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Review: Admiral Rodney HMS Princessa

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 15, 2020

Admiral Rodney Rums are produced by St. Lucia Distillers which is situated in the valley of Roseau on the island of St Lucia. Their Admiral Rodney Rums are named for Admiral George B. Rodney who is remembered as the Admiral who broke the French line at the Battle of the Saints. Each of the Rums in the Admiral Rodney line-up pays homage to the naval battle remembering the courage of British fleet which “broke the line” and defeated the French.

Admiral Rodney Rums are produced on a twin column Coffey still commissioned in 1985. Admiral Rodney HMS Princessa contains within its construct, Coffey still rum from the lower sections of the still which results in a robust and complex flavor profile. The spirits were aged in bourbon and port casks for 5 to 9 years before being blended and brought to bottling strength (40 % abv.).

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Admiral Rodney HMS Princessa

“… brown sugar mingling with vanilla cinnamon and nutmeg reminding me of cinnamon rolls. Oak spice and tobacco add structure and depth as soes a light woody flavour that is wrapped within. I taste canned fruit (apricots) and raisins as well as dry leathery flavours …”

Please enjoy my review as well as the suggested cocktail provided.

Chimo!

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Review: Burwood Honey Rhum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 14, 2020

The Burwood Distillery is a small craft distillery founded by Jordan Ramey, Marco Cilic, and Ivan Cilic located in Calgary Alberta (4127 6th Street N.E). The Distillery includes a restaurant and Cocktail Lounge which offers a casual environment to enjoy the not only the distilleries fine spirits but also locally sourced farm-to-table menu items.

At Burwood, the focus is upon locally grown raw materials brought from the farm straight to the glass. The barley they use is grown and malted in Alberta by Rahr Malting Company of Alix, AB. Their honey comes from Ivan and Marko’s Father’s honeybees just outside of Chestermere, AB and through Greidanus Honey Mill in High River, AB. The team hand-crushes every grain, hand-scoops every ounce of honey, distills every drop of liquid, and bottles and packages it all in their Calgary facility.

According to the distillery, Burwood Honey Rhum is an Albertan spin on classic Sugar Cane Rum. A 100% Honey product produced from product from their own family farm. The spirit is finished with a dash of caramelized honey for extra dimensions of flavour.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Burwood Honey Rhum

“… The flavours from the nose translate well, although the spirit is perhaps more herbal than I anticipated. Not that I am complaining, the herbal grassy flavour which underlies the honey and caramel sweetness is welcome. Some pungent spiciness is apparent as well, some ginger, hints of cinnamon as well as a sort of earthy quality that is almost like licorice root and angelica …”

Please enjoy the review which concludes with my cocktail suggestion, Easy.

Chimo!

Note: I take exception to the use of the word ‘Rhum’ on the label. This is a mead spirit and should be proudly labeled as such. Distillate of spirit from honey, bears only a passing resemblance to sugar cane rum and as the word ‘rum’ is defined in Canadian Regulations to include only sugar cane or sugar cane products (here), in a bilingual country the defined term rightly includes it French spelling as well.

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Review: Ron Canuto 7 Anos

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 14, 2020

As many of you know, I am working my way through the 2020 – 24 Days of Rum Advent Calendar produced by 1423 World Class Spirits giving a brief review for each spirit. Unfortunately, there have been a few spirits which I have been unable to even find any information about whether on the producer’s website, or any retail website. The spirit in the number 14 slot on the calendar,  Ron Canuto XO, is such a spirit. It is not mentioned on the Ron Canuto website (here), nor could I find the expression mentioned on any of the retail websites around the world which sell rum from Zhumir (the distillery of origin) for Canuto Rum.

Reviewing a rum which appears to be unavailable seems to be a waste of time, so instead I thought I would update/re-post my review of Ron Canuto (7 Anos) which I reviewed last year. Information about this rum is available on the company’s website, and it is sold on many retail websites (mainly in Europe) as well.

So here is a link to my updated review of the Ron Canuto 7 which includes expanded tasting notes based on a more recent sample bottle as well as new information about the distillery.

Review: Ron Canuto 7 Anos

“… The entry brings us a light rush of both wood spice and alcohol heat across the palate. Banana and butterscotch lead out with vanilla and almond accents. Orange peel zest adds more heat although the sweetness of the butterscotch tempers this to a great degree …”

Please enjoy my review, and lets hope that I can find some verifiable information about the Ron Canuto XO such that it can be shared as well.

Chimo!

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Review: Crown Royal Noble Collection – Rye Aged 16 Years

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 13, 2020

Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is currently produced in Gimli, Manitoba, at the Crown Royal Distillery. The distillery and the brand are owned by the spirits conglomerate, Diageo, and I think it is fair to say that Crown Royal is Diageo’s flagship Canadian Whisky brand.

The Crown Royal Noble Collection is a series of whiskies that have been released on an annual basis since 2016. The Collection showcases Crown Royal whiskies with new flavour profiles by blending different components of the various whiskies that go into the Crown Royal blend and/or using different finishing techniques in maturing the company’s flagship whisky.

The Crown Royal Rye Aged 16 Years is part of the Noble Collection and showcases Crown Royal’s rye whisky. This is a blend of Crown Royal Rye Whiskies all of which have been aged for no less than16 years.

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: Crown Royal Noble Collection – Rye Aged 16 Years

“… a firm oak and rye aroma with both the spicy accents oak sap and rye grain on full display. I sense impressions of maple topped  graham wafers and hints of chocolate riding alongside. Lovely notes of butterscotch and vanilla have merged with almond notes bringing about an impression of marzipan and underneath all of this are impressions of raisins and apricot.I should mention the baking spices which appear alongside the oak. …”

Please enjoy this review of this lovely sipping whisky.

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Crown Royal Noble Collection – Rye Aged 16 Years

Review: Séverin Rhum Viex 4 ans

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 13, 2020

Domaine de Séverin is a small Agrilcole Rhum distillery on Guadalupe (an overseas region of France consisting of a group of islands in the Lesser Antilles chain in the eastern Caribbean Sea). It was really hard to find out anything substantial about this relatively unknown distiller. I found their website, but if you checked that link up above you will see that other than displaying nice bottle shots of their family of french style rhum, there really is not a lot of information to be gleaned.

Upon their website, Séverin Rhum Viex 4 ans is advertised by Domaine de Séverin as a four year old spirit which has been aged in former American oak barrels (Bourbon). The Rhum is bottled at 42 % abv and is said to be a supple rum with notes of vanilla, cooked banana and a finish of exotic fruits.

Here is a link to my review which includes a nice recipe for Ti Punch, a traditional cocktail in the French West Indies:

Review: Séverin Rhum Viex 4 ans

“… The taste is light and pleasant guided by herbals flavours typical of Rhum Agricole. There is a mingling of butterscotch, almond and vanilla with hints of herbal mint, raisins, and camphor. Fine oak spices provide a little heat, but not too much …”

Please enjoy my review of this elegant French style Rhum!

Chimo!

Posted in Agricole, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

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