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Archive for the ‘Rum’ Category

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Review: Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 19, 2010

It is International “Talk Like a Pirate”Day and so I though I would review a couple of rums which embrace the pirate mythology.  I am going to start with Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum.

Admiral Sir Henry Morgan (aka Captain Morgan) was a Welsh ‘privateer’ who attacked and plundered the Caribbean on behalf of, and with the written consent of (in the form of an English Letter of Marque), the Governor of Jamaica, Sir Thomas Modyford. Privateers at that time in history were essentially ‘legal pirates’ who were allowed to attack and loot enemies of the state reaping the rewards from their plunder in lieu of pay. Researching Sir Henry Morgan, I learned he was a skilled naval captain, a ruthless buccaneer, and one of the most successful ‘privateers’ in the history of piracy earning a Knighthood for himself in 1674.

Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum is of course the name of Diageo’s top-selling spiced rum. I am on a bit of a mission to find out if the rum lives up to the man for which it was named. On the surface at least, we have some nice comparisons. Captain Morgan the Privateer was one of the most successful buccaneers in the history of piracy, practically defining the means and methods of a successful pirate campaign. Captain Morgan the Original Spiced Rum is perhaps the most successful Spiced Rum in the entire category and has pretty much set the standard for sales and marketing for all other spiced rums to follow. But what about the rum itself? Is it really as good as the marketing? I put Captain Morgan Spiced Rum through the paces of my review system to find out.

You may read the full review here:

Review: Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavouerd Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum

Review: Kōloa Kaua`i Dark Hawaiian Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 16, 2010

Photo courtesy DakineImages.com/Jo Evans (http://dakineimages.com)

It was at the Rum Renaissance in Miami Florida this past May that I was first introduced to Kōloa Kaua`i Hawaiian Rum. Although The Kōloa Rum Company had been ‘up and rumming’ for only a little more than a year, the Kōloa Kaua`i Dark Hawaiian Rum garnered one of prestigious gold medals at the Rumxp Tasting Competition which was in held conjunction with the event. This was a remarkable feat considering that the license to distill alcohol had been issued only one year previous, on April 1, 2009.

I decided I had better get to know this company a little better, and after I emailed my information request, I was contacted by Jeanne Toulon, Director of Public Relations, for the Kōloa Rum Company.  Jeanne was only too happy to help me out and soon deluged me with news clippings, a cool video and as much information as she could stuff into the large brown envelope that she sent my way.  (I was even given a small sample of the crystallized brown sugar from the Gay and Robinson Plantation which is the basic raw material from which all of the Kōloa Rum is distilled. )

Photo Courtesy Jeanne Toulon (Kōloa Rum Company)

Her generosity also extended to a sample bottle of each of the rums in the Kōloa range to review at my leisure here on my blog. Sadly I have come to the last of these sample bottles, happily it is a sample of the Kōloa Kaua`i Dark Hawaiian Rum, the Gold medal winner at Rum Renaissance.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The rum is gentle and brings forward initial flavours of vanilla, dark molasses, and sweet caramel. A layer of hotter spices lies underneath and warms the mouth. In particular I seem to get a nice accent of cloves which brings about a certain depth of flavour…”

You may read the full review here:

Kōloa Kaua`i Dark Hawaiian Rum

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Flavouerd Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Kōloa Kaua`i Dark Hawaiian Rum

Review: Montanya Platino Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 9, 2010

The Montanya Tasting Room (Photo Courtesy of Montanya Distillers)

Up in the San Juan mountains of Colorado, in the heart of the High Country, 9318 feet above sea level, there sits an anomaly upon the landscape of world of rum. In this unlikely locale, far removed from the tropical climes of the Caribbean, the Montanya Distillery is open for business making their award-winning rum. I mention award-winning, because this year the distillery captured major awards at two of the most prestigious rum tasting competitions in the USA. At both the San Fransisco Worlds Spirits Competition in San Fransisco and at the Rum Renaissance – RumXP Tasting Competition in Miami, the Montanya Platino captured Gold Medals!

