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Archive for the ‘Rum’ Category

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Review: St. Nicholas Abbey 10 Year Old Barbados Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 4, 2013

St. Nic 10A visit to the St. Nicholas Abbey Website tells us that aged the rum known as St. Nicholas Abbey 10-year-old Barbados Rum, was distilled and aged not far away at the R.L. Seale and Four Square Distillery. In fact, the folks at St. Nicholas Abbey have a maintained a close relationship with Four Square’s Master Distiller, Richard Seale who not only has provided the Bajan Rum for their current bottling, but also has assisted St. Nicholas Abbey in formulating the recipe for their futures rums, and aided them in distillation and aging techniques. The current 10 year Old St. Nicholas Rum is a blend of aged rums distilled on both column and pot stills. The rum is transported at some point during the aging process to the higher altitude of St. Nicholas Abbey where the barrels complete their aging in the more humid climate of the surrounding area.

The rum is produced in small batches to be a connoisseurs rum and are priced accordingly.

You may click on the excerpt (link) to read my full review:

Review: St. Nicholas Abbey 10 Year Old Barbados Rum

“… The initial nose is quite complex bringing forward aromas of molasses lightly stained by brine and tar. I also sense the aroma of sweet butterscotch, canned apricots, some sherry-like scents of raisin and figs, and coarse dark brown sugar …”

Please enjoy the review, cheers!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: St. Nicholas Abbey 10 Year Old Barbados Rum

Review: DDL Albion 1994 17 Year Old Full Proof Old Demerara Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 26, 2013

Image courtesy the Lone Caner (All rights reserved)

Image courtesy the Lone Caner (All rights reserved)

The DDL Albion 1994 17 Year Old Full Proof Old Demerara Rum was apparently produced as a well aged ‘full strength’ Demerara bottling for the connoisseur rum market in Europe. My buddy Lance (the Lone Caner) shared some of this rum with my Rum Chums and I when he was at one of my impromptu tastings, and afterwards he allowed me to draw a few extra ounces from the bottle, and from that sample I have cobbled together this review.

According to the labeling, the Albion 1994 Rum is produced from 4 Barrels (7100, 7101, 7102, 7103) of Albion Demerara rum distilled in Guyana upon a wooden continuous column still in 1994, and bottled at full strength in 2011. This information on the label is a little hard to reconcile as the Albion Still is not a wooden continuous column still. I share my theories on this mystery in the main body of my review.

Your may read that review of this unique Demerara Rum by clicking on the following link:

Review: DDL Albion 1994 17 Year Old Full Proof Old Demerara Rum

“… The initial aroma is full of caramel and molasses scents laced with the smells of fresh tar, and resin. Granulated dark brown sugar, maple syrup, rich tobacco and touches of dank punky oak all seem to be part of that menagerie of aroma in the breezes above the glass …”

Please enjoy my review!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: DDL Albion 1994 17 Year Old Full Proof Old Demerara Rum

Review: Calico Jack Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 20, 2013

calicojackJohn “Calico Jack’ Rackham was a pirate of the early eighteenth century who seems to have two primary claims to fame. The first was that his design of the ship’s flag may actually have been the first use this design for a Jolly Roger flag ever on a pirate ship. The second is that his crew featured two female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read (Rackham actually believed Mary Read was a man when she joined his crew).

Researching Calico Jack, I learned he received his nickname due to his fondness for colourful cotton calico clothing. Apparently some of hes crew liked his flashy look to as he and Anne Bonny were apparently lovers. (It is also reported that Ann Bonney was actually another man’s wife.) Calico Jack’s pirate days seem to have begun in 1718 when he was elevated to the Captaincy on an English warship during a mutiny, and it ended at the end of a hangman’s noose in November of 1720 after being captured off the shore of Jamaica. His short career of piracy was highlighted by the plundering smaller ships near the coastal shorelines in a stolen sloop and ended shortly after it began.

I hope that  the Calico Jack Spiced Rum fares better in terms of appeal and quality than its namesake.

You may read the review by clicking the following link:

Review: Calico Jack Spiced Rum

“…. I took a nice deep wiff and found that the nose of this rum is quite nice. I’m guessing Madagascar vanilla, (which is all the rage for spiced rum these days), and fragrant rummy caramel rose up in a nice mixture …”

This is a re-posting of my original review from March of 2010. I have edited a few typos and added a nice cocktail, Spiced Rum and Root Beer.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Rum, Rum Reviews, Spiced Rum | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: Calico Jack Spiced Rum

Review: Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 14, 2013

Appleton Estate 21Appleton Estate currently produces five production rums available in my locale, the Appleton Estate VX, the Appleton Estate Reserve, the Appleton Estate 12 Year Old, the Master Blenders Legacy (my personal favourite), and the most exclusive rum available in Alberta, the Appleton 21 Year Old Rum.

When I first reviewed the 21 Year Old rum in 2010, I had a few issues with both the overt oakiness of the rum, and the manner in which it was packaged. Three years later, I see the packaging has improved substantially, and I have decided to revisit the rum to see if the rum inside that package has improved as well.

You may click on the following excerpt to read my new review:

Review: Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Rum

“… The initial nose is retrained, and I catch notes of brown sugar, wood spice and orange peel. As the rum breathes, the restraints are slowly released and all of the scents and smell of the rum begin to fill the breezes with their aroma. The scent of brown sugar seems to meld with the rising wood spices bringing forward an impression of rich baking spices (nutmeg, vanilla, allspice and cinnamon) and spicy toffee. Firm scents of orange peel and oak are apparent as are sweet smells of marmalade and  dark tobacco. I also notice freshly broken walnuts, pecans, and hints of marzipan …”

Please enjoy my latest review!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Rum

Review: Ragged Rock White Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 11, 2013

SAM_0758 Ragged DancerRagged Rock White Rum is produced by the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC). The blending stocks for Ragged Rock come from Jamaica, in fact from the same distillery which produces Appleton Estate Rum. These are the same stocks which the NLC uses to produce their Famous Newfoundland Screech Rum and Ragged Rock Amber Rum, although obviously the stocks are treated differently to produce a clear white rum. It should be noted that as per Canadian Law these rum stocks have all been aged for minimum of one full year before being filtered clear to produce the rum.

Note: I was provided a sample bottle of the Ragged Rock White Rum by  Rock Spirits (a division of the Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation)

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

Review: Ragged Rock White Rum 

“… The initial fragrance above the glass is quite striking. I smell very mild butterscotch and vanilla with obvious indications of banana and orange peel in the breezes. There also seems to be a light lemony scent being carried upwards with hints of anise and mint …”

Of course, white rums are cocktail rums, and at the end of my review I designed a nice recipe called the Ragged Canary!

Enjoy the review and the cocktail everyone!

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

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