The Rum Howler Blog

(A Website for Spirited Reviews)

  • Copyright

    Copyright is inherent when an original work is created. This means that the producer of original work is automatically granted copyright protection. This copyright protection not only exists in North America, but extends to other countries as well. Thus, all of the work produced on this blog is protected by copyright, including all of the pictures and all of the articles. These original works may not be copied or reused in any way whatsoever without the permission of the author, Chip Dykstra.

  • Cocktails and Recipes

    Click Image for Awesome Recipes

  • Industry Interviews

    Interviews

    Click the Image for Great Interviews with the Movers of Industry

  • The Rum Howler Interview (Good Food Revolution)

    Click on the Image to see my interview on Good Food Revolution

  • The Rum Howler Blog

    Unknown's avatar

  • Rum Reviews

  • Whisky Reviews

  • Gin Reviews

  • Tequila Reviews

  • Vodka Reviews

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,092 other subscribers

  • Subscribe

  • Visitors

    • 15,522,823 pageviews since inception

  • Archives

  • Follow The Rum Howler Blog on WordPress.com

Archive for the ‘Extras’ Category

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

The Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 29, 2016

Alberta Premium 25 Year Old SAM_1728I began working on my Rum Howler 2015 Top 100 Spirits list at the beginning of July last year, and put the final touches on it in early September. Fortunately, most of the spirits I would be including were in my possession as part of my growing collection of fine spirits, and I had an opportunity to re-taste some of them side by side with others of similar quality to ascertain their rankings. However, it was also true that a number of the spirits I was considering for inclusion were no longer in my possession. I (and my friends) had consumed them over time, and I had not (as yet) re-added them to my collection. In those cases I had to make a judgement call, and my rankings for those spirits were based purely upon the memory of my past indulgences (and my review scores).

Persons unfamiliar with my website should be aware that the primary spirits of interest to me are rum and whisky. Therefore my list is perhaps weighted in favour of those spirits which I particularly enjoy. However, I have manged to taste and review many excellent examples of all of the major classes of distilled spirits, and my Rum Howler 2015 Top 100 Spirits List does indeed include outstanding examples of each class (yes, even a few Vodkas).

Here is a link to my final list, The Best 100 Spirits I have ever tasted:

The Rum Howler 2015 Top 100 Spirits

 

Posted in Awards, Extras | Tagged: | Comments Off on The Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits

Top 25 Rums of 2015

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 25, 2016

The 2015 Best Rum in the World

The 2015 Best Rum in the World

I was not sure I would be able to complete my listing of the Top 25 Rums of 2015. Last fall was so hectic. My retail store where I sell sports and movie memorabilia was extremely busy, and the ramp up to Christmas was crazier than ever. As well, upon my website, I had embarked on the ambitious plan to countdown the best 100 spirits I have ever tasted.

Compiling the Rum Howler 2015 Top 100 Spirits Countdown fortunately afforded me the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. As part of the process of compiling my list of the best 100 spirits ever, I was able to taste almost everything I needed to compile my list of the best rums of 2015.

Unlike my Top 100 Spirits list which was a listing of the best spirits I have ever tasted regardless of whether they were still in production, this list of the Top 25 Rums of 2015 contains only those spirits which are currently available. Every spirit on this list is available somewhere in the world in a local retail shop.

I should point out that when I reached the top 5 spots in this countdown of 2015 rums, I decided to add a wrinkle. Rather than using only my tasting preferences, I asked two friends to join me tasting the final five rums. The top 5 rankings were arrived using an amalgam of our 3 scores. I was quite satisfied with the results.

And so with no further ado, allow me to present my list:

The Rum Howler – Top 25 Rums of 2015

Posted in Awards, Extras, Rum | Comments Off on Top 25 Rums of 2015

Big Rig Craft Distillery

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 20, 2016

On January 12, 2016, I took a little tour south of Edmonton along the Queen Elizabeth II Highway to the Hamlet of Nisku. The small hamlet, which sits adjacent to Edmonton, is surrounded by what is called The Nisku Business Park. This industrial park contains an important assortment of businesses which provide support to the Oil Industry here in Alberta. What brought me to Nisku was Alberta’s newest craft distillery, the Big Rig Craft Distillery and their Pure Alberta Spirit.

Welcome

I had been invited by the company President & Head Distiller, Geoff Stewart to come on down for a private tour of the facility, and of course to sample some of their new spirit in their newly opened Big Rig Craft Distillery Tasting Room. When I arrived I was greeted by Geoff and introduced to his team which included his General Manager & Co Distiller, Mike Beile and Blenders, Adam Smith and Joanne Keller.

