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Archive for the ‘Rum Reviews’ Category

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Review: Dictador 12 Year Solera Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 7, 2010

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), and allowed the club to sample them. I also sampled this rum in Miami, at Rum Renaissance. Both times I remember being taken in by the Dictador style and the rich vibrant rum inside the bottles. Dictador is a medium bodied, complex blend of premium aged rums with a full, rich flavour profile. Fortunately for me, I was promised sample bottles of each to put through the paces of my review system, and about one month ago Paul Charabin came through.

The Dictador 12 Year Old Rum is a solera aged rum with the oldest rum in the bottle being 12 years of age. It is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume in a stylish black 700 ml bottle.

According to the Dictador website, their rum is produced in Colombia, more exactly on the Caribbean coast of Colombia at Cartagena de Indias city.  The rum is named for Arango Y Ferro who was nicknamed ‘Dictador’ by the local population of Cartagena de Indias, in early Colombia (sometime after 1751) as he rose to prominence in the trade and commerce between the Spanish Colonies and Spain. 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 a link to the review of this special rum:

Review: Dictador 12 Year Solera Rum

As well I have included a recipe of the Dictador Sidecar.

Please enjoy the review and the recipe!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Dictador 12 Year Solera Rum

Review: Diplomatico Blanco Reserva

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 30, 2010

In the late 1950s, the major companies which were involved in the production and distribution of alcoholic spirits in Venezuela were grouped into one organization called Licorerias Unitas S.A. This company was controlled by Seagrams who owned the majority share of the new consolidated company. After a series of mergers and acquisitions involving Seagrams, Diageo, and Pernod Richard, a decision was made finally to divest in the facilities in Venezuaela  and concentrate instead upon brand commercialization.

The good news is that a group of local investors purchased the manufacturing assets of Licorerias Unitas S.A and formed Distilleries Unitas S.A. (DUSA) on August 22, 2002. Although this company is relatively new, the tradition of making quality rum in these Venezuelan facilities is not. It is a matter of fact that systematic rum production in Venezuela can be dated to 1896.  The DUSA facilities are at the foot of the Terepaimai National Park and from these facilities they produce the wonderful Diplomatico Rums which have garnered so much attention of late.

The Diplomatico Blanco is a very recent addition to the Diplomatico line up. Working with Blend Wine and Spirits, The Blanco was added to the Diplomatico brand to serve as an alternative to premium Vodka for bartenders and connoisseurs. It is meant to occupy the high-end niche market formerly reserved only for high-end Vodka.

It was at Rum Renaissance in Miami Florida, where I met Alex Mejido of Blend Wine and Spirits. Alex gave me a bottle of the Diplomatico Blanco to review on my blog, and although it has been several months since Rum Renaissance, I have finally completed my end of the bargain.  I should point out that I have not necessarily been negligent. I have waited before publishing the review to line things up  (sort of) with the release of this product in my home market of Alberta Canada.

I was informed by PB Beverages that they are about to launch the Diplomatico Blanco in Alberta so my review hopefully is timely.

Here is a link to the review:

Review: Diplomatico Blanco Reserva

As well I have included two new cocktails:

Red Sky at Night and Connie’s Sapphire Cocktail

Enjoy!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Diplomatico Blanco Reserva

Review: Cruzan Black Strap Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 24, 2010

The Cruzan Rum Company is located on the Island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. The Island of St. Croix is the largest of the US Virgin islands, being approximately 28 miles long and 7 miles wide. Along with the tourism industry and one of the largest oil refineries in the Caribbean, the St. Croix economy is dependent to a large extent upon the Rum Industry as a major engine of their economic growth.

All of the Cruzan Rums are produced using a modern five column distillation method which produces a light bodied rum, the quality of which can be tightly controlled by the five column distillation. The rum is then aged in once used American oak bourbon barrels. The Cruzan Black Strap Rum is a ‘navy style’ rum which is full of molasses flavour but which is perhaps a lighter bodied rum than one would find in a typical navy rum.

The sample bottle of Cruzan Blackstrap Rum for this review was given to me  by Simon Mooney, the local Brand Ambassador for Beam Global and is pictured below and to the right.  It is bottled at 40 per cent alcohol by volume and is, I believe, aged for two years in the aforementioned American Oak.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…Cruzan Black Strap Rum is an aromatic bombshell. When I opened my bottle  for the very first time, my nostrils were immediately aware of the rich molasses filled aroma in the air which contained strong accents of black coffee and dark licorice….”

