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Review: Sheringham Seaside Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 30, 2020

Sheringham Distillery is located in Sooke B.C., a locale which overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Southern Vancouver Island. The name ‘Sheringham” is an homage to the name original name given to the area in 1846. When the first postal service arrived and the first Post Office was built, the name Sheringham was shortened to ‘Shirley’ so that it would fit properly on the postage stamp. (The Distillery was originally located at Shirley B.C which is about 20 minutes north of Sooke.)

Sheringham Seaside Gin is produced from B.C. grown white wheat and malted barley, natural botanicals and sustainable hand-harvested local winged kelp (Alaria marginata). Named botanicals on the back of the bottle also include, juniper, Coriander, Citrus, Rose, Anise and Lavender. The spirit has won a string of awards, a Silver Medal at the San Fransisco Spirit Awards in 2017, a CASC Gold medal in 2018, and in 2019 at the World Gin Awards the spirit was named World’s Best Contemporary Gin.

I served Sheringham Seaside Gin at a tasting event I held for my friends, and some of the commentary included in the review includes their thoughts as well as my own.

Here is a link to my review:

Review: Sheringham Seaside Gin

“… The Seaside gin was bringing a beautifully balanced aroma of juniper accented with bright citrus and spicy coriander into the air. There was a nice floral flair accompanying those olfactory sensations, and meandering within all of that was a light breezy quality that reminded everyone of the seashore perhaps even with a hint of salt …”

Please enjoy my review which concludes with my serving suggestion, The Lady of the Empire.

Chimo!

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Review: Chamarel VSOP Rum (2006) 

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 28, 2020

La Rhumerie de Chamarel is located on the Island Nation of Mauritius which is situated several hundred miles east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The distillery cultivates its own sugarcane with a harvest is done by hand, without ever burning the crops. Freshly harvested sugarcane is transferred to the Distillery within within 4 hours of being cut to preserve its freshness and aromas.

Chamarel VSOP is produced from rums distilled on both the plate column (90 %) and the copper still (10 %).  Each style of rum is aged separately for 4 to 6 years in Ex-American Oak Barrels & Ex-French Oak Barrels in the La Rhumerie de Chamarel aging cellars.

Here is a link to my completed review:

Review: Chamarel VSOP Rum (2006)

” … I notice lots of fine oak spice in the breezes mingling with vanilla and butterscotch. There is also a nice herbal note which began as a wisp, but soon grew in stature asserting itself into the oak and butterscotch. I also begin to notice notes resembling dried raisins, almonds, orange peel, camphor, as well as hints of cinnamon and mint …”

Please enjoy the review which now includes a nice recipe suggestion, the Mauritian Persbyterian Cocktail.

Chimo!

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Review: Crown Crown Royal Wine Barrel Finished Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 26, 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 Wine Barrel Finished Whisky is part of the Noble Collection and the spirit is a result of a special finish given to selected Crown Royal Whiskies which have been extra matured for six months in freshly emptied Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from the Paso Robles region of California.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Crown Crown Royal Wine Barrel Finished Whisky

“… The initial aroma is rich with butterscotch, vanilla, dry spicy grain, light baking spice and almond. As the glass rests dusty grain and fine wood spice build in the breezes with light tobacco smells and spicy citrus peel …”

Please enjoy the review:

Chimo!

 

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Review: Crown Royal Texas Mesquite 

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 25, 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 global spirits conglomerate Diageo, and I think it is fair to say that Crown Royal is Diageo’s flagship Canadian whisky.

Crown Royal Texas Mesquite is a blend of Crown Royal Deluxe which according to the Crown Royal Website has been infused with the smoky soul of locally sourced Texas mesquite wood. The spirit is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume, and sold in the Crown Royal decanter shown below.

Here is a link to my review of this unique flavoured Whisky:

Review: Crown Royal Texas Mesquite

“… When I brought the glass to my nose a sour note was evident which was followed by what seemed like a hint of herbal peat which of course is actually the imprint of mesquite wood upon the whisky. A sharp note of orange peel was evident as well. As I let the spirit breathe firm butterscotch, candied orange peel and fine oak spices joined in …”

Please enjoy the review, Chimo!

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Review: Last Straw Distillery Golden Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 23, 2020

The Last Straw Distillery is Ontario’s smallest production micro-distillery located at 40 Pippin Rd. in Vaughan, Ontario (a wee bit north of Toronto) just off Highway 400 and around the corner from Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre.

I reviewed The distillery’s Gin Twenty-One last year and found myself very impressed that this relatively young distillery was making such a nice gin so quickly. This led me to inquiring about their aged Golden Gin which I was planning to review last summer. I did manage to include the spirit in a blind Twitter Tasting where I pitted the spirit against two other oaked gins, but the review never materialized due to some unexpected tribulations on the home front.

When I checked Last Straw’s website (here) I saw that this limited edition Gin was still available so I included it in my first Gin Tasting of 2020 and have decided to complete that review today.

Here is a link to the new review:

Review: Last Straw Distillery Golden Gin

” … Piny juniper, hints of licorice/fennel, bits of coriander and citrus peel. Maybe a hint of sandalwood and ginger. and some vague lemon balm. Something vegetable creeping into the breezes …

Please enjoy my review which concludes with my serving suggestion, the Lemon Fizz.

Chimjo!

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