Photo Courtesy Montanya Distillers

Fortunately I was in Miami acting as a judge at the RumXP Tasting Competition (for those who do not know XP stands for Expert Panel), and I was able to acquire a sample bottle of the Montanya Platino rum to review on my blog.

I did a little research and discovered that all of the rum produced by Montanya Distillers is made on a small copper pot still. It is a small batch distillation which produces roughly 10 gallons of rum in each batch. When enough rum has been distilled to fill a reused whisky barrel. It is then set down to age at altitude in the small town of Silverton, Colorado for roughly 6 weeks.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“Montanya Platino begins with a combination of honeyed caramel, bourbon vanilla and mild anise flavours on the initial palate. There is a little softness in the mouth which seems to give legs to a somewhat dank vanilla thread that runs through the rum. A touch of corn whisky stemming no doubt from the brief time in the whiskey barrels leaves a vague imprint in the rum’s flavour profile…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Montanya Platino Rum

Enjoy the review and please remember to drink responsibly.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Montanya Platino Rum

Review: Kōloa Kaua`i White Hawaiian Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 2, 2010

 

Olokele Sugar Mill on the Gay & Robinson Plantation: Photo Courtesy Jeanne Toulon (Kōloa Rum Company)

Kōloa Kaua`i White Hawaiian Rum is a white rum produced fresh from a 1210 gallon copper pot still with no barrel aging.  The actual base material for the distillation is not molasses, but rather the Gay and Robinson Plantation crystallized sugar.  I am told that the sugar has a higher than normal molasses content, and having been given a sample of the raw sugar, indeed it carries forward a wonderful molasses aroma.  From this distillate, and using the vintage copper pot still, all of the Kōloa Rum is made in a batch style.  The resulting white rum is about as pure as rum can be,  bottled fresh with no barrel aging.

This style of rum is unusual for me to taste and sample as most white rums I have reviewed here on my blog are aged rums which have been filtered clear. The fact that this rum is bottled fresh means that we are getting a glimpse into the unaged and unaltered structure of Kōloa Rums.

Here is an Excerpt from my review:

“…I taste a pleasing combination of light peppery spice and the vegetal tones one gets from a spirit bottled fresh from the still. Banana peel, a ribbon of mild anise,  and lime accents swim in the currents of a very light honeyed rummy caramel…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Kōloa Kaua`i White Hawaiian Rum

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Kōloa Kaua`i White Hawaiian Rum

Intoducing Dictador Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 1, 2010

Photo Courtesy of PB Beverages

I was first introduced to the Dictador Rums about six months ago when I convinced Paul Charabin of  PB Beverages to drop in on one of the monthly gatherings of The Edmonton Rum Chums . He brought a couple of bottles of the new Dictador Rum (The 12-year-old and the 20-year-old).

Dictador is a product which melds European style with Colombian rum, and crowns the presentation in elegant Japanese bottles.   The product exudes class and luxury and practically has your mouth-watering before you even open the bottle.

Of course this begs the question, did the crafters of the rum pay as much attention to the contents, as they did to the container?  In a nutshell, the answer is undeniably…Yes!  Oh My Yes!

I have sampled this rum twice,  the first time in February at that meeting of the Edmonton Rum Chums, and the second time in Miami, at Rum Renaissance. Each time I was completely taken in by the Dictador style and the rich vibrant rum inside the bottles.  The rum is a medium bodied complex blend of premium aged rums with a full rich flavour profile.   The 12-year-old is luxuriously smooth in spite of the rich flavours, and the 20-year-old brings the extra complexity of  a long aged rum to the fore without the bitterness and harshness which can come with age.  I am hard pressed to choose between them.  Fortunately for me, I was promised sample bottles of each to put through the paces of my review system, and you can be sure that I will provide all of you with more details as soon as they are available.  Until then…Cheers!

Posted in Dark Rums, Howls, Rum | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

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