but letting the glass rest for a few moments allows us to catch sweeter tones of caramel and to a lesser extent vanilla. The spiciness of red chili peppers and a hint of citrus seem to forward as well …”

Please enjoy my review which concludes with my cocktail recommendation, El Tranvia (the Mexican Sidecar).

Chimo!

 

Posted in Reposado Tequila, Tequila, Tequila Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Herradura Reposado Tequila

Review: J.P Wiser’s Apple Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 6, 2018

John Philip (J.P.) Wiser, purchased a distillery in Prescott Ontario in 1857, and began to produce Wiser’s Whisky.  In fact, it may have been J.P. Wiser who first used the term “Canadian Whiskey” on a whisky label when he introduced his spirit to the World at the Chicago’s World Fair in 1893. From the beginning J.P. Wiser established his brand as a quality whisky with high standards of production. As a result, the distillery grew side by side with the popularity of Wiser’s style of whisky, and by the early 1900′s Wiser’s was the third largest distiller of whisky in Canada.

J.P. Wiser’s Apple Whisky was released across Canada last year. According to the J.P. Wiser’s website:

” … Apple-flavour occurs naturally in several our whiskies, so it was only natural that we crafted an Apple-flavoured whisky that celebrates that flavour note in a bold and delicious way. This whisky is flavoured using all natural ingredients, without any artificial sweeteners or flavours …”

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: J.P Wiser’s Apple Whisky

“… The aroma is quite nice with firm apple scents accompanied by light oak spice and vanilla. As the spirit sits I notice that the oak spices build up just a little. I appreciate this as it indicates that the underlying whisky has some legs in the glass so to speak, and it has not been completely smothered by the apple flavour …”

Please enjoy my review, Chimo!

 

 

Posted in Flavoured Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: J.P Wiser’s Apple Whisky

Cocktail Hour – The Choco-Mint Julep Shake-up

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 5, 2018

Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby have fallen on the same day! So let’s shake up the official drink of the Kentucky derby (The Mint Julep) by adding a little Mexican flavour in the form of Herradura Tequila. You might think I am crazy, but recently a good friend of mine, Valerie Bradshaw sent me her recipe for the Mint Julep Smash-up which was featured as part of the local coverage of the festivities surrounding the Kentucky Derby (see here: The Official Drink of The Kentucky Derby).

My version isn’t quite the same as Val’s, as I decided to stick to using the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby, Woodford Reserve. And, because her recipe called for chocolate bitters, I upped the ante and used Chocolate-Mint in my muddle as well. This means that it is not just the Herradura tequila that turns the flavour in a new direction, the chocolate mint and bitters add their own dimension as well.

If you want to try this at home, I would suggest going easy on both the tequila and the bitters the first time you make it. It certainly is easier to add a more and re-shake the serving, than it is to try to take some of the aggressive ingredients back.

When you get it right the cocktail is delicious!

The Choco-Mint Julep Shake-up

1 1/4 oz Woodford Reserve Double Oak Bourbon
3/8 oz Herradura Silver Tequila
3/8 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
Chocolate-Mint Leaves
1/2 oz Sugar Syrup (1:1 ratio)
dash Fees Bothers Chocolate Bitters
Ice
Sparkling Water
Mint Sprig (Mojito mint makes an attractive garnish)

Muddle Mint Leaves in a Mixing Glass with 1 oz of Bourbon
Strain into a Metal Shaker filled with Ice
Add the Tequila and Sugar Syrup
Shake until the outside of the Shaker begins to frost
Pour into your Serving Glass
Complete with Sparkling Water
Garnish with Lime and Mint Leaves

Enjoy Responsibly!

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

___________________________________________________________

My thanks to Valerie Bradshaw for sending me the basic recipe a few days ago. My new review for the Herradura Silver Tequila published a few days ago (see here), and you can be sure I will add a review of the wonderful Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon in the coming weeks as well.

Chimo!

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