The Big Rig Craft Distillery opened their doors on October 17, 2015 and they already have an impressive line-up of spirits for sale at their boutique store within the facility. These spirits include their Premium 16x Distilled Vodka and Wildrose Gin; their selections of White Dog Distillate (not whisky for three years yet); and their intriguing Sugar Beet Brum. As well, they are experimenting with an array of flavoured Vodkas some of which are bottled and ready for sale, and others which are in development. The most intriguing of these flavoured spirits was their Garlic Vodka which makes an entirely delicious Big Rig Garlic Caesar Cocktail (recipe coming soon).

Big Rig Team

The Big Rig Team: Adam Smith, Mike Beile and Geoff Stewart

During my tour, the team was busy producing both Vodka and Gin, and I was able to see both the equipment and the team in action. The distillery truly is a craft operation, as the entire process from grain to glass is completed in about 2 weeks in a batch-style by the Big Rig Team.

If you are interested in how the Big Rig team actually produces these premium spirits, here is a link to my description of the full tour.

The Big Rig Craft Distillery Tour

Note: Please contact the Big Rig Craft Distillery for information regarding your own opportunity to tour their Craft Distillery (and Tasting Room).

Posted in Distillery Tour, Extras | Tagged: , | Comments Off on Big Rig Craft Distillery

2016 Edmonton Whisky Festival

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 5, 2016

Edmonton Whisky Festival2016 Edmonton Whisky Festival

(In Support of the MS Society)

Once again the folks at Vines Riverbend Wine Merchants have teamed up with the Alberta Division of the MS Society to bring you Edmonton’s Premier Whisky Festival. This is a unique chance to taste whiskies from around the world and to meet and discuss the noble spirit with industry and distillery representatives. Monies raised at the event will help those affected by MS in our community, as well as help to fund research towards a cure.

Where: Edmonton Delta South Hotel

When: Wednesday, January 13, 2016 (7:00 – 10:00pm)

Ticket Price: $85.00 each (purchase online here)

The 2016 Edmonton Whisky Festival is a must for any whisky enthusiast and for those new to the exciting world of whisky. The price of your ticket includes entrance, whisky sampling, and the annual commemorative Edmonton Whisky Festival Glencairn Whisky Glass (see photo).

Please attend and enjoy yourself chatting in a relaxed atmosphere with whisky and scotch principals and enthusiasts from across Canada and around the world (The Rum Howler will be their too).

Master Classes

The always popular whisky Master Classes are brought to you by some of the whisky world’s most prominent luminaries. They begin at 6:30pm (and cost an additional $25 on top of your Festival ticket cost).

The lineup includes:

The Bourbon Masterclass with ‘Whisky Chef’ Matt Jones
The Adelphi Masterclass with Alex Bruce
The Bruichladdich Masterclass with Reed Pettit
The Springbank Masterclass with Ronald Watson

All proceeds raised at this event are donated to the MS Society of Canada – Alberta Division.

For more information please contact:

Vines – Riverbend Wine Merchants (Edmonton)
Telephone: 434-9444
Email: info@vineswinemerchants.com

or visit the Edmonton Whisky Festival Website

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tickets are now available from Vines or through the event website: (purchase online here)

Posted in Extras, Festivals, Festivals and Events | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on 2016 Edmonton Whisky Festival

The Year In Rum – (The 2015 Rum Howler Awards)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 31, 2015

RH-winner2015I have come at last too what is regularly the most popular posting on my website, my annual Year in Rum – Rum Howler Awards which recognize those brands  which have achieved excellence in the production of rum. For the second year in a row, sadly, I have eliminated the Regional Rum Awards as once again time simply has gotten the best of me, and tomorrow I must forge on into the year 2016 and leave 2015 behind.

This year, to determine my Rum Howler Award Winners I first checked my review scores in all of the categories of each rum I had sampled in the last two years and chose for each category the 5 top spirits based upon those review scores. Then I asked two friends of mine to rank each of the rums I had chosen within each of the categories. The only category in which cocktails were constructed to help assist in the rankings was for the white rums, and the cocktail constructed was a simple daiquiri. All other rum categories were judged neat.

I compared the rankings assigned by my two jurors for each spirit within each category with my review rankings and determined the Winner as well as the Runners-up and the Honourable Mentions for each category. The results turned out to be very consistent with my review scores although there are a few exceptions. No system is perfect, but I believe my friends and I did a thorough job with good results.

It is time for me to bring forward my 2015 Rum Howler Awards Winners. These are the spirits which have risen to the top and provided us with our greatest enjoyment.

Here is a link to my Year in Rum Awards Page:

The 2015 Rum Howler Awards – The Year in Rum

Please remember, that the aim of my website is not to help you drink more spirits, it is to help you drink better spirits! (Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable New Years.)

 

Posted in Awards, Extras, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on The Year In Rum – (The 2015 Rum Howler Awards)

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »