The Rum Howler Blog

Rum Howler 2014 #8 Canadian Whisky – Alberta Springs

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 17, 2014

Alberta Springs is produced by Alberta Distillers Limited (ADL). It is a rye forward whisky aged for 10 years just west of the Rocky Mountains at the ADL facilities in Calgary Alberta. When I met Rick Murphy, the Production Superintendent at ADL , he explained the heritage of Alberta Springs to me, how it started as a 10 Year Old pure rye whisky, and then how economics dictated a move to rye as well as corn in the 90s.

Alberta Springs SAM_1399 But, Rick steadfastly maintained that the whisky is currently (and has always been) a predominantly rye based whisky with a consistent taste profile. He also explained how his computerized dials and gauges in the distillery, and his quality assurance tasting panel, ensure that the flavour does not change as the mash bill may change slightly over time. Rick Murphy also made it very clear to me during the tour I was given in 2012, that of all the whiskies he makes at ADL, Alberta Springs was his favourite.

I happen to agree with Rick, that Alberta Springs is a great Canadian Whisky. This year it has landed at the number 8 spot in my Top 25 Canadian Whisky Countdown.

Here is my latest review:

#8 Canadian Whisky – Alberta Springs

“… The initial mouth-feel is slightly dryish as the whisky begins with flavours of dusty rye and light flavours of caramel toffee. The oak is present and brings forward some light orange peel and vanilla as well as hints of tobacco which are not as firm in the flavour as they were in the aroma. I taste a light mustiness, and I taste a hint of honey sweetness …”

Whenever I relax in the evening with a glass Alberta Springs Whisky and a well placed ice-cube with just a splash of ginger-ale, I must admit this particular whisky is hard to beat.

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Note: You may follow my Countdown list of the 25 Best Canadian Whiskies here: The Rum Howler – Top 25 Canadian Whiskies of 2014

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: Alberta Distillers limited, Alberta Springs, Canadian Whisky, Top 25 Canadian Whisky, Whisky, Whisky Review | Comments Off on Rum Howler 2014 #8 Canadian Whisky – Alberta Springs

Rum Howler 2014 # 8 Rum – Juan Santos 21 Year

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 17, 2014

rum_howler_badge-2014 The rums of Juan Santos are produced in Colombia, South America by Santana Liquors. The 21 Year Antigua Reserva is a molasses based rum which has been apparently been aged for 21 years in used whisky and bourbon barrels from Kentucky. At this time the Juan Santos brand is available only in Western Canada, although the Ron Santero brand from Santana Liquors is available in other markets.

Juan Santos 21 SAM_1397 Although the Juan Santos brand is relatively unknown outside of the Western Canadian market I have discovered that these rum brings an astounding level of smoothness and depth to the rum glass.

Here is my review of the Number 8 Rum in my 2014 Top 25 Rum Countdown:

# 8 Rum – Juan Santos 21 Year

“… Soft caramel notes are mingled with light spices, and the whiskey character I noted in the breezes above the glass has in fact melted into the rum creating a buttery praline cream. The result is a well-balanced rum with remarkably deep flavour. Vague hints of almonds and cinnamon are apparent with ghostlike vestiges of caramel, nutmeg, allspice, and rye spice …”

Juan Santos 21 Year Old Rum is one of the very smoothest rum I have encountered. The balance is wonderful, as the various flavours the rum possesses seem to melt and merge into each other such that individual flavours were very hard to discern. This mixing and melting of flavours results in a truly wonderful rum. Just about perfect!

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Note: You may follow my Countdown list of the 25 Best Rums of 2014 here: The Rum Howler – Top 25 Rums of 2014

Posted in Awards, Extras, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: Antigua Reserva, Colombian Rum, Juan Santos Rum, Rum, Rum Review, Top 25 Rum | Comments Off on Rum Howler 2014 # 8 Rum – Juan Santos 21 Year

The 12 Cognacs of Christmas #5 – Camus XO Borderies

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 16, 2014

BORDERIES XO 70CL The construction of the CAMUS XO Borderies begins at the home of Camus within the Borderies cru (the smallest appellation in the Cognac region) with a selection of grapes which are produced mainly from the vines of the Domaines CAMUS Estate. The wine produced from these grapes is distilled on the lees after which the eaux-de-vie is set down to age in French oak barrels.

The ages of the various XO Borderies eaux-de-vie which make up the blend must be (by law) a minimum of six years of age, although to achieve the desired flavour profile, it would not be unusual for some of the specific Cognac in the blend to be aged much longer, in fact some of the Cognac for the CAMUS XO Borderies may be aged as for long as 30 years.

Here is a link to my full review of the CAMUS XO Borderies:

The 12 Cognacs of Christmas #5 – Camus XO Borderies

“… The XO Borderies fills the mouth with fruity flavours of fresh green grape, yellow apples, and green pears, as well as with flavours of raisins and dried apricots. So much obvious fruit in front of the oak in an XO Cognac is unusual. There is also firm undercurrent of herbal flavours which remind me of sawgrass, heather, licorice and green spearmint …”

This is one of those spirits which seemed to be under represented by the individual scores I originally assigned to each component of the review. I think it is that lovely cooling mint-like sensation combined with the lightly spicy oak sap and cinnamon in the exit which seems to beg me to repeat the process after each sip

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Stay tuned as between now and Christmas I will continue my series,the 12 Cognacs of Christmas!

Posted in Brandy and Cognac Reviews, Cognac Review | Tagged: 12 Cognacs of Christmas, Borderies XO, Camus, Cognac Review | Comments Off on The 12 Cognacs of Christmas #5 – Camus XO Borderies

Rum Howler 2014 #9 Canadian Whisky – Wiser’s Legacy

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 16, 2014

Wiser’s Legacy Canadian Whisky (a Corby Brand) was released in early 2010 as a new entry into the fledgling “Super Premium” category of Canadian Whisky. At the time, a few other Super Premium Whiskies already existed in the market-place (Wiser’s own Red Letter, and Crown Royal’s, Cask No. 16 and Crown Royal XR); but the category hadn’t really caught the buying public’s imagination. In fact the Super Premium category had seen more disappointments than successes to that point (at least as far as Canadian Whisky was concerned). However the tipping point for the category seems to have been the year 2010, and the brand which (in my opinion) which helped the most to bring about a this change was Wiser’s Legacy.

Wiser's Legacy At that time, what the Super Premium category needed as far as Canadian Whisky was concerned was a spirit which would be worth the hype. And in a nutshell, Wiser’s Legacy was. This whisky is produced from a rye forward mash bill (Canadian rye, rye malt and barley malt) using a slow copper pot distillation technique which was ‘fine-tuned’ to capture the very specific flavours and aromas during distillation. The new oak barrels used to age the resulting distillate were lightly toasted rather than heavily charred to help bring more of these specific flavours forward.

When I was tasting all of my Canadian Whisky spirits side by side as part of my deliberations for this countdown series, I noted that Wiser’s Legacy seemed to be appealing to me much more than it had in the past. For this reason I rescored the whisky and updated my tasting notes.

Here is my updated review for the number 9 Canadian Whisky in my countdown:

Review: Wiser’s Legacy Canadian Whisky

“… The aroma from the glass is rich in rye spice and caramel toffee, with a subtle corn and bourbon influence. The oak is very apparent as well, bring sappy notes of oak and cedar forward as well as rich damp tobacco. There are some nice indications of baking spices (vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon) as well as vague impressions of baked muffins full of banana, walnuts and chocolate chips. The aroma certainly lives up to the impressive bottle …”

The Legacy is extremely interesting because it is such a departure from a regular Canadian whisky. There is a great deal of complexity introduced by the young oak and this is definitely a giant step towards a more defined bourbon taste profile. It seems that this taste profile has grown on me over the past four years. I suspect it will grow on you as well!

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Note: You may follow my Countdown list of the 25 Best Canadian Whiskies here: The Rum Howler – Top 25 Canadian Whiskies of 2014

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: Canadian Whisky, Top 25 Canadian Whisky, Whisky, Whisky Review, Wiser's Legacy | Comments Off on Rum Howler 2014 #9 Canadian Whisky – Wiser’s Legacy

Rum Howler 2014 # 9 Rum – Rum Nation Caroni 1998

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 16, 2014

rum_howler_badge-2014 The Caroni Distillery in Trinidad and Tobago was established in 1918, and was operated at near full capacity until 1993. Unfortunately, due to industry consolidation, rum production at the facility began to decline late in the 20th century and the distillery was closed in 2002. As a matter of interest, the consolidation of the rum industry during the last two centuries is amply illustrated in Trinidad and Tobago where there this small country featured 50 distilleries at the turn of the 19th century. One hundred and fifty years later (in 1950) only 8 had survived, and today there is but one, Angostura. It seems a pity that so much tradition and history has vanished. Although I guess we can count ourselves lucky that some of the rum barrels from the Caroni distillery are still finding their way into the market place.

Rum Nation Caroni 1998-2014 The Rum Nation Caroni 1998 is one such offering from the folks at Rum Nation. This is an old-style heavy column still rum which was distilled in 1998 and aged for nine years in American Oak casks on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad. From this tropical locale, the rum was transported to Europe for further aging in refill American Oak (bourbon) casks which had been also previously used to age Rum Peruno (8YO). The resulting Rum Nation Caroni 1998 rum was bottled at cask strength (55 % alcohol by volume).

Here is my review:

# 9 Rum – Rum Nation Caroni 1998

“… I noticed firm oak firm oak scents drifting upwards alongside equally firm notes of baking spice (vanilla, cloves, nutmeg, and a touch of cinnamon) and molasses/licorice stained caramel toffee. I left the glass to sit and breathe and noticed that the oak I had sensed in the breezes grew stronger demonstrating scents of freshly cut wooden planks which were dripping with wood sap …”

This Rum Nation Caroni 1998 rum is very pleasing indulgence with an original, albeit somewhat dry and bitter flavour profile. Fortunately there is just the right amount of sweetness present to offset the bitter and I found myself quite smitten with the overall result.

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Note: You may follow my Countdown list of the 25 Best Rums of 2014 here: The Rum Howler – Top 25 Rums of 2014

Posted in Awards, Dark Rums, Extras, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: Caroni 1998, Caroni Rum, Rum, Rum Nation, Rum Review, Top 25 Rum | Comments Off on Rum Howler 2014 # 9 Rum – Rum Nation Caroni 1998

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