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

    • 15,545,841 pageviews since inception

  • Archives

  • Follow The Rum Howler Blog on WordPress.com

Archive for the ‘Rum’ Category

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

Review: Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 11, 2011

The Cruzan Rum Company is located on the Island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. The Island of St. Croix is the largest of the US Virgin islands, being approximately 28 miles long and 7 miles wide. Along with the tourism industry and one of the largest oil refineries in the Caribbean, the St. Croix economy is dependent to a large extent upon the Rum Industry as a major engine of their economic growth.

All of the Cruzan Rums are produced using a modern five column distillation method which produces a light bodied rum, the quality of which can be tightly controlled by the five column distillation. The rum is then aged in once used American oak bourbon barrels. The Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum is a relatively new offering, boasting 9 spices blended in an aged rum. The spices listed upon the Cruzan website are allspice, vanilla, pepper, ginger, mace, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and juniper berry. It is bottled at 40 per cent alcohol by volume and is, I believe, aged for up to two years in the aforementioned American Oak.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“… When I brought the glass to my nose I was struck by the scents of pungent spices mingling with the sweeter scents of caramel toffee. Vanilla, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and cloves are easily identified in the breezes although vague unfamiliar accents above the glass tell me that much more is going on…”

You may read my full review here:

Review: Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum

I have included a nice recipe,  Spiced Punch, for your enjoyment.

Please enjoy the recipe and the review!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavouerd Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum

Review: Famous Newfoundland Screech Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 4, 2011

The Famous Newfoundland Screech is a Jamaican blend, the roots of its ancestry tracing back over 300 years to when fishing fleets from Newfoundland, with their cargo of Northern Cod and North Atlantic Tuna, traveled south and established a tradition of trade with Jamaica for that elixir of the Caribbean, known as rum. This trade established Newfoundland as one of the major portals for the legal import (and of course a little illegal smuggling) of rum into Canada. There have always been a good variety of rum brands on the shelves of my local liquor store which began their journey westward across Canada from the easternmost Province of Newfoundland and Labrador; the most famous of these brands is certainly the Screech Rum.

According to my correspondence with the Newfounland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC), Screech is a blend of 4 marques that are produced in the same distillery as Appleton Estate Rum. All of the marques are aged in once used white oak bourbon barrels for a minimum of 2 years. The final blend is bottled at 40 % (abv).

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“… As you fist sip the rum you will find that it full of molasses flavour with those typical Jamaican Rum flavours of banana and orange peel heating the palate alongside that molasses. As the rum sits in the glass, the heat subsides and you can notice charred caramel and baking spices beginning to build. The rum is moderately complex, and there are nice nuances of flavour if you look for them…”

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: Famous Newfoundland Screech Rum

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Famous Newfoundland Screech Rum

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

Review: George Street Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 10, 2011

There is a place where they believe they know rum better than anywhere else. And it’s hard to ague with those folk because not only have they been smuggling and buying their rum for over three hundred years, they also happen to drink more of the stuff per capita than anyone else in North America. Where is this great rum haven, you might ask? Well, it’s not anywhere in the good old U.S. of A., and it not some tropical haven in Latin America or the Caribbean Islands. Nope, these people who drink more rum than anyone else live on a rock they call Newfoundland, which is part of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in the Great White North of Canada.

On that rock called Newfoundland is a city called  St. John’s where they have a place where the rum consumption reaches its apex. That place is George Street! A street full of music and revelry, lined from top to bottom with Pubs and Restaurants, where almost everyone’s drink of choice seems to be Rum! And it is for that place that the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Commission (NLC) have named their new rum, George Street Spiced Rum.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…After a few minutes rich baking spices have built up, and I imagine that I can smell sweet cinnamon rolls in that glass. Rich brown sugars pour out with vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and pecans. This is probably the one of the nicest noses I have encountered in a spiced rum. But my feeling is that the spices are only part of the story. It is the aged Guyanese Rum under the spices which is giving the nose depth and character. I have a strong urge  to steal a sip before I am finished nosing the glass…”

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: George Street Spiced Rum

I have included a nice recipe for a Rum and Cola style drink called the Sparkling Cola Cocktail.
Please enjoy the review and the cocktail!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavouerd Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: George Street Spiced Rum

Top Ten Rums (you should avoid)!

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 9, 2011

My writings on this website are primarily to help my readers chose better spirits when making that purchase decision. To that end I thought I should publish my first warning list. These are the purchase decisions you want to avoid. Those sugar-cane based spirits which will help to empty your wallet, but will leave little in the way of reward. I expect this list to be somewhat controversial, and if I slight one of your favourites please chime in with a comment to defend your rum of choice. But, having said that, I must confess, that these are anything but my rums of choice. These are my regrets, and I publish this list in hopes that I can help you avoid a regret or two.

And so without further adieu, here are…the top ten Rums you should avoid.

Top Ten Rums (you should avoid)!

And for more fun here is a link to the Video that inspired this posting:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________


____________________________________________________________________________________________

Posted in Howls, Rum | Tagged: | Comments Off on Top Ten Rums (you should avoid)!

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »