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

    • 15,531,720 pageviews since inception

  • Archives

  • Follow The Rum Howler Blog on WordPress.com

Archive for the ‘Rum’ Category

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

Review: Especial Extra Dry Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 24, 2014

Especial_Extra_English_Dry_RGBThe Brugal Distillery was founded in 1888, by Andrés Brugal Montaner. Over the next one hundred and twenty years the company grew steadily, and it is now one of three large rum distillers in the Dominican Republic. The original family which founded Brugal is still in the control. George Arzeno Brugal, is the current chairman, and most of the board members are direct descendants of the original company founder.

Brugal Especial Extra Dry Rum is produced using the company’s proprietary double-distillation technique which apparently creates a clean, dry rum which contains fewer of the heavy alcohols which tend to provide other rums a sweeter flavour profile. The Especial Extra Dry is blended from a mix of rum spirits which have been aged a minimum of 2 years and up to as many as 5 years in White American Oak casks. The rum is triple charcoal filtered, and was developed as a high-end cocktail spirit meant to compete with ultra premium Vodka.

SAM_065zdehumidifyerYou may read my full review by clicking on the excerpt below:

Review: Especial Extra Dry Rum

“… The initial scents above the glass are lightly sweet with indications of cane sugar and lightly toasted marshmallows. As I give the scents and smells time to drift in the breezes above the glass, I notice a touch of vanilla in the air and the light spiciness of lemon peel, sandal wood and cardamom spice …”

At the conclusion of the review, I have added a couple of recipes for your enjoyment, the Minted Daiquiri, and the Brugal Dehumidifier!

Please enjoy the cocktails and my review!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Note:
You may find my 2013 list of the 10 Best White rums here: The 2013 Rum Howler – Top 10 White Rums
You may find my 2013 list of the 30 Best Rums here:  The Rum Howler 2013 – Top 30 Rums

Posted in Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Especial Extra Dry Rum

Review: Pumpkin Face 23

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 16, 2014

Pumpkin 23Pumpkin Face Rum is a new brand of rum being distributed in Canada by Pure Global Imports. The rum inside the cool looking pumpkin shaped bottles is apparently a blend of selected rums from the Dominican Republic.

I was able (through the good folks at Pure Global Imports) to secure samples of all three Pumpkin Face Rums. According to the brand owner (Itsko Imports Inc. of Beverly Hills, California),  the subject of this review, Pumpkin Face 23, is an ‘ultra premium’ Dominican rum which was produced in 1980. The rum was aged in oak for 23 years, however it was also at some point during the maturation process ‘rested’ in stainless steel vats for 10 years before being bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

You may read my full review of this 23-year-old spirit by clicking the following link:

Review: Pumpkin Face 23

“… The colour resembles a darkened penny, and the initial aroma is rich with smells of chocolate caramel and oak spices. I decided to allow the glass to breathe and was delighted at how the oak spices seemed to meld into the chocolate caramel as the rum decanted. Rich toffee and tobacco aromas evolved from the glass with hints of treacle, brown sugar, and  baking spices straining to push through as well …”

Note: The Pumpkin Face 23 is a rich wonderful rum! Had my schedule had allowed me to publish this review earlier, then I surely would have placed the this rum into my list of the World’s Top 30 Rums of 2013. Since I was not able to publish sooner, I guess I will have to content myself with knowing it will be a strong candidate for my list in 2014.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Pumpkin Face 23

Review: Flor de Caña (Añejo Clasico) 5 Year Old Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 9, 2014

FDC Anejo Clasica (New)

FDC Anejo Clasico (New)

Flor de Caña has a history of rum production which is dated to 1890 at the San Antonio Sugar Mill, in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua. The company was founded by Francisco Alfredo Pellas and today, over 120 years later, the company is led headed by the fifth generation of the Pellas family. It has grown to be not only one of Central America’s leading brands of rum, it is also one of the most recognized rum brands in the world. According to the company website, all of the Flor de Caña rum is produced from molasses which is made from sugar cane harvested in fields adjacent to the distillery in Chichigalpa. This molasses is fermented and then distilled five times in a continuous column still. The resulting distillate is laid down to age in small American white oak barrels in traditional aging warehouses built without air conditioning in an undisturbed environment.

