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Posts Tagged ‘8 Year Old’

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Review: Appleton Estate Reserve 8 Year Old Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 8, 2020

The Appleton Estate is located in Nassau Valley in St. Elizabeth which is part of Jamaica’s Cockpit Country. The Cockpit Country is a karst formation which was formed over millions of years as the underlying limestone was eroded by the chemical action of rain.  Within a cockpit karst formation are valleys known as Poljes. They are formed where a river floods, then recedes and forms a flat valley over millions of years. The soil in the poljes is very fertile and rich in nutrients because of the sediments left behind after the river had receded.

Appleton Rum has made some changes to their core line-up in recent years adding a 15 Year Old Rum (see review here), and moving towards minimum age statements for a larger part of their family of rums.  In particular the Appleton Estate Reserve which was previously a blend of 20 rums with an average age of 6 years, is now an Age Stated Rum with a minimum age of 8 Years for the rums in the blend. The new Appleton Estate Reserve 8 Year Old Rum is also bottled at a higher bottling proof now 43 % abv instead of 40.

Here is a link to my review:

Review: Appleton Estate Reserve 8 Year Old Rum

“… When I bring the glass to my nose zesty oak spice is foremost in the breezes. My opinion is that the reserve is more oaky than before which makes sense as the spirit when previously reviewed was a rum with an average age of 6 year whereas now the spirit is at least 33 % more mature …”

Please enjoy my review of this sipping caliber rum.

Chimo!

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#Top100Rums of 2017 – #42 El Dorado 8 Year Old

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 9, 2017

According to the El Dorado Website, the El Dorado 8 Year old Cask Aged Rum is blended from selected stocks of rum which were produced from no less than four of DDL’s traditional Heritage Stills including both the original Wooden Coffey Still which was rescued from the Enmore Estate and the Double Wooden Pot Still which was rescued from the Port Mourant Estate. Each of these stills is well over 200 years old and they represent the last of their kind operating in the world today. The use of these ancient stills ensures that the Demerara Rum produced at DDL’s Diamond Distillery is unlike anything produced anywhere else in the world. (For more information on the unique Heritage Stills in operation at the Diamond distillery you may read my first hand account here (Diamond Distillery Tour).

Here is a link my newly revised review of the Rum Howler # 43 Rum of 2017:

Review: El Dorado 8 Year Old Cask Aged Rum

“… The rum exits with a glow of cinnamon and wood spices and flavours of delicious butterscotch. The butterscotch fades to bitter treacle, and the spicy glow remains well after the rum is swallowed. Near the very end of the taste experience, the rum begins to ooze bittersweet chocolate …”

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To follow the countdown list on a daily basis, you should follow me on twitter (Rum Howler on Twitter) using the hashtag #Top100Rums.

Alternatively you can view the list as it grows by viewing my Reveal Page:

The Rum Howler – Top 100 Rums of 2017

The Reveal Page will be updated at least weekly through September, October and November and then daily in December.

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Review: Barbancourt Reserve Speciale 8 Year Old Rhum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 8, 2017

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Haitian Gentleman

The world of Rum was saddened by the loss of Thierry Gardère. After stating that he wasn’t feeling well and was having trouble breathing, Gardère passed away on Wednesday February 27 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on the way to the hospital. Thierry Gardère was the fourth generation of his family to direct the Society du Rhum Barbancourt, which is the company responsible for the distillation and production of Rhum Barbancourt. Thierry was described to me as a real gentleman and benefactor to his country. When I learned of the sad news, I decided to pay a very small tribute to both the man and the rhum he produced by re-visitng my 7 year old review of the Barbancourt Reserve Speciale 8 Year Old Rhum.

Rhum Barbancourt is produced  in Port Au Prince on the Isle of Haiti. The Haitian company (founded by Dupré Barbancourt ) began producing rhum on March 18, 1862, distilling their spirit directly from sugar cane juice rather than using molasses.

Here is a link to my newly revised review:

Review: Barbancourt Reserve Speciale 8 Year Old Rhum

“… I notice smells of banana, orange peel, almond, vanilla and mild oak spices. The light butterscotch and brown sugar notes move into those light oak spices bringing yummy toffee forward and a few scattered baking spices. The almond notes I noticed initially are moving towards marzipan, and the orange peel is moving towards marmalade …”

I hope everyone enjoys my revised review and the cocktail suggestion, Haitian Gentleman which follows.

(My sincere condolences to all friends and family of Thierry Gardère, as well as to the staff and workers at Thierry Gardère who are mourning his loss.)

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Review: Gibson’s Finest Bold Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 6, 2016

Finest Buckeroo SAM_2611Gibson’s Finest recently released a brand new 8-year-old expression in Alberta, Gibson’s Finest Bold Canadian Whisky. What makes it ‘Bold’ is the bottling proof which is a full 46 % alcohol by volume which is a full 6 % more than the 40 % alcohol by volume bottlings which are standard for the Canadian Whisky category. The whisky also features what the media notes call a ‘bold deep colour’. The dark colour or the whisky combined with the higher bottling proof apparently are part of the reason why the producer claims the whisky is ‘specially crafted to deliver Canada’s Finest Rye and Cola’.

Here is a link to my latest Canadian Whisky review:

Review: Gibson’s Finest Bold Canadian Whisky

“… 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 …”

Please enjoy my review of this brand new Canadian Whisky!

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Gibson’s Finest Bold Canadian Whisky

Review: Rum Nation Jamaica Pot Still 8 Year Old Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 1, 2015

Jamaica_8yoRum Nation is an Italian company created by Fabio Rossi, who began his life in the spirits trade as a Oenologist (one who has studied wine-making). After his studies, Mr. Rossi left the wine business and started up a whisky company in Edinburgh (Wilson and Morgan) acting as an independent bottler of Single Malt Scotch Whisky. His interest turned to rum, and in 1999 Fabio Rossi founded Rum Nation. His company is headquartered in Italy; but Fabio purchases select rums from various distillers in the Caribbean and the Americas. As a result Rum Nation provides a rather unique assortment of limited edition bottlings. One such bottling is Rum Nation Jamaica 8 Year Old Rum (2015 release).

The 8 Year Old Jamaican Pot Still Rum was distilled in 2006 in a traditional Pot Still (distillery located St. Catherine, on the Island of Jamaica) and spent the first 7 years of its maturation on the island in ex-bourbon casks. From Jamaica, the rum was transported to Italy where it was transferred to ex-sherry casks (Oloroso), and then it spent an additional year aging in a cool wine cellar in the Piedmont. The final rum was bottled at a full 50 % alcohol by volume in Italy in 2015.

Pot Still Punch SAM_1674

Jamaican Pot Still Punch

According to Fabio Rossi:

“We decided to bottle at 50% because we wanted it to stay ballsy, and appeal to whisky drinkers!”

You may read my full review of this ‘ballsy’ rum by clicking on the following link:

Review:  Rum Nation Jamaica Pot Still 8 Year Old Rum

“… The breezes seem to be filled with baking spices (vanilla, cinnamon, and a touch of cloves), rich brown sugar, and sherry-like aromas of dark fruit (raisins and dates). I also sense a strong presence of orange peel which is typical of Jamaican rums. In the midst of those familiar rummy scents are the punky notes of the Pot Still …”

Please enjoy my review as well as the suggested punch recipe at its conclusion, Jamaican Pot Still Punch.

Happy Canada Day!

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