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Posts Tagged ‘Berry Bros. and Rudd’

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Review: No 3 London Dry Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 6, 2020

Berry Bros. & Rudd is London’s oldest wine and spirits merchant with over 300 years of experience and tradition to draw on. Use this expertise and a team of spirits experts they created No. 3 London Dry Gin. The recipe is based upon three fruits and three spices, and to those I shall speak to in the review. However, I shall say as a bit of foreshadowing, that sometimes artistry can be found in simplicity.

I first sampled the No. 3 Gin at a store called Lacombe Park Spirits in St. Albert, Alberta. I had come to know the proprietors, Karim and his brother Jeff, quite well over the past couple of years, and when Karim discovered that I was about to venture into a series of Gin reviews he insisted that I try one of his favourites.

I was convinced after one sip that this was a gin which I wanted to review, and after contacting the website for No. 3 London Dry Gin, Berry Brothers & Rudd, arranged for me to receive a bottle sample. This was the start of my love affair with No. 3 London Dry Gin. It’s been about nine years since that original review and I have returned to No. 3 Gin a few times already to re-taste and update my findings.

The quality is always present and it remains one of the best gins I have tasted.

Review: No 3 London Dry Gin

“… Juniper leads out strongly into the mouth and can knock the taste-buds for a loop if you grab too much at a time. Although the juniper is firm and unrelenting upon the palate, the other botanicals each leave their mark as well. A lightly sweet orange flavour tends to soften the juniper. The angelica root gives the gin an earthy quality which is no doubt strengthened by an herbal and pungent cardamom. A peppery spiciness is carried forward by the grapefruit and orange peel and this spiciness is strengthened by the cardamom and coriander spices …”

Please enjoy my review which concludes with two cocktail suggestions, Leo Engels’ 1878 Gin Cocktail. and the No. 3 Classic Martini.

Chimo!

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Review: The Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 22, 2017

black-cove-sam_3014Berry Bros. & Rudd is one of London’s oldest Wine and Spirits Merchant with over 300 years of experience and tradition from which to draw upon. The company began its operation at 3 – St. James’s Street (in London, UK) in 1698, and still operates from that same location today. Although they are primarily merchants of wine, the company has a strong presence in the sale of distilled spirits as well.

Berry Bros. & Rudd developed the Cutty Sark brand in 1923. In 2010 Cutty Sark (the brand) was sold to The Edrington Group. As part of the arrangement Berry Bros. & Rudd acquired The Glenrothes Single Malt Whisky brand.

The Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve is produced from 1992 Vintage stocks which were given an added maturation time in selected casks which were acquired from Islay. The intent od this second maturation was to add a hint of peat smoke to the Glenrothes Whisky flavour profile. This bottling represents the first such whisky produced by the distillery.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: The Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve

“… I taste a firm but mild herbal peat complemented by orange peel and oak spice. The flavour is sweetened just a little with a light winding of butterscotch. There is some menthol and herbal grassiness, and when I chew the whisky, an intense oak spiciness manifests itself with an increased build-up of malty sweetness …”

Please enjoy the review which concludes with my cocktail suggestion, the Black Cove.

Chimo!

 

 

Posted in Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: The Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve

Review: Penny Blue XO Single Estate Mauritius Rum (Batch #004)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 10, 2017

penny-blue-old-fashioned-sam_2973

Penny Blue Old Fashioned

Penny Blue XO Single Estate Mauritius Rum, is distributed in Western Canadian by Charton Hobbs. This spirit is produced by the Indian Ocean Rum Company which is a partnership between the local Medine Distillery on the Island of Mauritius and Berry Bros. & Rudd.

Penny Blue is a true Mauritian Rum, distilled from the locally produced molasses from the Medine Distillery’s home-grown sugar cane. According to the information provided to me, only 10,000 bottles of Batch #004 were produced. Thirty-four percent of the blended rum was matured in ex-bourbon casks, and sixty-six percent in ex-Whisky casks. The ages of those rums varied with the oldest being 11 years old. After blending, the rum is bottled at the Medine Estate.

