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Archive for the ‘Awards’ Category

2016 Spiced Rum Taste-off: Capatain Morgan Original Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 15, 2016

Cable Car SAM_2624

Captain Morgan and the Cable car

Admiral Sir Henry Morgan (aka Captain Morgan) was a Welsh ‘privateer’ who attacked and plundered the Caribbean on behalf of, and with the written consent of (in the form of an English Letter of Marque), the Governor of Jamaica, Sir Thomas Modyford. Privateers at that time in history were essentially ‘legal pirates’ who were allowed to attack and loot enemies of the state reaping the rewards from their plunder in lieu of pay. Researching Sir Henry Morgan, I learned he was a skilled naval captain, a ruthless buccaneer, and one of the most successful ‘privateers’ in the history of piracy earning a Knighthood for himself in 1674.

Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum is of course the name of Diageo’s top-selling spiced rum. It is the most successful spiced rum (at least with respect to sales) in the entire category, and has pretty much set the standard for sales and marketing for all other spiced rums to follow.

Here are my latest thoughts on the Original Captain:

#16 Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum

” …  I began to taste light oak spices, a peppery citrus zest, and the faint echo of baking spices. My feeling is that the flavour profile is quite approachable, but it is not really geared towards sipping. This is a mixer and that is where the rum excels …”

Please enjoy the review which includes a fantastic cocktail recipe created by Tony Abou-Ganim, the Cable Car.

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I hope you all find this countdown enjoyable and you can follow the rankings here:

The Rum Howler 2016 Spiced Rum Countdown

Posted in Awards, Extras, Rum, Rum Reviews, Spiced Rum | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on 2016 Spiced Rum Taste-off: Capatain Morgan Original Spiced Rum

2016 Spiced Rum Taste-off: Wild Geese Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 9, 2016

srumThe Flight of the Wild Geese is a reference to a regimental force which traveled from Ireland to France under the command of Patrick Sarsfield, as stipulated in the Treaty of Limerick on October 3, 1691. The western counties of Clare, Limerick, Cork, Kerry and Galway provided most of these recruits as French ships would arrive on the west of Ireland with cargoes of smuggled brandy or wine and would depart with troops for the Irish Brigade.

Those ships which carried the recruits apparently listed the smuggled troops as “Wild Geese,” in the ship’s records which of course is the genesis of the name given to these Irish Soldiers. The tradition of the Wild Geese Soldiers all but ended in 1745 when Irish recruitment for continental armies was made illegal.

The Wild Geese Rum Collection is the companion to the Wild Geese Irish Whisky Collection. While the Wild Geese Irish Whisky collection sought to bring the Story of the Wild Geese and their struggles in European Armies to light, the Wild Geese Rum Collection continues the saga bringing to light the story of some of these Wild Geese who after service in the continental armies of Europe found themselves transported to America and the Caribbean where many worked upon the Rum Plantations in the new world.

Here is a link to my review of The Wild Geese Spiced Rum:

#18  The Wild Geese Caribbean Spiced Rum

“… The initial flavour impressions I receive across my palate are similar to what I experienced as I nosed the glass. I sense a trio of fruitiness which resembles cherry licorice, fresh mango and sliced pineapple. There is also a welcome spiciness which runs through the rum with suggestions of coriander and ginger implied by my taste buds. Rounding out the flavour is an impression of vanilla with hints of butterscotch sweetness …”

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I hope you all find this countdown enjoyable and you can follow the rankings here:

The Rum Howler 2016 Spiced Rum Countdown

Posted in Awards, Extras, Rum, Rum Reviews, Spiced Rum | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on 2016 Spiced Rum Taste-off: Wild Geese Spiced Rum

2016 Spiced Rum Taste-off: Voodoo Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 3, 2016

Voodoo Spiced RumI continue my spiced rum taste-off with the 19th best spiced rum on my rum shelf. Voodoo Spiced Rum is produced by Three-D Spirits, Inc. ( www.redrum.com). The company was founded in 1996 with the stated goal to create exceptional  handmade rums. Their spiced rum is apparently (according to the website) produced from a blend of aged Virgin Islands Rum. The blended rum is infused with cloves and cinnamon as well as Madagascar vanilla, and bottled at 35 % alcohol by volume.

