Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 23, 2015
The Highland Park Distillery is located in the Highlands of Scotland on the Island of Orkney which is famous for its heather rich meadows and its unique organic Orcadian peat. At this distillery, all of the Highland Park Whisky is matured in two styles of oak barrels which are stored in warehouses with earthen floors and stone walls. Some of the whisky is matured in Spanish (Sherry) oak, and some of the whisky is matured in American (Bourbon) oak. Maturing the whisky in two different styles of oak allows the blender to capture characteristics of each in the final blend.
The Highland Park 25 Year Old Whisky is blended with up to 50 per cent of its whisky coming from the matured (1st refill) Spanish oak, and it is bottled at 48.1 per cent alcohol by volume. This is a full 20 % higher than the 40 per cent bottling strength we typically see in North America. The combination of the higher bottling strength and a larger portion of Spanish oak whisky in the blend will bring forward a stronger more assertive aroma and flavour than the other whiskies in the Highland Park portfolio, and may even make the whisky a little intimidating at first tasting.
Here is a link to the review of the #32 spirit on my Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits Countdown of the best spirits I have ever tasted.
“… caramelized butterscotch toffee, sweeter underlying sugars, and a floral peat rich with heather, citrus, damp spruce moss, and humus. As more of the scents separated in the air I was reminded of mildly boggy saw-grass growing in a damp lowland meadow below a field of ripe alfalfa and timothy growing in the early fall just before cutting. (This place I am describing is a real memory from my childhood days on the farm. The Highland Park Whiskies always seem to evoke these early memories from my youth …”
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You may follow my Countdown list of the 100 Best Spirits here: The Rum Howler 2015 – Top 100 Spirits
Posted in Awards, Extras, Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: 25 Year Old, Bleneded Scotch, Highland Park Whisky, Review, Rum howler, Top 100 Spirits, Whisky | Comments Off on # 32 Highland Park 25 Year Old Single Malt Whisky
Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 22, 2015
For over 100 years now the Calgary Stampede has brought people from all over the world together to experience the region’s unique western heritage and values. In the summer of 2012, Highwood Distillers (Alberta’s only privately owned distillery) joined in and celebrated the Centennial of the Calgary Stampede by producing an exclusive Limited Edition Ultra-Premium 25 Year Old Commemorative Canadian Rye Whisky.
The Calgary Stampede (Commemorative) Whisky is a single bond offering produced entirely from corn distillate and aged for 25 years in charred American white oak. It is blended entirely with naturally sourced Rocky Mountain spring water, and was limited to a production of only 6000 bottles. In order to maintain good contact with the oak during the lengthy aging process, this bond was re-gauged or re-barreled twice during its aging life. New barrels were not introduced when Highwood distiller’s made the liquid consolidation. Instead they chose to maintain the aging process in the original barrels into which the spirit began its maturation.
Here is a link to the review of the #33 spirit on my Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits Countdown of the best spirits I have ever tasted.
“… The initial nose is rich with smells of oak and cedar. Butterscotch notes rise into the air accompanied by strong scents of honeycomb and cereal. As the glass sits, the oak spices continue to grow above the glass. I also receive impressions of melted vanilla ice cream, some appealing notes of marmalade and marzipan, and some strong notes of corn whisky rising into the merry little breezes. This is very appealing …”
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You may follow my Countdown list of the 100 Best Spirits here: The Rum Howler 2015 – Top 100 Spirits
Posted in Awards, Extras | Tagged: 25 Year Old, Calgary Stampede, Century Distillers, Highwood Distillers, Review, Rum howler, Top 100 Spirits | 2 Comments »
Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 21, 2015
In 2010, a friend of mine who lived in the Dominican Republic arranged for a local rum company, Oliver and Oliver, to supply me with a bottle of their top rum, Cubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve 25 Year Soleras Rum. At the time, Oliver and Oliver were an independent bottler of rum who operated in the Dominican Republic. They bought barreled rum from major rum producers, and then aged it themselves using a solera aging system in what they called the “Cuban” style.
