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Posts Tagged ‘2016 Rum Howler Top 50’

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The Rum Howler 2016 Top 50 Mixing Rums Countdown (#45 – #41)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 23, 2016

2016rum_howler_badgeToday’s entries in my Rum Howler 2016 Top 50 Mixing Rums Countdown do well to represent the range of rum styles available to bartenders and mixologists. We have an overproof white rum from Jamaica, a dark rum from Newfoundland and Labrador, a three-year aged rum from Belize, a spiced rum from Guyana, and a flavoured rum from Kenny Chesney.

I had great fun throughout the year making & scoring my cocktails for each of these rums. Some of them, (like Old Sam) I hadn’t tasted for years. Others (like the Wray and Nephew Overproof White) I tasted for the first time.

Here are the next five Mixing Rums in my 2016 Countdown:

Wray And Nephew Overproof#45  Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum

” … Mojitos, Mai Tai and Tiki drinks, and Daiquiris all seem to plausible destinations for this intense, fruity, ester filled rum. In that vein of thought, I went in went in a very specific Tiki direction first and crafted a variation on the basic Zombie Cocktail. Then I crafted what I called a High Test Daiquiri. I loved both recipes, although I admit the High Test Daiquiri might be an acquired taste for some as the full throttle flavour of Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum pushes right through the lime …”

old-sam#44  Old Sam Demerara Rum

“… The molasses and caramel flavours release a few baking spices onto the palate and I detect a nice nutty element as well which reminds me of walnuts and Brazil nuts. Old Sam is an ‘old style’ rum blend which tastes of molasses and tobacco. It is perhaps a little rougher than I expected; but I found that when I mixed a little of this rum half and half with cola and added and ice-cube, I was very happy with the results …”

bluechair_coconut#43  Blue Chair Bay Coconut Rum

“… I mixed a nice tall deck drink for myself mixing the coconut rum with a bit of lemon juice and some blue Curacao (see recipe below) and sat in the afternoon sun enjoying the mingling flavours of my cocktail. The Blue Chair Bay Coconut Rum promises to be a nice addition to my growing staple of summertime mixing spirits …”

3 Barrel#42  Travellers (Parrot) 3 Barrel Aged Rum

“… The Travellers 3 Barrel Rum is what I would consider to be a nice introductory sipping rum which will suit a large variety of palates. It has a flavour profile that tends just a little to the sweet side of the flavour path, but this sweetness is tempered with just enough oak to make the rum delicious. The rum also mixes very well. I sampled some with cola and with ginger-ale to equal delight. I made some cocktails with fruit juice as well and everything always seemed to work out nicely …”

el-dorado-spiced#41  El Dorado Spiced 

“… I poured a few friends a glass of the El Dorado Spiced, as part of my review process, and solicited their opinion as to how well it stacked up both neat and mixed with cola. The opinions expressed by my friends match my own as we all enjoyed our libations and thought the El Dorado Spiced and Cola tasted especially nice. The spicy thrust from the rum pushes through the cola without becoming cloying or overwhelming …”

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Stay tuned for more mixing rum revelations as I will be adding five more rums to this list shortly.

And you can follow the rankings by bookmarking this page:

The Rum Howler 2016 Top 50 Mixing Rums Countdown

Posted in Awards, Extras, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Rum Howler 2016 Top 50 Canadian Whisky Countdown (#45 – #41)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 22, 2016

rum-howler-top-50-2016The Rum Howler 2016 Top 50 Canadian Whisky Countdown continues today with five more tasty Canadian spirits, two of which (Forty Creek Harmony, and Gibson’s Finest Bold) were released within the past two years, two of the spirits, Crown Royal De Luxe, and J.P Wiser’s De Luxe are considered flagships for their brands, and Pike Creek 10 Year Old is an experimental whisky which saw part of its maturation take place in vintage Port barrels.

I should point out the re-branding of the entire Wiser’s family of whiskies which now pay homage to the company’s founder by adding his initials J.P. to the brand name. The flagship whisky of the J.P. Wiser’s brand, J.P. Wiser’s De Luxe Canadian Rye Whisky makes a respectable showing in my countdown locking down the number 41 spot.

Here are the next five spirits in my 2016 Canadian Whisky Countdown:

forty-creek-harmony-sam_2633#45  Forty Creek Three Grain Harmony

“… The initial nose is rich with butterscotch and toffee and moderately spicy oak and tree sap.  As the glass sits two notes capture my attention, one which appeals to me strongly, a rich spicy rye note full of ginger and fresh grain, and one note which seems discordant, a sour dank fruit-filled note of fermented apricot and sour mash. I decided to allow the glass to breath for a full ten minutes to see if the two notes could come together, but in the end I remained unconvinced of the harmony. Although the triumvirate of  toffee, rye and oak spice is very appealing …”

crown-royal-sam_2753#44  Crown Royal Whisky

“… In the past this blend was very corn forward, it seems that this year (2016) more rye is apparent as breezes above the glass reveal a mixture of both corn and obvious rye grain. There is a nice mixture of lightly sweet caramel and oak sap melding into those corn and rye scents with some dusty dry wood and grain spices following …”

Gibson Bold SAM_2610#43  Gibson’s Finest Bold

“… When I bring my nose to the glass, a caramel note is quite obvious and sits out in front of the oak spice and whisky grain. I allowed the glass to breathe and soon noticed a building fruitiness of canned pears and baked apples. As time passes vanilla with a touch of cinnamon emerges and melds into the caramel note which now resembles the smell of baking cinnamon buns …”

pike-creek-sam_2805#42   Pike Creek 10 Year Old Canadian Whisky

“… When I tasted this whisky in a blind format a few years ago, I remarked upon the fruitiness of the spirit with all those sherry-like flavours of ripe cherries, black berries and dry fruit. Knowing as I do now that the whisky was finished in Vintage Port barrels my formerly blind observations make sense to me. It is the fruitiness of the Port barrels leaving their mark upon the whisky. These lovely berry flavours are offset by oak spice, ginger and some scattered white pepper …”

J.P. Wiser's deluxe SAM_2268#41   J.P. Wiser’s Deluxe Canadian Rye Whisky

“… The breezes above the glass now are tainted with maple and butterscotch scents however the dry wood and rye spices continue to pour out. There is a bit of orange peel mixed into that spiciness as well as impressions of fresh grain and light impressions of baking spice (mostly speckles of vanilla and cinnamon). As one who loves Canadian Whisky, I am pleased by the aroma although I must be fair and note that a light touch of astringency accompanies the rye and wood spice …”

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Please enjoy my Countdown of the Best Canadian Whiskies of 2016. Stay Tuned for numbers 40 through 35, Chimo!

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* You may follow my Canadian Whisky Countdown by bookmarking this link:

The Rum Howler – Top 50 Canadian Whiskies of 2016

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Rum Howler 2016 Top 50 Canadian Whisky Countdown (#45 – #41)

Rum Howler Annual Rum Countdown (Best Mixing Rums)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 16, 2016

In addition to my Top 50 Canadian Whisky Countdown, I have been working on another special project during the year that is 2016 as I have been building, tasting and rating cocktails in secret throughout the year. As a result of these efforts, my annual 2016 Christmas Season Rum Countdown is going to be a little different from years past.

rum-fun-sam_2865

royaloakRather than building a list of the best premium rums this year, my Rum Howler year-end list will feature the very best rums (which I have tasted) which all of us love to serve in cocktails. (Those mixed drinks included the Rum Old Fashioned, the Cuba Libre, the Mojito, and the Daiquiri as well as libations specific to the class of rum I was rating.) Not only does my year-end rum list feature a completely different selection od spirits this year, it is also larger than ever with 50 spirits included for your cocktail enjoyment.

It is my intention that this list represents only those rums we love to mix. Therefore, all of the rums on this list would carry an age statement of less than 5 years. Additionally, if the rum was blended from spirit of different ages, then I used my best judgement to exclude any rum which would carry an average age of 5 or more years. Finally I also excluded any spirit which was marketed as a premium sipping rum. (Just to be clear, although these are all ‘Mixing Rums’, the truth is that many are just fine on their own as sippers giving the rum connoisseur the best of both worlds.)

As with any such list, there is always that one spirit which just missed being included. In this case it is Angostura Royal Oak Select Rum which landed in the #51 spot. And so today, as a sort of prequel to my Rum Howler 2016 Top 50 Mixing Rums Countdown, I thought I would re-introduce you all to this fine rum from Angostura:

#51 Mixing Rum of 2016: Angostura Royal Oak Select Rum

“… I mixed a few bar drinks in my examinations beginning with the quintessential cocktail for a young amber rum, the Cuba Libre’. I followed that up with a Rum and Ginger cocktail and then a simple Daiquiri. Although all of the cocktails tasted nice, strangely enough I preferred the daiquiri. Of course, when I referred to my original review of this rum which I wrote almost five years ago, I saw that I had come to the same conclusion …”

Please enjoy my review of the Angostura Royal Oak Select Rum, and stay tuned for my Rum Howler 2016 Top 50 Mixing Rum Countdown!

The reveal begins on November 21st, Chimo!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Rum Howler Annual Rum Countdown (Best Mixing Rums)

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