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Archive for the ‘Rum Reviews’ Category

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The Emperor Rum: Appleton 30

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 17, 2010

The Appleton Estate Limited Edition 30 Year Old Rum (produced of course by Appleton Estate in Jamaica), is a well aged rum composed of several marks of rum selected by the Appleton Estate Master Blender. These selected marks were originally aged for 8 years in oak barrels. However, once they were blended, they were then placed in oak barrels once more where they were matured for an additional 22 years in an unusually long dual aging process. According to the published information from Appleton Estate, only 1440 bottles of the 30 Year Old Rum were produced, and these were released onto the word-wide market in 2008.

Now this is a special rum and I was determined to get the review right. To that end, my review of the Appleton 30 year Old Rum is based upon 5 independent tasting sessions in my private tasting room. As well I also carried out side by side tastings with several other well aged spirits which included two Scotch Whiskies (Mosstowie 1979 28 Yr, Cask No.s 12771 & 12772, Bottle No. 162, and Bunnahabhain 1978 29 Yr, Cask No. 2584, Bottle No. 275 of 581); one 30 year Old Canadian Whisky (Canadian Club 30 Year Old 150th Anniversary Edition); and one Dominican Rum (Oliver and Oliver, Opthimus 25). I felt it was important (even though I am a regular consumer of aged spirits) to compare the Appleton 30 Year old with other well aged spirits as part of the review process.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The rum is a dark and rich reddish-brown colour which leaves a thick film on my glass when it is tilted. This film slowly releases thick fat legs back into the rum. As I watched the legs slowly crawl down the sides of the glass, the rum was bringing heavy notes of a woody sap and oak tannin to my nostrils….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Appleton Estate Limited Edition 30 Year Old Rum

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on The Emperor Rum: Appleton 30

Introducing Mount Gay Eclipse Silver

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 3, 2010

I mentioned, here on my blog a week ago, that the rum renaissance is well under way in my home province of Alberta with the arrival of the Mount Gay 1703, Old Cask Selection. What I did not mention was that the distributors for Mount Gay Rum (Select Wines) had arranged for me to receive a few samples of their rum for the purpose of reviewing them on my website. The first of these reviews is for the Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum, a Bajan rum from the Mount Gay Plantation on the Island of Barbados.

Mount Gay Rum has been produced on the Isle of Barbados since the beginning of the eighteenth century, making Mount Gay one of the oldest, (if not the oldest) rum brand in the World.  Evidence exists of stills in use at the Mount Gay Plantation site as early as 1667, and we have confirmation (with the first written records) of rum produced on the site in 1703.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…It is unusual in my experience for a white rum to display such an inviting aroma in the glass. The scents and smells of light butterscotch were evident as was a firm presence of banana, a mild citrus zest, and a light minty aroma….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum

As well please enjoy my cocktail suggestions which follow the review.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Introducing Mount Gay Eclipse Silver

Review: Admiral Nelson’s Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 27, 2010

Admiral Nelson’s Spiced Rum is bottled at 70 proof (35 % alc/vol).  The Rum is bottled in the U.S. by Admiral Nelson Rum Company of Missouri. The bottle I reviewed would have been aged in oak for at least one year as per Canadian Law. The Admiral Nelson Rum website indicates that savory spices are used to create the blend with a hint of sweet vanilla.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…When I swirled the rum, I noticed nice long slender legs in my glass. I like long slender legs as they indicate a touch of oiliness in the rum which should lengthen the finish. After I let the glass sit for a while, I took a nice deep wiff and found that the nose of this rum is quite nice. I’m getting a little vanilla, and fragrant rummy caramel which rise  up in a nice mixture.  Tidbits of other spices meander in and out of the breezes,  light accents of cloves, coriander and nutmeg. I detect very little if any oak scent at all….”

You may read my Full Review here:

Review: Admiral Nelson’s Spiced Rum

As well I included a nice recipe I call The Admiral Overboard.

Please enjoy the review and recipe.  Cheers!

Posted in Flavouerd Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Introducing: Mount Gay 1703

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 26, 2010

The rum renaissance is well under way in my home province of Alberta. Yesterday I received word the arrival of  one of the most highly anticipated premium rums, Mount Gay 1703, Old Cask Selection. The Mount Gay 1703  is a premium rum blend which features aged rum stocks from selected barrels of the Mount Gay treasured reserve.  These barrels have been aged 10 to 30 years and feature the best that Mount Gay has to offer in the areas of Craftsmanship and Quality.

But do not take my word for it, at the recently held Ultimate Spirits Challenge Mount Gay 1703 waltzed away with the coveted Chairman’s Trophy.

“This is a fantastic sign of appreciation for the brand. Remy Cointreau can pride itself on possessing the best rum in the world, as selected by the greatest experts”, stated Hugues Le Marie, their International Brand Director.

It is hard to argue the point. The Mount Gay 1703 scored a nearly impossible 97 pts out of 100, at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. As well, other spirits writers have lauded similar praise upon this premium rum. Dave Russel of R & D Reviews scored the rum 9.5 flasks out of 10, when he published his review on January 1, 2010.  And Drinkhacker gave the rum a score of A- in his recent review.

These accolades are from gentlemen whose reviews I respect. This accounts for my recent excitement at Mount Gay’s introduction of the 1703 Old cask Selection to my local.

In case you were wondering, here was my review written several months ago:

Review: Mount Gay Rum 1703 Old Cask Selection

So I spread a warm welcome to the Mount Gay 1703, hopefully your stay in our Province is for more than just a short while.

Posted in Dark Rums, Howls, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Introducing: Mount Gay 1703

Review: Dictador 20 Year Solera Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 18, 2010

A few weeks ago I reviewed the Dictador 12 Year old Solera Aged Rum, and at the time I hinted that a review of the 20-year-old companion rum was on its way.  The rum reviews are at the request of PB Beverages which is the importing company bringing the Dictador Rums to my home Province of Alberta.

The Dictador 20 Year Old Rum is a solera aged rum with the oldest rum in the bottle being at least 20 years of age. It is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume in a stylish black 700 ml bottle. The Dictador website also explains that the rum is produced in Colombia, more exactly, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia at Cartagena de Indias City, and  is named for Arango Y Ferro who was nicknamed ‘Dictador’ by the local population of Cartagena de Indias as he rose to prominence in the trade and commerce between the Spanish Colonies and Spain (sometime after 1751). Arango apparently fell in love with the local cane spirit and became an important producer of rum at that time. In 1913, his descendant Don Julia Arango Y Ferro established the Distileria Colombiana.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The initial entry into the mouth is smooth and suave. All the scents which were easily discernible in the glass were much harder to distinguish as flavours in the mouth. in fact, most of the flavours seem to have blended and melted together in a nice harmonious balance which makes identification perilous, but is also a rare treat to the palate….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Dictador 20 Year Solera Rum

As well the review includes a new cocktail I call The Drumbeat.

Please enjoy the review and cocktail!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Dictador 20 Year Solera Rum

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