Here is a link to my latest rum Review:

Review: Penny Blue XO Single Estate Mauritius Rum (Batch #004)

“… The initial breezes bring a yummy combination of butterscotch, vanilla, orange peel, oak spice, almond and leather. It is really quite nice especially as neither the sweetness of the butterscotch and vanilla, nor the sharpness of the oak and orange peel spice, nor the almond or leather dominate the breezes above the glass …”

Please enjoy the review which includes a nice cocktail suggestion, the Penny Blue Old Fashioned (pictured to the left).

Chimo!

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# 86 No. 3 London Dry Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 30, 2015

Berry Bros. & Rudd is London’s oldest wine and spirits merchant with over 300 years of experience and tradition to draw on. Use this expertise and a team of spirits experts they created No. 3 London Dry Gin. The recipe is based upon three fruits and three spices, and to those I shall speak to in the review. However, I shall say as a bit of foreshadowing, that sometimes artistry can be found in simplicity.

I first sampled the No. 3 Gin at a store called Lacombe Park Spirits in St. Albert, Alberta. I have come to know the proprietors, Karim and his brother Jeff, quite well over the past couple of years, and when Karim discovered that I was about to venture into a series of Gin reviews he insisted that I try one of his favourites.

London No. 3 SAM_1251I was convinced after one sip that this was a gin which I wanted to review, and after contacting the website for No. 3 London Dry Gin, Ross Hendry from Berry Brothers & Rudd, arranged for me to receive a bottle sample with of course the help of the local distributor Charton Hobbs.

Here is a link to my review of the #86 Spirit in my Rum Howler 2015 Top 100 Spirits Countdown:

#86 – No. 3 London Dry Gin

“… When that first sample was poured for me at Lacombe Spirits, the first thing I noticed was the assertiveness of the aroma around the glass. I commented to Karim (the proprietor of Lacombe Park Spirits) that this was exactly how I liked my gin to smell in the glass. The nose was full of juniper, but it was not sharp and unpleasant, rather it was full of aromatics which lifted the juniper scent out of the glass and then surrounded it with floral notes and a beguiling sweetness …”

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You may follow my Countdown list of the 100 Best Spirits here: The Rum Howler 2015 – Top 100 Spirits

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Review: Penny Blue XO Single Estate Mauritius Rum (Batch #002)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 16, 2015

bottleI was able to obtain a sample of Penny Blue XO Single Estate Mauritius Rum, from the Western Canadian distributor Charton Hobbs. This spirit is produced by the Indian Ocean Rum Company which is a partnership between the local Medine Distillery on the Island of Mauritius and the English spirits company, Berry Bros. & Rudd. Penny Blue is a true Mauritian Rum, distilled from the locally produced molasses from the Medine Distillery’s home-grown sugar cane.

According to the information provided to me, only 7000 bottles of Batch #002 were produced from 22 oak casks. Thirty percent of the rum was drawn from ex-Whisky casks, thirty percent from ex-Bourbon Casks, and 30 percent from ex-Cognac casks. The ages of these rums varied between 5 to 11 years. An astute person will note that this accounts for only ninety percent of the rum. The final ten percent of the rum was actually a portion drawn from Batch #001 which was added to the blend for additional flavour and complexity.

After blending the rum is bottled at the Medine Estate. This bottling strength may vary slightly from batch to batch, and Batch #002 was bottled at 43.2% alcohol by volume.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Penny Blue XO Single Estate Mauritius Rum (Batch #002)

“… The butterscotch aroma is accented by hints of tobacco and leather, and the oak spice brings impressions of orange peel and baking spice (in particular cinnamon and bits of nutmeg). There is an underlying impression of almond as well as a few floral notes. The overall impression I have is that the rum promises to be quite pleasant with perhaps just a touch of heat to add to its character …”

Please enjoy my review and the cocktail suggestion which follows, The Rum Club Cocktail!

Chimo!

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