Archive for the ‘Extras’ Category

The 2011 Rum Howler Awards – (Regional Rum Awards)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 29, 2011

Today I am continuing with my Rum Howler Awards as I am selecting the best rum from the various rum producing regions of the world. I have an Award for Best Rum from Central America, and Award for Best Rum from South America, and Award for Best Rum from North America, an Award for Best Rum from the Caribbean Islands and an Award for the Best Rum from Outside the Americas and the Caribbean.

All of these awards are based upon side by side tasting sessions held over a period of several weeks. As with the Whisky awards I began at the start of August slowly tasting different Rums from my collection of reviews samples bringing only the very best forward for the final tastings which took place over the past month.

(Note: Many rums brands are distilled in one region but transported in bulk to be blended and even aged for a further time in another region. Other rums brands are actually blends of several rums which have been distilled in more than one region. In all cases, I have decided that the location where the rum is bottled will be considered the place of production for that particular rum brand.)

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The Rum Howler Award for the Best Rum From Central America

and the winner is:

Panama Red 108 Overproof Rum

Honorable Mention to Traveller’s 3 Barrel Rum and Ron Abuelo 7 Year Old Rum

I had to think hard about whether to allow an over-proof rum to win this award. However, I really could not come up with a valid reason not to allow the Panama Red 108 to be considered. It is a tremendous rum which quickly became a favourite of mine and of my entire rum club. In side by side tastings with the Traveller’s 3 Barrel, and the Abuelo 7 year Old (which I have not reviewed yet); it seemed to have just that bit of extra flavour and richness which made me pick it out as the winner.

It is unfortunate that this rum has a rather limited distribution at this time but perhaps this award will help to change things, as I really would like to see this brand in my locale soon.

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And the Rum Howler Award for the Best Rum from South America

and the winner is:

El Dorado 21 Year Old Rum

Honourable mention to Dictador 20 Year Solera Rum and Dictador 12 Year Solera Rum

I tasted some great rums from South America this year. But leading the pack were the two great rums from Columbia (the Dictador Rums) and the great El Dorado Rums from Guyana. (I could easily have given the El Dorado 12 Year Old Rum an honourable mention here too). The El Dorado 21 Year Old Rum was chosen as the winner in the head to head tasting because of its superior complexity, and the beguiling way the oak flavours have melded into the rum. This is almost rum perfection.

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The Rum Howler Award for the Best Rum from the Caribbean Islands

and the winner is:

Mount Gay Eclipse Black

Honourable mention to Atlantico Private Cask, and Mount Gay Eclipse (Gold)

Last year’s winner in this category was a wonderful solera blend from Oliver and Oliver, and this year their blending expertise is on display again as they are the masters behind the blending of the wonderful Atlantico Private Cask. However, this year Mount Gay muscled its way into consideration as I finally had the chance to sample their full range of rums. I almost went against the grain of convention by awarding the prize to the younger Mount Gay Gold Eclipse, but after several side by side tastings I became convinced that the new Mount Gay Black Eclipse was the superior rum. The two Mount Gay Rums are both very good, and on another day I might have chosen the Gold Eclipse over the Black; but… it wasn’t another day, and on the day I did my comparison’s the Black reigned supreme.

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The Rum Howler Award for the Best Rum From North America

and the winner is:

Famous Newfoundland Screech Rum

Honourable mention to Lemon Hart Demerara 151 Rum

Both of the rums nominated in this category are rums brands from Canada, where almost all of the rum produced is purchased in bulk from the Caribbean and then transported to Canada to be bottled. The rums are usually also aged for a further time in Canada and then blended with other stocks to produce the desired flavour profile. In the case of the Newfoundland Screech, the rum is a 100 % Jamaican blend of 4 marques that are produced in the same distillery as Appleton Estate Rum. All of these marques are aged in Jamaica. This rum has a reputation of being a rather harsh blend recommended for only the brave of heart. Frankly the reputation is undeserved, as Screech is a smooth rum which tastes delicious on ice or mixed in cocktails.

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The Rum Howler Award for the Best Rum from Outside the Americas and the Caribbean

and the winner is:

Plantation Panama 2000 (Old Reserve)

Honourable mention to Plantation Barbados (Grande Reserve) 5 Year Old Rum and Plantation Grenada 1998 (Old Reserve Rum)

A clean sweep of the nominations for the wonderful Plantation Rums of Cognac Ferrand (located in the Cognac Region of France). These wonderful rums are purchased from a variety of distilleries throughout the Caribbean and transported to France where they are aged for an additional time in used Cognac casks. The result is a wonderful thread of cognac goodness which is imparted to the already deliciously aged rums. I have tasted just about the entire line-up of Plantation Rums and have not been disappointed by a single sip. Who would have thought that France could be a world leader in the production of Rum?

