The Rum Howler Blog

Review: Forty Creek Heart of Gold (2013 Limited Release)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 26, 2013

Forty Creek Whisky has for the last number of years produced a special limited release whisky and allowed the public to participate in the release by offering to let the consumer choose their own numbered bottle. This year, reservations for Forty Creek’s 2013 Limited Release, Heart of Gold, will open at noon (EST) on Monday, May 27th, 2013 (and end June 21st, 2013). If you live in Ontario, and can make it to the distillery to pay for and pick up your numbered bottle, then you may choose any number between 00003 and 9,000 to be your own uniquely numbered bottle. The numbers are offered on a first come, first serve, basis and no two bottles will have the same number. (Complete details and the reservation form are available at the Forty Creek Whisky website.)

This year’s special release is a whisky with an emphasis on Canadian Rye Grain. Heart of Gold is not a 100 % rye grain whisky, as the whisky blend also includes a barley whisky, which adds some nutty flavours, and a corn whisky, which adds weight and body. But make no mistake about it, the intent of John Hall in creating this whisky is to showcase the spicy, fruity and floral notes of Canadian Rye.

You may click on the link to read my pre-release review:

Review: Forty Creek Heart of Gold (2013 Limited Release)

“… The initial nose reminds me strongly of rye whisky as I remember it from my youth (seventies/early eighties). The breezes above the glass are full of wood spices (cardamom, ginger, sandalwood, sawdust and white pepper), and those breezes remind me of autumns past when the ripened grain in the fields was being combined. The air all around the farm would be full of the scents and smells of the harvest, complete with the straw left behind in windrows and the separated chaff and grain dust floating in the air above the fields and granaries …”

Please enjoy this preview of John Hall’s newest Special Release Canadian Whisky!

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If you are interested, here are the links to the other Forty Creek Special Release Whiskies I have reviewed :

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: Canadian, Forty Creek Whisky, Heart of Gold, John Hall, Whisky, Whisky Review | Comments Off on Review: Forty Creek Heart of Gold (2013 Limited Release)

Review: Ron Matusalum Gran Reserva 15 Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 25, 2013

Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 Ron Matusalem prides itself on being a Cuban style of rum with a history in Cuba they trace back to 1872 when two brothers, Benjamin and Eduardo Camp, together with a partner, Evaristo Álvarez opened a distillery in Santiago de Cuba. According to the Matusalem website, the rum they were producing began to win acclaim by the first quarter of the 20th century. The distillery apparently operated until the 1960′s when due to the Cuban Revolution the Álvarez family was exiled, and the rum they made disappeared from the landscape.

The brand was resurrected by Claudio Álvarez Salazar, who is the great-grandson of Evaristo Álvarez. Of course, it was not possible given the political situation in Cuba to produce or bottle the rum in Cuba. Apparently, it is produced (presumably by a third-party as Ron Matusalem does not own a distillery) and bottled in the Dominican Republic.

I recently revisited this rum and you may read my newest review by clicking on the following excerpt:

Review: Ron Matusalum Gran Reserva 15 Rum

“… The initial aroma carries more oak than I remember from my past experiences with the Matusalem Gran Reserva 15. It is a sort of honeyed oak scent full of spice and vanilla. As the glass sits, the oak spices build in the air and they are joined by scents of banana and orange peel …”

Please enjoy my revisitation to the Matusalem Gran Reserva, and of course my cocktail suggestion which follows, the Sloe Lime Daiquiri.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: Cocktails, Dark Rum, Matusalem Rum, Rum, Rum Review, Sloe Lime Daiquiri | Comments Off on Review: Ron Matusalum Gran Reserva 15 Rum

Review: Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage 2006 Port Wine

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 24, 2013

Dow’s is one of the Port Houses belonging to the Symington Family whose ancestry in the Port trade spans a period of over three and a half centuries. This family’s association with Dow’s began in the early 1900’s when Andrew James Symington, became a partner in Warre & Co, the first and oldest British Port company established in Portugal. The Warre Family at the time owned Dow’s; but apparently had little interest in managing the company and invited Symington to manage the vineyards and lodges of Dow’s as well those of Warre & Co.. In 1912, Andrew Symington, acquired 30 % ownership of Dow’s, and later, in 1961 the Symington Family gained full control and sole ownership of the entire company.

Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port wines are produced from grapes grown in a single year from Dow’s best vineyards. The wine has been matured for between four and six years and is filtered prior to bottling. Because it has been matured and then filtered, this style of Port wine is ready for immediate consumption and will not require decanting or filtering of sediment before serving.

(Note: I was provided a sample bottle of Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2006 by The Bacchus Group, who are responsible for its importation here in Alberta.)

You may read my full review by clicking on the following excerpt:

Review: Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage 2006 Port Wine

“… As you let the wine breathe the fruity smells begin to grow slowly seeping into the air with smells of blackberries, plums and dark red cherries. There are hints of dry fruit, as well as grape skins and stems adding to that earthy quality underneath …”

I hope you enjoy this review of what I consider to be an outstanding Late Bottled Vintage port.

Posted in Dessert Wine Review, LBV Port, Wine Reviews - Port | Tagged: Dessert Wine, Dow's, Late Bottled Vintage, Port Wine, Port Wine Review, Wine Review | Comments Off on Review: Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage 2006 Port Wine

Review: Bacardi Black

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 23, 2013

Bacardi Black is a traditional dark rum. As such it achieves a major portion of its flavour, aroma, and colour from the special ingredients (caramel colour for sure) which are added to the final blend prior to bottling. The Black is apparently blended from rums which have been aged up to four years; but, it would be a mistake to believe that the maturation of the rums in the blend have anything but a small role in the rich dark colour we see or the strong collection of aromas that we sense above the glass.

Bacardi Black appears to be disappearing from the shelves of the liquor stores in my locale, and even Bacardi has dropped any mention of the product on its US-based website. It appears to have been replaced by Bacardi Select, which is a similar style of rum although I do not know if it is actually the same blend as the Bacardi Black.

Although this review is perhaps a little belated, if you click on the following excerpt you can read my full opinion of Bacardi Black:

Review: Bacardi Black

“… The initial aroma above the glass is full of butterscotch, molasses, vanilla, and candied caramels. There are hints of licorice, some noticeable maple, and sweet sticky canned fruit (apricots and peaches).

If I strain my senses, I also sense some dried fruit in the form of currants and dates and perhaps even a touch of cocoa. The aroma is not unpleasant, although there is very little evidence of oak aging in the breezes …”

Included in the review is a nice summertime deck drink, the Lemon Cola Cooler.

Enjoy the review!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: Bacardi Rum, Black Rum, Cocktails, Dark Rum, Lemon Cola Cooler, Rum Review | Comments Off on Review: Bacardi Black

Screech Rum Adds Two Members to the Family

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 22, 2013

Famous Newfoundland Screech can trace its ancestry back over 300 years to a time when fishing fleets from Newfoundland, with their cargo of Northern Cod and North Atlantic tuna, traveled south and established a tradition of trade with Jamaica for that elixir of the Caribbean, known as rum. This trade established Newfoundland as one of the major portals for the legal import (and of course a little illegal smuggling) of rum into Canada. There have always been a good variety of rum brands on the shelves of my local liquor store which began their journey westward across Canada from the easternmost Province of Newfoundland and Labrador; the most famous of these brands is certainly the Screech Rum.

Screech Family

Recently Screech has added two new members to it family, Famous Newfoundland Screech Spiced Rum (100 proof) and, Famous Newfoundland Screech Honey Flavoured Rum. Theses rums are produced by the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) from the same 4 marques of Jamaican Rum which are used to produce their Famous Screech Rum, although the treatment of these marques will not necessarily be exactly the same (Screech Spiced Rum is bottled at a full 50 % alcohol by volume, and Screech Honey Flavoured Rum at 35 % alcohol by volume).

The new family members are just now hitting the store shelves in Newfoundland and Labrador, and will soon be making their way across Canada and into parts of the USA. My own samples arrived just this morning, and you can expect my reviews in the next few weeks.

Posted in Dark Rums, Flavouerd Rums, Howls, Overproof Rum, Rum, Spiced Rum | Tagged: Flavoured Rum, Honey Rum, Newfoundland and labrador Liquor Corporation, Overproof Rum, Rum, Screech Rum, Spiced Rum | Comments Off on Screech Rum Adds Two Members to the Family

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