The subject of this review, Flor de Caña (Añejo Clasico) 5 Year Old Rum, is meant for sipping over ice, or for enjoying in fine cocktails and mixed drinks. You may read my full review by clicking on the following link:

Review: Flor de Caña (Añejo Clasico) 5 Year Old Rum

“… the caramel scents deepen and combine with that oak spice which brings a more defined toffee-like aroma into the breezes above the glass. There are also light baking spices present (primarily nutmeg and vanilla), some orange peel accents as well as a light nuttiness which resembles freshly crushed walnuts and pecans …”

Note: As explained in the review the 5 Year Old Añejo Clasico is the same rum as the former 5 Year Old Black Label, Flor de Caña has made changes to the image and presentation, but have not made any changes to their rum’s flavour profiles. I was given the bottle for this review by the local distributor, The Kirkwood Group who distribute the Flor de Caña rums in Alberta.

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Flor de Caña (Añejo Clasico) 5 Year Old Rum

Review: Lemon Hart Original One Hundred British Proof Reserve Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 3, 2014

LemonHart_BottleRendering750_NEWLemon Hart is an iconic rum brand with roots which stretch back to the late 18th century when Mr. Lemon Hart began to supply rum to the British Royal Navy. By 1804, production of his “Lemon Hart Rum” was moved from his small merchant office in Cornwall, England to a larger facility in London. Over 150 years later the production of the blend had shifted to the Hiram Walker Distillery in Ontario, Canada. Under the direction of new brand owner, Mosaiq, the Lemon Hart brand has been re-energized, and two new additions to the Lemon Hart family, Lemon Hart Navy Spicy Rum (see review here) and Lemon Hart Original One Hundred British Proof Rum have recently been launched.

The Lemon Hart Original One Hundred British Proof Reserve Rum (which is the subject of this review) is a full British 100 proof offering (57.1 % alcohol by volume), developed for Mosaiq under the direction of former Hiram Walker Master Blender, Mike Booth. At this time, this brand is aimed exclusively at the travel (duty-free) market.

You may click on the following excerpt link to read the full review:

Review: Lemon Hart Original One Hundred British Proof Reserve Rum

“… This Lemon Hart Rum does indeed carry a full bevy of rich spiciness forward across and through the palate which toasts the tongue as you sip and batters the tonsils as you swallow. Despite this spiciness (which resembles cinnamon, cloves and fine oak spice) the rum is rich and complex with flavours of both canned fruit (apricots and peaches) and candied dark fruit which shove their way through the spice …”

I have included a nice Zombie recipe, Hart of the Zombie, at the conclusion of the review.

Happy New Year everyone, and please keep enjoying my reviews!

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

The Rum Howler 2013 Regional Rum Awards

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 31, 2013

RH-winner2013Things have been pretty much been nonstop for me the last three months, and I covered so much territory that I almost ran out of time before I could publish my 2013 Rum Howler Regional Rum Awards and name my 2013 Rum Howler Rum of the Year!

For those who are unfamiliar, 2013 Regional Rum Awards recognize the best rum produced in the various rum producing regions of the world. These awards are not based upon where a particular rum is distilled; but rather they are based upon where these spirits are bottled. This is because many rums are actually blended from a variety stocks which are distilled in more than one country. As well, many aged rums are purchased in bulk and then are transported to be matured a further length of time in other locations, and they may even be treated specially (or perhaps I should say in a unique manner) before they are blended and bottled. This of course makes the final spirit very different from when it was originally distilled or transported in bulk. Because of the special treatment a rum may receive either through blending or aging outside of the country where the rum was originally produced, it makes sense for me to consider these spirits as a product of the country where they were bottled, rather than where they were distilled.

And so on the final day of the year I finally wrap up my Rum Howler Awards for 2013. You may click the following link to read about the awards::

The 2013 Rum Howler Awards for Rum (The Regional Awards)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: As an added bonus you can find my recently updated 2013 list of the World’s Best Rums here: The 2013 Rum Howler – Top 30 Rums

Posted in Awards, Extras, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on The Rum Howler 2013 Regional Rum Awards

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »