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Archive for the ‘Rum’ Category

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Review: Panama Red 108 Overproof Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 5, 2011

Panama Red 108 is a Panamanian rum brought to you by PANAMONTE BRANDS. The rum is handcrafted by the creator of Zafra Master Reserve, Master Blender, Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez. It is produced from the sugar cane that grew in Las Cabras de Pese, the same region where the Distillery is located. Although the rum is stated as overproof, Don Pancho has assured me that the rum will feel much smoother in the mouth than a typical overproof rum. It has as its base, a 5 year molasses based rum which is aged in used Bourbon casks at the distillery warehouse in Pese.

There is a bit of a romantic story behind the name of this Rum and it was related to me via email by the Mr. Carlos E. Esquivel G., the Executive Director of PILSA (A Rum distillery and production company, specializing in Aged Rums, and Rum related products in Panama and South America). With his permission, I have reproduced the story here on my website and you may access it through a link in the review.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…A rum with 54 per cent alcohol strength by volume packs quite a punch!  And that punch is full of concentrated flavours. These flavours practically leap into the mouth out of the glass. Sweet flavours of caramel candy take the lead with more pungent flavours of tobacco and leather riding the coat-tails….”

You may of course read the full review here:

Review: Panama Red 108

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Overproof Rum, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Panama Red 108 Overproof Rum

Review: Legendario Elixir de Cuba

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 31, 2011

I get a lot of emails from persons trying to find information on Legendario Rums. The only help I can offer is to explain that the export of this Cuban Rum to Canada is actually via Spain rather than Cuba. Jesus Lester Pomo is the Export Manager for the Legendario Rums from Cuba. I met Mr. Pomo (who is s a Cuban National living in Spain) last September at a tasting event held here in Edmonton, and he allowed me to sample the entire Legendario line-up.

Because I receive so many questions about the Legendario Elixir de Cuba, today I am re-posting my review for this Cuban Rum for those persons who may have missed it. I have not changed the scores, but I have edited the review for clarity although the essence of the original review remains the same.

Here is an excerpt from the review:

“…This is really rich. Very very sweet, and more like a rum liqueur than a true rum. It has a hazelnut accent reminding me a bit of  Frangelico except the rum is heavier in the mouth, less viscous and of course tastes much more of molasses and caramel… If I have described some rums as oily, I would have to describe this one as almost honey like in its texture…”

The full review is available here:

Review: Legendario Elixir de Cuba

Please enjoy the Review!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Legendario Elixir de Cuba

The Juan Santos Rum Reviews

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 24, 2011

When I opened my website in October of 2009, my early reviews were accepted by the rum community as something worthwhile almost immediately.  In fact, various rum companies and importers began to offer me samples of their products to review pretty much from the get-go. The first such company (The Libor Group) was the Alberta importer for a Colombian Rum called Juan Santos.  They had four well aged dark rums in their portfolio, and I was given a bottle of each to review on my website.  Not once was there any suggestion that I should do anything but just give my honest about each rum.

Because I have so many readers now that I did not have before, I am re-posting these original reviews to allow my new readers a fresh chance to enjoy them as well.

Here are my original Jan Santos Rum Reviews:

Review: Juan Santos 5 Yr Old Rum

Review: Juan Santos 9 Yr Old Rum

Review: Juan Santos 12 Yr Old Rum

Review: Juan Santos 21 Yr Old Rum

It was when I wrote the Juan Santos reviews that I began to add cocktail at the end of each review. It is my firm believe that even the best rums can be enjoyed in a cocktail as well as sipped neat. Since a  few of these cocktails never made it into my recipe section, I thought would be a good time to add them. So if you like cocktails please enjoy the following suggestions:

For the Juan Santos 5 Yr Old Rum, my cocktail suggestion was a Rum and Ginger.
For the Juan Santos 9 Yr Old Rum, my cocktail suggestion was a Rum Manhattan.
For the Juan Santos 5 Yr Old Rum, my cocktail suggestion was a Rum Sloe and Sour.
For the Juan Santos 5 Yr Old Rum, my cocktail suggestion was a Sloe Rum Cocktail.

Please enjoy these original reviews and recipes from my early postings. Cheers!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on The Juan Santos Rum Reviews

Review: Plantation Grenada 1998 (Old Reserve Rum)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 22, 2011

In Miami, at the big rum festival, I (along with the other RumXp Judges at the festival) was invited to a special breakfast hosted by Cognac Ferrand, the creators of a very distinct new brand of rum called Plantation. 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. Cognac casks in particular are highly sought after as ideal oak vessels for maturing quality rums. Based upon this relationship, Cognac Ferrand began to acquire certain very old and unique batches of rum from various Caribbean sources, which they brought back to France to finish in their own Cognac Casks. These rums have been bottled in a series of special Vintages under the umbrella of Cognac Ferrand’s own label, Plantation Rum.

After the event in Miami, I was given eight sample bottles, each 200ml in size, which represented a good portion of the Plantation Rum line-up. The Plantation Grenada 1998 (Old Reserve Rum) is the first of these sample bottles which I have chosen to review here on my blog.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The rum enters my mouth with a nice caramel and oak flavour which tickles the taste buds with an undercurrent of fruity green grape and zesty orange citrus peel. As I take further sips from my glass I notice that the rum develops a spicy bite which is full of more citrus peel, oak spice, and candied apples…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Plantation Grenada 1998 (Old Reserve Rum)

Please enjoy the review!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Plantation Grenada 1998 (Old Reserve Rum)

Review: Pusser’s 15 Year Old Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 17, 2011

Today, I thought it would be fun to bring back my very first ‘published’ review. To give you a bit of history, even before I had my website opened up I had received a request from Mike Streeter asking me if I would write a review he could publish on his Rum Culture website, Rum Connection.

The review I wrote for Mike was for Pusser’s 15 Year Old Rum.  Although I had been posting rambling reviews on web forums like The Ministry of Rum for about three months, this review was the first one which I wrote with the conscious knowledge that people would be taking what I say seriously.

The review was a smashing success for not only myself, but also for Rum Connection, and it spawned a relationship (and friendship) between myself and Mike that thrives to this day.

Here is an excerpt from my first review published on Rum Connection:

“…My word what a taste experience.  A full thrust of spice and brown sugar.  Not that pale yellow brown sugar you buy in most grocery stores but the rich dark brown sugar you find in specialty shops and bakeries.  The spices hint at hot cinnamon and allspice. The mouth is oily leaving these hot spices lingering…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Pusser’s 15 Year Old Rum

Please enjoy this review!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Pusser’s 15 Year Old Rum

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