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Archive for the ‘Cocktails & Recipes’ Category

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Review: Red Stag by Jim Beam

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 23, 2011

For the past two weeks I have been reviewing some bourbon whiskey which I  received in a collection of sample jars from the personal collection of  J. Leslie Wheelock, (a member of the Alberta Beam Global team), which spanned an impressive range of unique whiskies from Canada, Scotland, and the USA.  This week I dipped into the samples and chose Sample Jar # 14, Red Stag  Black Cherry Flavoured Bourbon.

Red Stag Flavoured Bourbon is a black cherry flavoured, 4-year-old, Jim Beam Bourbon. It appears to be intended primarily for the mixing of cocktails and bar drinks although it has been suggested that it can be enjoyed as a sipper as well.

For the purposes of the review I broke the process into two parts. The first part of the review process involved five independent taste sessions (about one ounce each) consumed neat and with ice, and I drew my tasting notes from that part of the review process. I then constructed a few cocktails including two which I found on the Red Stag Website (The Brass Buck and Red Stag and Cola).  I used these cocktails to round out the review with ancillary information regarding the suitability of the flavoured Whiskey for bar style cocktail drinks.

You may read the results of my research here:

Review: Red Stag Flavoured Bourbon

And please remember that the intention of my blog is to help you drink better spirits, not more spirits!

Please enjoy the review and the cocktails which follow:

Posted in American Whiskey, Cocktails & Recipes, Flavoured Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Red Stag by Jim Beam

Whisky Review: Canadian Club Premium

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 19, 2011

Hiram Walker was the visionary American entrepreneur (born in New England), that immigrated north to Ontario and set about creating a most distinctive brand of Canadian Whisky which became known as Canadian Club. Although he began his distilling days in Michigan, he perfected his craft north of the American border in what would become Walkerville, Ontario. The whisky which Hiram Walker created was unique. He utilized methods of production which were not just unusual, but actual contrary to common whisky practices of the day, and his Canadian Club whisky is even today made in that contrary fashion being the only major whisky brand in the world to be blended before being aged in oak barrels, (Blended at Birth).

Canadian Club Whisky is now the oldest (and probably the most influential) Canadian Whisky brand in the world.  It is found in over 150 countries, with sales in Canada that are unmatched by any other whisky brand. The company has been granted numerous Royal Warrants from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth and it has been reported that Canadian Club was the whisky of choice when Al Capone smuggled thousands of Cases of Canadian Whisky into the USA during prohibition.

Today Canadian Club Premium is the flagship brand for the company. It is aged for a minimum of 6 years in white oak barrels and bottled at 40 per cent alcohol by volume.  Still ‘Blended at Birth’, the whisky affectionately called C.C. by its adherents is practically a Canadian Institution.

Here is a snippet from my review:

“….The flavour is full of damp tobacco and fermenting fruit flavours. The C.C. whisky is spicy too, with oak tannins disguised as orange peel zest heating up the mouth. Caramel flavours seep in and out as does an impression of vanilla….”

My full review may be read here:

Review: Canadian Club Premium

As is my usual style I have included my favourite Canadian Club cocktail at the end of my review.

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

Whiskey Review: Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 15, 2011

Two weeks ago I began a series of reviews based upon a collection of whisk(e)y samples provided from the personal collection of J.L. Wheelock, a member of the Beam Global team here in Alberta. Part of the sample set of whiskies were a selection of Bourbon Whiskeys from the Jim Beam Distillery.  I was not given a sample of Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon as part of this sample group; however, I happened to have a small 375 ml flask of Jim Beam on hand  so I thought that I would provide a review of the flagship whiskey of the Jim Beam brand as part of this series of reviews.

The Jim Beam distillery was founded in 1795,  and it has been operated as a family run business for seven generations.  Currently Jim Beam Straight Kentucky Bourbon is produced at the Clermont Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, and (according to the Jim Beam Website) is the best-selling bourbon in the world.  The spirit is aged for 4 years in white American oak barrels and bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

The bottle I am reviewing is the 375 ml flask style bottle pictured to the left.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The aroma from the glass is one of rough timbers freshly cut. A waft of vanilla rises with the timbers, and deeper down we have some dank corn and oodles of raw honeycomb.  Waiting for a minute or so I also catch some toffee aroma building in the glass as well…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

As well I have included my version of a nice cocktail called The Kentucky Margarita. Please enjoy the review.

Posted in American Whiskey, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Whiskey Review: Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Diplomatico Hacienda Saruro

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 8, 2011

Hacienda Saruro is an aged rum liqueur produced by Distilerias Unidas, S.A. In case that particular distilling company doesn’t roll off your tongue easily, just think Diplomatico Rum.  That’s right, the people who brought us the wonderful Diplomatico Rums are responsible for Hacienda Saruro.

If you are wondering what an aged rum liqueur is supposed to be, then my next suggestion is that you think about Drambuie. Drambuie is the honey flavored scotch whisky liqueur made from aged malt whisky, heather, honey, and a blend of herbs and spices.  What Drambuie is to Scotch, Hacienda Saruro has the potential to be to Rum.

I was given my first sample of this elixir over a year ago at a special tasting I was invited to by the local Importers of Diplomatico Rum, PB Beverages. At the tasting, everyone who was there was bowled over by the flavour and richness of this unique spirit. It has taken a year to finally reach the market, but the product has finally arrived in Alberta, and so has my sample bottle from PB Beverages.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“… There is a nice mixture of honey sweetness and sharper oak tannin, as well as a bevy of dry fruit and fieldberries sitting underneath to support the flavour. I taste a nice ribbon of orange flavour as well as citrus zest riding in the currents. Vanilla, hazelnut and almonds ride in the currents as well although the nutty flavours are not assertive…”

You may read my full review here:

Review: Diplomatico Hacienda Saruro

As usual I have included a nice recipe after the review which I call the Kentucky Crocodile.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavouerd Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Diplomatico Hacienda Saruro

Revisting Mount Gay Extra Old

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 3, 2011

One of my very early rum reviews was for Mount Gay Extra Old Rum (MGXO). In fact, this was one of the ten original reviews that I published to open my site back in October 2009. Since that time, when the occasion has presented itself for me to revisit these early reviews, I have done so. This is because I acknowledge that my earliest reviews were perhaps a little fragmentary, and that my experience since these earlier reviews has grown with my understanding of rum and whisky.

In the interests of fairness, I have left my older review at the bottom of the review page such that this evolution will be obvious to my readers.

The Mount Gay Extra Old Rum (MGXO) is produced in a traditional style using copper pot stills. The rum is double distilled and aged in American white oak barrels which were previously used to age Kentucky bourbon. This is a well aged rum with the blend consisting of a wide range of rums from 7 years of age up to 15 years of age.  I received the sample bottle for this review from Scott Parker of  Select Wines who are the importers of Mount Gay Rums in my locale.

Here is a snippet from my review:

“…As the glass decants, the aroma sweetens and I can smell a sweeter brown sugar within the molasses as well as luxurious baking spices. As I continue to allow the nose to develop, I get additional scents of roasted marshmallows, oak spices, ripe fruit, and scattered tea leaves. Hints of faint copper-like scents, unsweetened cocoa and an indistinct cigar-like aroma are drifting in and out of the breezes. This is deep and complex…”

You may read the full review here:

Rum Review: Mount Gay Extra Old Barbados Rum

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Revisting Mount Gay Extra Old

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