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And there you have it, my Regional Rum Howler Awards for Outstanding Rum:

The Rum Howler Award for the Best Rum From Central America: Panama Red 108 Overproof Rum

The Rum Howler Award for the Best Rum from South America: El Dorado 21 Year Old Rum

The Rum Howler Award for the Best Rum from the Caribbean Islands: Mount Gay Eclipse Black

The Rum Howler Award for the Best Rum From North America: Famous Newfoundland Screech Rum

The Rum Howler Award for the Best Rum from Outside the Americas and the Caribbean: Plantation Panama 2000 (Old Reserve)

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Over the next two weeks I will be wrapping up my Awards with the best of the best in Rum and Whisky

Cheers!

Posted in Awards, Extras, Howls | 5 Comments »

The 2011 Rum Howler Awards – (Regional Whisky Awards)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 22, 2011

Today I am continuing with my Rum Howler Awards as I am selecting the best whiskies from various parts of the world. I have an Award for Best Canadian Whisky, and Award for Best Scotch Whisky, and Award for Best American Whisky, and an Award for Best Irish Whisky.

All of these awards are based upon side by side tasting sessions held over a period of several weeks. I began at the start of August slowly tasting different whiskies from my collection of reviews samples bringing only the very best forward for the final tastings which took place over the past month.

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The Rum Howler Award for Best Canadian Whisky

and the winner is:

Alberta Premium 30 Year Old

Honourable mention to Forty Creek Confederation Oak, Gibson’s Finest 12 Year, and Canadian Club 30 Year Old Whisky

It was a great year for Canadian Whisky, and I could easily have added several more honourable mentions to this category. I had great fun narrowing the field during some blind tasting runs where I had my wife pour me samples that I scored several times to arrive at the final four. The surprise finalist I guess would be the Gibson’s Finest 12 Year Old, but truthfully all four finalists are deserving nominees. What was not surprising to me was my decision to grant the Award to the Alberta Premium 30 Year Old. It was not only the tastiest in head to head competition, it was also probably the best bargain in the entire Whisky World last year. (A 30 Year Old 100 % Rye Whisky, that sold for less than $50.00 per bottle in all markets where it was available.) Unfortunately I am using past tense, as at that price it is no small mystery that the Alberta Premium 30 has disappeared.

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The Rum Howler Award for Best Scotch Whisky

and the winner is:

Highland Park 25 Year Old Whisky

Honourable mention to Signatory Dufftown 1984, and Glenmorangie Original

The fun continued as I had the opportunity this year to taste (and own) some incredible Scotch whisky. As with the Award for Best Canadian Whisky, I had my wife bring me small samples of each of the best Scottish Whiskies I had reviewed over the past year. It came down to three finalists, but in the end it was the staggering complexity of the Highland Park 25 Year Old whisky that won the day. This is a monster of a whisky and if you can afford to treat yourself to something really special, I recommend treating yourself to this one!

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The Rum Howler Award for Best American Whisky

and the winner is:

Basil Hayden’s Straight Kentucky Bourbon

Honourable mention to Maker’s 46 Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey

I have to admit that my experiences with American Whiskies were rather limited this year. I reviewed only five on my website, and my sampling at whisky shows and tastings did not broaden that experience significantly. However, I will say that I have become quite enthusiastic about Basil Hayden’s Straight Kentucky Bourbon. I really dig the laid back style of the Basil Hayden’s and highly recommend that you try it because I think if you give this whisky a fair chance in your glass that you will really dig it too.

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The Rum Howler Award for Best Irish Whiskey

and the winner is:

Jameson 18 Year Old Limited Reserve Irish Whiskey

Honourable mention to Writer’s Tears Pot Still Blend, Greenore 8 Year Old Single Grain, and Redbreast 12 year Old

There was really no serious competition in this category, as the Jameson 18 Year old Limited Reserve was by far and away the best Irish Whiskey I have tasted to this point. I fell in love with the depth of its pot still flavour and the love affair has continued throughout the year. I did sample (but not review) quite a few other Irish whiskeys this year, the Greenore 8 Year Old Single Grain Whisky, Writer’s Tears Pot Still Blend, and the Red Breast 12 Year Old were a few of the notables which I tried. However, none of these whiskeys seemed to match the style and the depth of flavour of this gem from Jameson.

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I have no award this year for the whiskies from the rest of the world. Simply put, I did not have the opportunity to sample many Japanese whiskies, or Indian whiskies, or the whiskies from other locales. I apologize for this unfortunate circumstance, but I will try to do better nest year.

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And so to wrap up the Rum Howler Regional Whisky Awards:

The Rum Howler Award for Best Canadian Whisky: Alberta Premium 30 Year Old

The Rum Howler Award for the Best Scotch Whisky: Highland Park 25 Year Old Whisky

The Rum Howler Award for the Best American Whisky: Basil Hayden’s Straight Kentucky Bourbon

The Rum Howler Award for the Best Irish Whisky: Jameson 18 Year Old Limited Reserve Irish Whiskey

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Next week I shall tackle some Rum, cheers!

Posted in Awards, Howls | Tagged: American Whiskey, Canadian Whisky, Rum Howler Awards, Scotch Whisky, Whisky | 2 Comments »

The Rum Howler Awards – Vodka, Gin and Tequila

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 15, 2011

Last week, I began to present my 2nd Annual Rum Howler Awards for excellence in the production of distilled spirits. The Awards last week were presented to those spirits which performed the best in what I considered to be a basic (but classic) cocktail for each category of distilled spirit. I had an award for the best rum in a Daiquiri; an award for the best whisky in a Horses Neck (Whisky and Ginger-ale): an award for the best tequila in a Margarita, an award for the best gin in a Gin Fizz, and an award for the best vodka in a Cosmopolitan.

Today I will recognize the best of the Vodka, Gin and Tequila spirits. I included all of the spirits I sampled over the past two years. (Going back two years allows me to include a larger volume of samples for each category which I hope makes the Rum Howler Awards more relevant.) The judging was based upon side by side comparisons using a combination of suitable cocktails and sipping the samples neat.

Here are my Rum Howler Awards for Vodka, for Gin, for Tequila.

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The Rum Howler Award for Best Flavoured Vodka

and the winner is:

Pristina Espresso Flavoured Vodka

Honourable mention to Nemiroff Rye Honey and Zubrowka (Bison Grass) Vodka.

Because of the wide variation in product styles, this was a hard category to judge; but one which I feel I got right. All three of the nominees are spirits which I would have no problem sharing with which ever guests happen to pop by. They rise to a standard of excellence which was recognized when I did my initial reviews for them. I had some help deciding this category, and in a kind of committee approach, my friends and I decided that the Pristina Espresso Flavoured Vodka was the clear winner.

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The Rum Howler Award for Best Value Priced Vodka
(Under $30.00 in my Alberta Marketplace)

and the winner is:

Russian Standard Original Vodka

Honourable mention to Nemiroff Original Vodka and Nemiroff Ukrainian Wheat Vodka

In my marketplace, taxes and storage fees can increase the price of a product by $13.00 a bottle (In some cases as high as $18.00 a bottle). This means the value priced spirits usually begin at a price of $22.00 per bottle in most of the liquor stores. My upper limit of $30.00 per bottle,therefore, eliminated a wide swath of products. I considered two major factors in determining the Best Value Priced Vodka. The first was the Vodka’s mixability in a range of cocktail styles, (the Screw Driver, the Cosmopolitan and the Vodka Tonic), and I weighed this equally against the performance of the Vodka served neat at room temperature. All three of the nominees are excellent choices, but the Russian Standard was not only my choice, but it was also the choice of my entire Vodka tasting group in this category.

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The Rum Howler Award for Best Vodka
(Price irrelevant)

and the winner is:

Wyborowa Exquisite (Wodka)

Honourable mention to Patriot Excellence Vodka, Pristina Vodka, and Nemiroff Lex Vodka.

The Nominees for this category were judged in much the same way that the nominees for the Best Value Vodka were judged. However much more weight was attached to the performance of the Vodka when sipped neat at room temperature. To be honest, I have no complaints with any of these spirits and would happily receive them at any gathering. Having said that, the Wyborowa Exquisite is exactly what its name says it is, an exquisite Vodka which oozes class and luxury upon the palate. When I want a superior cocktail, this Vodka fits the bill beautifully, and when I want a great sipping bottle to share with friends and food, again the Wyborowa Exquisite is my first choice.