You may read the entire review here:

Review: Cruzan Black Strap Rum

And remember, my aim is to help you drink better spirits… not more spirits!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Flavouerd Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

The Rum Howler Awards – The Rum Wrap Up

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 22, 2010

Today I am wrapping up the Rum portion of my Rum Howler Awards presenting what might be considered the ‘grand prize’ awards for best rums I have tasted over the past year.  I wanted to be completely fair about things so I decided that perhaps I should bring in some help and have the final tasting session done by panel rather than by myself alone.

All final tastings were done in a blind format. The panel members were not even tasting the same spirits at the same time. The rums were ranked  by each panel member and then the rankings were compared to choose the best spirit for each category. Categories based loosely on age and price were established as you can see below:

The Rum Howler Award for Best Rum (aged 5 years or less):
(A price point below $37.50 in my market (Alberta) was also required.)

Juan Santos 5 Year

Honourable mention, Bermudez Ron Anejo 1852, El Dorado 5, and Diplomático Añejo,

This was a very close race with each of the four finalists receiving at least one first place vote from each of the panel members. In the end, The Juan Santos was a clear winner receiving second place votes on every scorecard where it was not ranked number one.  For those who are not familiar with Juan Santos, it is a Colombian Rum produced by Casa Santana and is sold in some markets as Ron Santero 5 Anos. In all 9 rums were considered here and the four mentioned were the cream of the crop.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Rum Howler Award for Best Rum: (aged 10 years or less)
(The rums must also be priced below $50.00 per 750ml in my market of Alberta)

Bermudez Don Armando

Honourable mention to, Juan Santos 9 Year, Diplomatico Reserva, and Bacardi 8 Yr Old Rum

The Colombian rums from Casa Santana just keep surprising the panel. However a bigger surprise was the Bermudez Don Amando which scored highly on every panel members scorecards. A soft light bodied rum which seemed to win everyone over. The Diplomatico Reserva and the Bacardi 8 yr had strong advocates as well but, the scoring was not as consistently high.  In all eight rums were considered for this award.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Rum Howler Award for The Rum of the Year:
(Age and price irrelevant)

Cubaney 25 Solera

Honourable mention Appleton Estate Master Blender’s Legacy, Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva, and Juan Santos 21 Year.

What a finish for the Rum of the year Selection!  A completely surprising result as the unexpected Sample bottle sent to me just recently by Oliver and Oliver (via Pavol Kazimer of Drums) literally ran away with the title on every panel members scorecards.  On some cards it wasn’t even close.  The Appleton Master Blender’s Legacy showed much better than I anticipated, and South America had two rums in the final four.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

And here is a summary of this portion of the Rum Howler 2010 Rum Awards

The Rum Howler Award for The Rum of the Year, Cubaney 25 Solera

The Rum Howler Award for Best Rum (aged 10 years or less), Bermudez Don Armando

The Rum Howler Award for Best Rum (aged 5 years or less), Juan Santos 5 Year

All of my 2010 Rum Awards can be found on this summary page:

The Rum Howler Awards for Rum Excellence!

Posted in Dark Rums, Flavouerd Rums, Howls, Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on The Rum Howler Awards – The Rum Wrap Up

Rum Review: Cubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 16, 2010

Picture Courtesy http://rumconnection.com/

I  have a friend in the Dominican Republic with a website called Rums of the Dominican Republic (Drums).  His name is Pavol Kažimir.  Pavol and I have exchanged emails a few times, and we met in Miami at Rum Renaissance where we seemed to hit it off with each other quite well. But, I was very surprised when he emailed me during the summer and asked me which bottle of Dominican Rum I would like to receive when his friend visited Edmonton. I stated a preference for something that maybe wasn’t available in my locale, and Pavol promptly arranged for Oliver and Oliver to provide me a sample bottle for review.

The bottle that was chosen surprised me all the more, the Cubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve. A solera style with aged rum as old as 25 years in the blend. In fact, I do believe this may be the top of the line as far as Oliver and Oliver is concerned. If you have not heard of Oliver and Oliver, I should explain that they are an independent bottler of rum operating in the Dominican Republic.  They buy barreled rum from major rum producers, and then age it using a solera aging system in the “Cuban” style.

I thank you Pavol for obtaining this sample for me, and lest I bore everyone; here is an excerpt from the review:

“…The rum carries a firm but soft sweetness forward, as well as a nice spiciness that coats the tongue and the sides of the mouth as the first sip is taken. I taste rich baking spices wrapped inside a deep dark brown leathery toffee and molasses…”

Here is a link to the full review:

Rum Review: Cubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Rum Review: Cubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve

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