No information is given regarding the age of the rums in the blend; however, based upon my tasting notes, I would suggest that the spirit was aged for only a limited time period as there is very little evidence of oak or wood spice in the taste profile. This is typical of the spiced rum category.

Here is my review:

#19   Voodoo Spiced Rum

“… When I nose the glass vanilla wafts upward, and it is obviously the dominant spice. I also sense a mild but firm butterscotch sweetness and a light peppery spiciness in the breezes above the glass. Taking a little time and listening to what the merry little breezes above the glass tell me, impressions of cloves become more obvious along with hints of cinnamon …”

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I hope you all find this countdown enjoyable and you can follow the rankings here:

The Rum Howler 2016 Spiced Rum Countdown

Posted in Awards, Extras, Rum, Rum Reviews, Spiced Rum | Tagged: , , , , | 4 Comments »

2016 Rum Howler Spiced Rum Taste-off

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 31, 2016

Several weeks ago I found myself staring at all the spiced rums on my rumshelf in my tasting room. I had a little over 20, and most of them were barely touched. I had done my review for each, made a cocktail or two, and then sealed the bottles and moved on. I even had several full bottles that had were still sealed as often when samples are sent to me, the producer sends two bottles rather than one. While staring at the spirits the thought occurred to me that perhaps I ought to do something constructive with my spiced rum selection. So, I decided that I should re-taste all of these rums, create new tasting notes, and update my reviews especially as I was curious how the older reviews would stand up.

krakenThose who are regular readers know that I like to present the results from these types of exercises in a ‘Countdown’ format, and so during the next two months I shall be present the results, one spiced rum at a time, beginning with the rum which ranked 20th on my newly created list, then work my way down to the spiced rum which I feel is the best in my tasting room. As I publish the new reviews, I will be replacing my older review with the newer ones such that by the time I am done, all of the reviews will be updated with the new tasting notes and scores. (In a few cases when the older review stands up well with my current thoughts (especially of the published review is current) I have left the older review as it is.)

Today I shall begin with the Rum which ranked Number 20, on my Rum Howler 2016 Spiced Rum Countdown, the Kraken Black Spiced Rum, here is the new review:

#20   The Kraken Black Spiced Rum

“… The merry little breezes above the glass tell me a story of peppery spice and licorice. Cinnamon is revealed along with wiffs of cloves, plum preserves, and black cherries. The black spiced rum has an almost medicinal quality as there is also more than a hint of menthol in those breezes which as it combines with the fruity smells of black cherries and plums makes me think of cough medicine and Jagermeister …”

I hope you all find this countdown enjoyable and you can follow the rankings here:

The Rum Howler 2016 Spiced Rum Countdown

Posted in Awards, Extras | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Eight Lame Ducks

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 8, 2016

CanardI try to be positive on my website. Generally speaking, I like to sample and write about spirits which I genuinely enjoy, rather than those which leave an unpleasant taste in my mouth. In fact, the experience of putting something into my mouth that tastes bad is one I tend to avoid. However, despite my efforts to avoid bad experiences, I nevertheless do sometimes accept samples which I wish I had not, and at times well-meaning friends or family members gift me bottles which if I had my druthers, I wish they would have kept to themselves.

In my effort to help you avoid these same mistakes, I have created the Rum Howler Canards of 2015.

A canard, if you are unfamiliar with the term, is the french word for duck. It is also a slang term for something that isn’t quite right. An item which promises to be wonderful, but upon examination turns out to be something less, something which disappoints rather than exhilarates.

And that is precisely what my Canards recognize. These spirits promised me pleasure, but granted me something much less. And my Rum Howler Canards of 2015 are for the 8 Lame Ducks of the previous year.

These Eight Canards are revealed here:

The Rum Howler Canards of 2015

Posted in Awards, Extras | Tagged: , | 7 Comments »