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The Rum Howler Award for the Best Gin

and the winner is:

No. 3 London Dry Gin

Honourable mention to Tangueray No. 10

This was a two-horse race right from the start, and to make my determination I decided to mix three cocktails, a Gin and Tonic, a Key Lime Gimlet, and a Gin Fizz. Then I sampled each gin neat at room temperature. Half the score was based upon the taste of the cocktails, and half the score was based upon the performance of the gin when served neat. Although both of these spirits are wonderful. The No. 3 Gin was my clear choice.

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The Rum Howler Award for Best Blanco Tequila

and the winner is:

Cabo Wabo (Blanco)

Honorable mention to PaQuí Tequila (Silvera)

Last week I awarded the PaQui Tequila Silvera with the award for the best Blanco tequila in a Margarita with the Cabo Wabo Blanco Tequila as the runner-up. This week the two spirits flip positions as the more complex earthy tones of the Cabo Wabo made it the clear winner in the head to head contest when I sipped the spirits neat.

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The Rum Howler Award for Best Reposado Tequila

and the winner is:

Alamo Reposado Tequila

Honourable mention to Cabo Wabo Reposado, and Herencia de Plata (Reposado)

Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila was the very first Tequila I reviewed on my website, and in a way it has served as the standard for all other tequila spirits that followed. It was the first tequila I reviewed because I really like it, and it became the Tequila I was most likely to serve when I made a margarita for myself or my friends. When I sampled the Herencia de Plata (Reposado), I began to serve the either of the two interchangeably depending upon whether I wanted the clean flavour of Herencia or the more funky flavour of Cabo Wabo. When I later sampled the Alamo Reposado Tequila, my serving habits for Margaritas did not change; but that is only because I do not serve the Alamo in a Margarita; I serve the Alamo neat at room temperature. It really is that good!

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The Rum Howler Award for Best Anejo Tequila

and the winner is:

1921 Anejo Tequila

Honourable mention to Corzo Anejo Tequila

The 1921 Anejo Tequila is simply outstanding. It is one of those spirits which tastes great the first time you sip it, and then as you let the spirit breathe, the tequila gains even more character in the glass. I did my side by side tasting with Corzo Anejo early in the fall. It was at first a very close contest, but as the 1921 Tequila decanted in the glass its character grew by leaps and bound making it the clear winner.

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To recap:

The Rum Howler Award for Best Flavoured Vodka: Pristina Espresso Flavoured Vodk a

The Rum Howler Award for Best Value Priced Vodka: Russian Standard Original VodkaThe Rum

The Rum Howler Award for Best Vodka: Wyborowa Exquisite (Wodka)

The Rum Howler Award for the Best Gin: No. 3 London Dry Gin

The Rum Howler Award for Best Blanco Tequila: Cabo Wabo (Blanco)

The Rum Howler Award for Best Reposado Tequila: Alamo Reposado Tequila

The Rum Howler Award for Best Anejo Tequila: 1921 Anejo Tequila

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Next week I will tackle whisky!

Cheers!

Posted in Awards, Howls | Tagged: Flavoured Vodka, Gin, Rum Howler Awards, Vodka | Comments Off on The Rum Howler Awards – Vodka, Gin and Tequila

The 2011 Rum Howler Awards – Part 1 (Best Mixers)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 8, 2011

Last year I began my Rum Howler Awards which sought to recognize the most favoured spirits I had sipped and sampled over the past year. Today I am continuing what I hope will be an annual tradition with my Second Annual Rum Howler Awards! Of course, everyone should understand that I must introduce some provisos when I hand out these awards. I cannot judge any spirit which I have not tasted. I also cannot attempt a comparative final tasting when the previous sample I received for my review, was so small that I now have none left to compare. Fortunately for the most part, like last year, I was able to save enough of each product sample just for the purpose of these awards.

The Rum Howler Awards are meant to be a fun excuse for me to revisit my most favoured distilled spirits and share that re-visitation with you my readers. I am trying to choose the best of the best, but like all competitions of this nature, the awards are subjective and will reflect my personal preferences. The awards for today will concentrate on those spirits which I have found make particularly tasty cocktails. (I have added Gin, Tequila and Vodka categories to round out the awards to include all distilled spirits I review.)

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Best White Rum in a Daiquiri

And the Winner is:

Newfoundlander’s White Rum

Honorable mention to Mount Gay Eclipse Silver.

I consider the daiquiri to be the benchmark cocktail for white rums. In my side by side tastings it was basically a contest which pitted the clean crisp flavour of Newfoundlander’s White Rum against the funky character of the Mount Gay Silver Eclipse. I found that the new White Rum from the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation was simply outstanding in the cocktail. (The Silver Eclipse from Mount Gay is very ‘funky’ and delicious as well.)

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Most Outstanding Gin in a Lime Fizz

And the winner is:

Tangueray No. 10

Honourable mention to No. 3 London Dry Gin, and Bombay Sapphire Gin.

A Gin Fizz (similar to a Tom Collins) is a simple cocktail which mixes gin with lemon or lime juice, simple sugar and soda. It is a very popular bar-drink/cocktail, and because I like ‘fizz’ style bar-drinks more than Martinis or the standard Gin and Tonic, I decided to use the Gin Fizz as my cocktail of choice for judging this spirit in a cocktail. It was the smoothness of the Tangueray No. 10, which won the day in my side by side comparisons.

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Most Outstanding Whisky in a Horses Neck

And the winner is:

Chinook Canadian Whisky

Honourable mention to Gibson’s Finest Sterling Canadian Whisky, and Pendleton (Let ‘er Buck) Canadian Whisky.

Anyone who has read my reviews realizes that I love to mix cocktails and bar drinks. I believe that the vast majority of whisky drinkers do the same even when they buy a premium bottle. The Horse’s Neck (Whisky and ginger-ale) is the standard cocktail that I like to drink with my whisky, and as such it is a very suitable bar drink to use for judging the mixability of each whisky. All three of the Nominees above are great whiskies for serving with ginger-ale; but my friends and I have been ‘hooked on the Chinook‘ ever since we first tried it several months ago.

It was no surprise to me that it won the day in my head to head taste-off.

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Most Outstanding Blanco Tequila in a Margarita

And the winner is:

PaQuí Tequila (Silvera)

Honourable mention to Cabo Wabo Blanco

Like the Daiquiri, the Margarita is another benchmark cocktail. Whenever I review Blanco Tequila, I mix a Margarita to begin to test the spirit’s cocktail range. I tasted four different spirits side by side in a Margarita taste-off this summer, and it came down to a choice between the Cabo Wabo and the PaQui. Both were excellent; but, by a small margin I preferred the Margarita made with PaQui Tequila.

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The Best Vodka in a Cosmopolitan

Pristina Vodka

Honourable mention to Patriot Excellence Vodka, Nemiroff Lex Vodk a, and Last Mountain Hand Crafted Vodka.

Of all the awards presented today, I think perhaps that his was the toughest to judge. I (and some of my friends) sampled the Cosmos several times attempting to rank the spirits; but we seemed to come up with a different winner each time. It was the Pristina Vodka however, which always seemed to rank first or second each time I did a taste comparison. You cannot go wrong with any of these Vodkas for mixing premium cocktails, but by the slimmest of margins, I prefer the Pristina.

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And there you have it, the first five Rum Howler Awards for 2011:

The Best White Rum in a Daiquiri, Newfoundlander’s White Rum.

The Best Gin in a Lime Fizz,Tangueray No. 10.

The Best Whisky in a Horses Neck, Chinook Canadian Whisky.

The Best Blanco Tequila in a Margarita, PaQuí Tequila (Silvera).

The Best Vodka in a Cosmopolitan, Pristina Vodka

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Each week until Christmas I shall reveal some more of the Awards… Stay Tuned!

Posted in Awards, Extras | Tagged: Flavoured Rum, Flavoured Vodka, Rum, Rum Howler Awards, Spiced Rum, Vodka | 3 Comments »

Movies and Cocktails: Part 1

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 24, 2011

I found myself watching an old western on the television a few weeks ago on one of those rare days when the movie suited my mood perfectly. Of course, I wanted a drink, but not just a drink…. I wanted a drink that suited the mood I was in and the movie I was watching. I settled on a dusty Canadian Rye Whisky and settled down to watch my movie.

Afterwards I began to think about why I wanted a particular drink for that particular movie, and I realized that this actually happens to me quite often. For me movies are a ‘mood’ experience. I have to be in a certain mood to watch certain movies. Certain moods call for certain styles of drinks. So I began to put together a list of my favourite movies and thought about what I would like to drink while watching. I analyzed each movie briefly before selecting the appropriate cocktail for each. I came up with this list:

Some of my Favourite Movies (And What to Drink When Watching Them)

This is just Part 1, next month or thereabouts I will post Part 2 with five more movies.

Cheers!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Extras, Gin, Rum, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: Cocktails and Recipes, Movies | Comments Off on Movies and Cocktails: Part 1

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Best White Rum in a Daiquiri

Most Outstanding Gin in a Lime Fizz

Most Outstanding Blanco Tequila in a Margarita

The Best Vodka in a Cosmopolitan

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