I am not sure exactly what happened to Oliver and Oliver as current information about their company is very hard to find. However, the Cubaney Rum brand appears now to be centered in Australia. The Grand Reserve 25 Year Tesero has been discontinued, although both a 21 Year and a 25 Year Solera are available. Perhaps I shall be able to taste and review each of these at some point in the future.
Here is a link to the review of the #34 spirit on my Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits Countdown of the best spirits I have ever tasted.
“… A faint smoke is present which carries scents of dried fruits, raisins, and a soft and subtle cherry-like aroma in the background. A little wave of soft tobacco is mixed in, as is an ever present woody backdrop which seems to tie everything together. I even sense a smidgen of brine and tar in the breezes; almost, but not quite reminiscent of Islay peat …”
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You may follow my Countdown list of the 100 Best Spirits here: The Rum Howler 2015 – Top 100 Spirits
Posted in Awards, Extras, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: 25 Year Solera, Cubaney, Review, Rum, Rum howler, Tesero, Top 100 Spirits | Comments Off on #34 Cubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve 25 Year Soleras Rum
Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 20, 2015
A few years ago, I had lunch with Whisky Maker, John Hall (then Owner of Forty Creek Whisky) when he was in town for the Edmonton Whisky Festival. One of the things we talked about was Mr. Hall’s penchant for saving his best whisky barrels for his own private use. You see, every once in a while when John was testing and tasting his barrels of whisky to see how they were coming along, he would hit upon a barrel that was absolutely exceptional.
These barrels would be squirreled away and earmarked for his own private stash. John admitted to me that this had kind of gotten out of hand, and he had accumulated far more of these ‘Private Casks’ than what he would ever need, or be able to consume. It turns out John figured out what to do with these exceptional casks as in the fall of 2011 he released his new special release, John’s Private Cask No. 1 Whisky.
Here is a link to the review of the #35 spirit on my Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits Countdown.
“… A bevy of oak and rye spices quickly heat things up; but, the mouth feel is eased by the softness of vanilla, maple and caramel. The flavours I taste include fresh-cut cedar planks, and a strong dollop of rye. There is also a bit of orange peel which evolves into marmalade as the glass sits, and just like on the nose,the oak and baking spices build and build in the glass …”
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You may follow my Countdown list of the 100 Best Spirits here: The Rum Howler 2015 – Top 100 Spirits
Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: Canadian Whisky, Forty Creek, John Hall, Private Cask, Review, Rum howler, Top 100 Spirits, Whisky | Comments Off on #35 Forty Creek John’s Private Cask No. 1 Canadian Whisky
Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 19, 2015
Belvedere Vodka is (according to their website) “the world’s first luxury vodka“. It is a four-time distilled spirit produced in the Polish town of Żyrardów from Dankowski rye and water pulled from Belvedere’s own underground artesian wells. I first tasted the new Unfiltered Belvedere Vodka at a recent Martini Seminar hosted in Edmonton by Ali Dedianko, the Belvedere Vodka Global Ambassador.
At the seminar Ali described the Belvedere Unfiltered spirit as a ‘whisky drinkers vodka’ which was produced to allow the flavour of the Dankowski Rye to shine through. This is because the spirit is produced exclusively from Dankowski Rye grain grown on a Single Estate on one selected Polish farm. (It has its own terroir, if you will.) Furthermore the new Vodka, after being distilled four times, is bottled without filtering (at 40 % Alcohol by Volume) to ensure that the rye flavour within the vodka is not lost.
Here is a link to the review of the #36 spirit on my Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits Countdown.
“…When I brought the chilled vodka to my nose I could detect light aromas of fresh-baked rye bread combined with a lovely milk chocolate scent. I was surprised that the aroma was so firm as the Vodka was very well chilled. As the Vodka warmed, the spicy rye grain seemed to unravel itself from the lightly sweet chocolate giving me another olfactory dimension to enjoy …”
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You may follow my Countdown list of the 100 Best Spirits here: The Rum Howler 2015 – Top 100 Spirits
Posted in Awards, Extras, Vodka, Vodka Reviews | Tagged: Belvedere Unfiltered, Review, Rum howler, Top 100 Spirits, Vodka | Comments Off on # 36 Belvedere Unfiltered (Rare Diamond Rye) Vodka
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