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Posts Tagged ‘2019’

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24 Days of Rum (#12) – Coloma 8 Anos Rum (Colombia)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 12, 2019

We have returned to the South American Continent for the twelfth day of my Christmas Rum Advent.  Coloma 8 Anos Rum is produced in Colombia at the Hacienda Coloma which is a coffee estate located south of Bogota, 1700 meters above see level. The Hacienda Coloma does not appear to have a rum distillery attached to its facility so it is likely that the rum bottled at the coffee estate was produced elsewhere (there are a couple of likely candidates within Colombia). According to the Ron Coloma website this is a molasses based, age stated rum, which was matured continuously in American oak barrels. (Non Solera Aging).

What makes the rum unique, is that after the initial aging, the spirit is then finished in barrels previously used for aging Coloma coffee liqueur. Thus a light ribbon of coffee flavour can be expected to be found within the rum’s flavour profile.

Here is a link to my tasting notes and scores for the No. 12 spirit in the 24 Days of Rum – The Original Rum Tasting Box:

Review: Coloma 8 Anos Rum

“… Oak spice, vanilla and butterscotch melded with almond and orange peel. Obvious notes of chocolate and a light imprint of tobacco. Coffee notes are subtle and do not disturb the well structured rum. …”

Chimo!

Note: 24 Days of Rum – The Original Rum Tasting Box produced by 1423 World Class Spirits contains 24 handpicked rums from 24 different countries all over the world. It features an extraordinary opportunity to sample a wide variety of premium rums allowing you to hone in on the particular style which suits your palate. As indicated in my previously published review (here) This Rum Advent Calendar is a highly recommended gift for the rum enthusiast.

 

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24 Days of Rum (#10) – Ginebra San Miguel Anejo Dark Rum (Philippines)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 10, 2019

Day 10 of the 24 Days of rum Advent Calendar brings us to Manila in the Philippines. Ginebra San Miguel Anejo Dark Rum was a very hard spirit to research. It appears to be a small production rum sold mainly into Taiwan. Possibly the rum is related to the spirit formerly known as Tondena Distiller’s Anejo Dark Rum (the label is similar).

I say this because Tondena Distillers Limited were recently purchased by Ginebra San Miguel, a diversified beverage company majority-owned by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) located in the Philippines. It would make sense that they would be re-branding some of the Tondena spirits as Ginebra San Miguel.

Here is a link to my tasting notes and scores for the tenth spirit in the 24 Days of Rum – The Original Rum Tasting Box:

Review: Ginebra San Miguel Anejo Dark Rum

“… Oak spice, touch of treacle and a welling of baking spices (vanilla, cinnamon and clove). Roasted Marshmallow, orange peel, marzipan and tobacco …”

Chimo!

Note: 24 Days of Rum – The Original Rum Tasting Box produced by 1423 World Class Spirits contains 24 handpicked rums from 24 different countries all over the world. It features an extraordinary opportunity to sample a wide variety of premium rums allowing you to hone in on the particular style which suits your palate. As indicated in my previously published review (here) This Rum Advent Calendar is a highly recommended gift for the rum enthusiast.

 

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on 24 Days of Rum (#10) – Ginebra San Miguel Anejo Dark Rum (Philippines)

The 2019 Canadian Whisky Awards – Full Awards Listing

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 22, 2019

Here is the full listing of the 2019 Canadian Whisky Awards which are held annually in conjunction with the Victoria Whisky Festival. These awards recognize the very best Canadian whiskies and encourage distillers to maintain the highest quality standards. To qualify, the whisky must be distilled and matured in Canada. An independent panel of whisky experts selects the winners after tasting each whisky blind. Operated on a not-for-profit basis, the Canadian Whisky Awards are fully independent of the Canadian whisky industry.

Awards:

  • Lifetime Achievement – John K. Hall
  • Flavoured Whisky Export – Black Velvet Toasted Caramel
  • Flavoured Whisky Multi-market – Crown Royal Salted Caramel
  • Whisky Value Domestic – Wayne Gretzky No. 99 Red Cask
  • Whisky Value Export – Pendleton
  • Whisky Value Multi-market – Crown Royal Blender’s Mash
  • Sippin’ Whisky Domestic – Canadian Rockies 21yo
  • Sippin’ Whisky Export – Rich and Rare Reserve
  • Sippin’ Whisky Multi-market – Pike Creek Rum Barrel
  • Award of Excellence – Innovation – Shelter Point Montfort DL
  • Award of Excellence – Line Extension – Corby NHL Alumni Series
  • Best Whisky Spirit – Ancient Grains
  • Artisanal Distiller of the Year – Last Mountain Distillery
  • Distillery of the Year – JP Wiser’s Distillery
  • Flavoured Whisky Domestic – Forty Creek Cream
  • Connoisseur Whisky Domestic – Canadian Club 41yo
  • Connoisseur Whisky Export – Crown Royal Blender’s Mash 13
  • Connoisseur Whisky – Multi-market – JP Wiser’s 35yo
  • Best New Whisky – Bearface
  • Best Single Malt Whisky – Two Brewers Release 10
  • Best All-Rye Whisky – Forty Creek 22yo Rye
  • Best Blended Whisky – Gooderham and Worts Eleven Souls
  • Blender of the Year  – Don Livermore

And, the 2019 Canadian whisky of the year is

  • Forty Creek 22yo Rye

Gold Medals

Bearface
Canadian Club 41 YO
Canadian Club Classic Small Batch 12 yo
Canadian Rockies 21 yo
Caribou Crossing Single Barrel
Crown Royal 13 year old Blenders Mash
Crown Royal Black
Crown Royal Blenders Mash
Crown Royal XR
Forty Creek 22 yo Rye
Gooderham and Worts Eleven Souls
Gooderham and Worts Four Grain
JP Wiser’s Alumni Whisky Series Wendell Clark
J P Wiser’s 35 yo
JP Wiser’s Canada 2018
Last Mountain Single Cask Wheat Whisky
Lot 40 11 yo Cask Strength
Lot No. 40
Pendleton 1910-12 year old
Pike Creek 21 yo European Finish
Pike Creek Double Barreled Canadian Whisky
Rich and Rare Reserve
Shelter Point Montfort DL
Two Brewers Release 9
Wayne Gretzky No 99 Ninety Nine Proof Whisky

Silver Medals

Black Velvet Onyx
Canadian Club Chairman’s Select 100% Rye
Canadian Rockies 17 yo
Crown Royal LImited Edition
Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye
Crown Royal Reserve
Crown Royal Wine Barrel Finished
Crown Royal XO
De Vine Ancient Grains
Forty Creek Barrel Select
Forty Creek Confederation Oak
Forty Creek Cream
Forty Creek Double Barrel
Forty Creek Unity
Gibsons Finest Bold 8 YO
Gibsons Finest Rare 12 YO
Gibsons Finest Venerable 18 YO
JP Wiser’s Alumni Whisky Series Guy Lafleur
JP Wiser’s Seasoned Oak
JP Wiser’s Triple Barrel Aged 10 Years
JP Wiser’s Triple Barrel Rye 43.4%
Lohin McKinnon Chocolate Malt
Lohin McKinnon Lightly Peated Single Malt
Pendleton Midnight
Pendleton Whisky
Shelter Point Classic Single Malt the Strath Edition
Shelter Point Double Barrelled
Stalk and Barrel Canadian Red Blend
Two Brewers Rel 10
Wayne Gretzky No 99 Ice Cask Whisky
Wayne Gretzky No 99 Red Cask Whisky
Wiser’s Special Blend

Bronze Medals

100 Bushels
Alberta Premium
Black Velvet
Black Velvet Reserve
Black Velvet Toasted Caramel
Canadian Club Barley Batch
Canadian Club Premium 1858
Canadian Mist
Central City Brewing Peeled Orange Liqueur
Collingwood
Collingwood Double Barreled Whisky
Crown Royal Deluxe
Crown Royal Regal Apple
Crown Royal Salted Caramel
Crown Royal Texas Mesquite
Crown Royal Vanilla
Fils du Roy Appalachia’s Canadian Rye
Fils du Roy single malt whisky homage at Congres Mondrian Acadian 2019
Fils du Roy Single Malt, Richelieu International
Forty Creek Copper Pot
Forty Creek Spike
Gibson’s Finest Sterling
Glen Saanich
Golden Stag
High River
JP Wiser’s 18 YO
JP Wiser’s 15 YO
JP Wiser’s Apple
JP Wiser’s Deluxe
JP Wiser’s Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail
JP Wiser’s Triple Barrel rye 45%
JP Wiser’s Vanilla
Last Mountain Single Cask Rye
Last Mountain Single Malt
Le Rye Sivo
Le Single Malt Sivo
Lohin McKinnon Tequila Barrel Finished
Masterson’s 10 YO Straight Rye Whiskey
NHL Alumni Series, Lanny McDonald
North of 7 4-Grain
North of 7 95% rye
Pemberton Valley Single Malty, 8 YO Single Barrel Organic
Royal Canadian Small Batch
Royal Reserve
Schenley Golden Wedding
Shelter Point Avant-Garde Barley
Shelter Point Cask Strength
Shelter Point Single Malt
Stalk and Barrel 100% Rye Cask Strength
Stalk and Barrel Blue Blend
Stalk and Barrel Single Malt Cask Strength
Two Brewers Rel 11
Two Brewers Release 8
Walkers Special Old Rye

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Forty Creek Rye (aged 22 Years) Named CWA 2019 Whisky of the Year

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 21, 2019

This year I was once again honoured to be part of the judging panel for The Annual Canadian Whisky Awards and the results are in. The Canadian Whisky Awards – Whisky of the Year is an all-rye whisky, distilled 22 years ago at Forty Creek Distillery in Grimsby, Ontario.

After blind tastings of well over 100 whiskies, 10 independent whisky experts have declared Forty Creek 22 Year Old Rye as Canadian Whisky of the Year in the ninth annual Canadian Whisky Awards.

Held each January at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, BC, as part of the Victoria Whisky Festival, the Canadian Whisky Awards recognize the very best whiskies produced in Canada.

Awards founder, Davin de Kergommeaux described Forty Creek 22 year-old Rye as:

“A huge, yet elegant rye whisky, just bursting with complex flavours.”

Other top accolades went to whiskies from JP Wiser’s, Canadian Club, Crown Royal, and Gooderham and Worts.

Forty Creek founder, John K. Hall was announced as the first member of the Canadian Whisky Hall of Fame, while Dr. Don Livermore was named Blender of the Year.

According to de Kergommeaux:

“Every year the whiskies are just that much better than the year before. Top whiskies from five or six years ago might earn a silver medal today.  The competition is that intense.”

As the Canada’s pre-eminent Canadian whisky competition, the independent judging panel, served up some surprise honours to relative newcomers such as Saskatchewan’s Last Mountain Distillery which took home top spot as Micro-Distillery of the Year.

If this year’s record setting submissions are an indication, Canadian whisky fans have an extremely exciting 2019 to look forward to.

Note: About the Canadian Whisky Awards: The Canadian Whisky Awards, held annually in conjunction with the Victoria Whisky Festival, recognize the very best Canadian whiskies and encourage distillers to maintain the highest quality standards. To qualify, the whisky must be distilled and matured in Canada. An independent panel of whisky experts selects the winners after tasting each whisky blind. Operated on a not-for-profit basis, the Canadian Whisky Awards are fully independent of the Canadian whisky industry.

 

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

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