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Archive for the ‘Dark Rums’ Category

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Review: Plantation Barbados (Grande Reserve) 5 Year Old Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 28, 2011

The Plantation Barbados Grande Reserve 5 Year Old Rum is a Bajan rum blend which has been aged for five years in bourbon casks. The rum was transported from Barbados to France by Cognac Ferrand to be placed in used Cognac casks to enhance the rum before it was bottled as part of Cognac Ferrand’s growing line-up of Plantation Rum.

Cognac Ferrand has a special relationship with a variety of Caribbean rum producers. This relationship is based upon the rum producer’s need for quality oak casks to age their rum. Based upon this relationship, Cognac Ferrand is able to acquire certain old and unique batches of rum from various Caribbean sources, which they bring back to France and finish in their own warehouses and of course their own Cognac Casks.

I was given eight sample bottles, each 200 ml in size, which represent a good portion of the Plantation Rum line-up. The Plantation Barbados Grande Reserve is the third of these samples which I have chosen to review here on my blog.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…As the glass decanted the leathery mustiness evaporated into the breezes, and was replaced by a smell of tarnished blue-green pennies with perhaps a bit of seaside brine and kelp rising in the air as well. The caramel molasses I noted earlier has began to release baking spices into the air, and some charred aromas of coconut have begun to lift from the glass along with some banana and vanilla. I like how the complexity continues to build as the glass sits…”

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Plantation Barbados (Grande Reserve)

Please enjoy the review!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Plantation Barbados (Grande Reserve) 5 Year Old Rum

Big Black Dick Dark Caribbean Rum Update

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 26, 2011

My Big Black Dick Dark Caribbean Rum Review has aroused the curiosity of almost everyone who visits my website, and that’s why it has become my most ‘clicked on’ review of all time. I thought I should provide an update for my readers because the Big Black Dick Rum website referred to in my review shut down barely two weeks after my original review. (We hope my review was not responsible.)

However, I can now let everyone know, after much hard work on my part, that I have found the new website for Big Black Dick Rum.  The Rum is now featured on the Blackbeard’s Trading Co. Ltd. website. The new website is not quite as ‘colourful’ as the old website, but it still advertises that “stiff, yet tasty” flavour of the Big Black Dick Dark Caribbean Rum!

And for those few who never read my original review of this Dark Caribbean Rum, here is an excerpt:

“….I would have expected this rum to have more thrust and energy in the delivery, but instead it is rather limp and subdued as if waiting for you to arouse its charm. What is found instead of charm is a molasses and dark caramel laden rum. Prunes, raisins, and dates rest with a leathery tobacco deeper down adding a bitterness that sits beside the sweeter molasses. …”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Big Black Dick Dark Caribbean Rum

Posted in Dark Rums, Flavouerd Rums, Howls, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Big Black Dick Dark Caribbean Rum Update

Review: Plantation Barbados 2000 (Old Reserve Rum)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 26, 2011

The Plantation Barbados Old Reserve 2000 is a Bajan rum blend distilled from both column and traditional pot stills, aged in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks. The rum was transported from Barbados to France by Cognac Ferrand to be placed in used Cognac casks to enhance the rum before it is bottled as part of Cognac Ferrand’s growing line-up of Plantation Rum.

Cognac Ferrand has long had a special relationship with a variety of Caribbean rum producers. This relationship is based upon the rum producer’s need for quality oak casks to age their rum. Based upon this relationship, Cognac Ferrand is able to acquire certain old and unique batches of rum from various Caribbean sources, which they brought back to France to finish in their own Cognac Casks.

I was given eight sample bottles, each 200 ml in size, which represent a good portion of the Plantation Rum line-up. The Plantation Barbados Old Reserve 2000 is the second of these sample bottles which I have chosen to review here on my blog. (My first Review was the Plantation Granada 1998)

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The rum leads out with caramel and molasses, musty leather, tobacco, and a muted orange peel in the mouth. These four flavours play together nicely demonstrating not only a nice richness of flavour, but also a nice balance of flavour…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Plantation Barbados 2000 (Old Reserve Rum)

Please enjoy the review!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Plantation Barbados 2000 (Old Reserve Rum)

Review: Angostura Royal Oak Select Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 21, 2011

Today I am re-posting another of my very early reviews. As with most of my early reviews, the commentary in the review is rather fragmentary; but (and this is the saving grace for the review) it is also honest. I wasn’t especially good at descriptors in my earliest reviews, but I was good at getting across what I liked. And as you read the review you will see that this is a rum I liked.  The review is somewhat nostalgic and for good reason. you see I discovered this rum on my honeymoon more than 20 tears ago. ….

More than twenty years ago, my wife and I spent three weeks in Tobago at the Turtle Beach Resort. At the time, I was a whisky drinker, and not a fan of rum at all. However, as the saying goes, when in Rome…

So at the hotel and on the beach I drank rum, and I discovered that I liked it. What they were serving me was a locally produced rum, and although more than 20 years have passed I do believe it was a product which was very reminiscent of Angostura Royal Oak Select. I went back to Canada with two 40 ounce bottles; but alas, they are long gone. I went back to drinking whisky, as the rums available in my locale just did not measure up. It was not until the rum explosion in my locale that my palate for rum was rekindled. Flor de Cana, Ron Matusalem, and El Dorado rums have helped to bring me back in the fold.

Then recently, I found 3 bottles of Royal Oak Select covered in dust in a local liquor store. The proprietor said they were new stock, the dust said otherwise, but I bought all three to see if that rum still tasted as good as 20 years ago.

Here is an excerpt from the resulting review:

“…The Royal Oak rum  has a nice sweet caramel flavour. If indeed caramel has been added it does not bother me. Taste is what counts and this tastes nice. I can taste that hint of coconut I smelled in the glass and a mellow spiciness. Everything is light, relaxed and this is an easy-going rum…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Angostura Royal Oak Select Rum

Please enjoy this very early review of mine!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Angostura Royal Oak Select Rum

Review: Matusalem Gran Reserva (Solera 15 Blender)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 14, 2011

It’s Tuesday again, and for the past six weeks I have been re-posting my earliest reviews every Tuesday for the sake of my newer readers who may have missed them. This week I am re-posting my very early review for Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva Rum. Like most of my earliest reviews this one is terse and to the point. I was sorely tempted to rewrite it to give the review more form and substance; but other fixing a few typos and adding a touch of clarification,  I decided to leave it as it is. The review still gets the main point across, and that point is that this is a fine rum!

The Matusalem Gran Reserva is a “Solera Blended” rum which means that the red “Solera 15 Blender” stamp on the bottle does not indicate the youngest rum in the blend, rather it denotes the age of the oldest rum in the blend. (I believe an argument can be put forth that a teensy tiny fraction of the rum may be older; but, the relative amount of super aged rum in the blend is so small that to try to include its age in any sort of statement would be misleading.)

The Ron Matusalem Website does a pretty good job of describing the solera method and if you are interested you should give it a little read. However if you are more interested in my early review, then perhaps I should provide you with an excerpt:

“… This is very good;  mellow vanilla and caramel are the dominant flavours.  In fact mellow is the best description for this rum. It is very smooth which makes this a good rum to drink straight. There are no bitter notes or other flaws in the flavour profile, and on days when I feel like a more mellow drink this really hits the spot…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Matusalem Gran Reserva (Solera 15 Blender)

Please enjoy the review!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Matusalem Gran Reserva (Solera 15 Blender)

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