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Posts Tagged ‘Cocktail’

Review: Bloom London Dry Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 20, 2017

Sentimental Lady

Sentimental Lady

Bloom is a London Dry Gin created by Master Distiller, Joanne Moore. The spirit is intended to be a floral gin which, although it has a secret botanical recipe, relies on four botanicals in particular: juniper berries from Tuscany; chamomile from France; and honeysuckle and pomelo from China for the main essence of its flavour.

According to Joanne Moore:

Honeysuckle provides a special sweetness that’s a bit like candied fruit, and it’s this that delivers the gin’s unparalleled sweetness. I balanced this with calming chamomile to hold the flavour together and rounded it off with citrus notes from the pomelo.

(Bloom Gin is a product of G&J Distillers (Greenall))

Here is a link to my latest Gin Review:

Review: Bloom London Dry Gin

” … The breezes bring me a bouquet of pansies and wild flowers plucked from a garden meadow. These floral scents are not heavy and full of perfume, rather they are firm but light and refreshing in the air above the glass. The floral notes are accompanied by bright citrus notes (lemon and grapefruit) with everything wrapped around a light but firm juniper presence …”

Please enjoy my review which includes my cocktail suggestion, The Sentimental Lady.

Chimo!

 

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Review: Sid’s Handcrafted Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 6, 2017

okerlund-sam_2960

‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund’s Cocktail

Sid’s Handcrafted Vodka is produced by Goodridge & Williams, an independent craft distilling company located in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). According to the company website, the Vodka is produced from a slow distillation using traditional copper pot-still. I should note that the label on the bottle clarifies this information stating that the distillation process includes distillation through 38 column plates. The spirit is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

I  sampled three other new vodkas in a tasting flight with Sid’s Handcrafted Vodka (Foothills, Tryst, and Provincial Vodka). I served each of the spirits chilled where I sipped them each neat, swallowed shots, and then sampled each with a variety of foods. I finished the tasting with some cocktails made from each spirit.

Here is a link to my newest Vodka Review:

Review: Sid’s Handcrafted Vodka

“… I took a cautious sniff at the breezes above the glass and I noticed a touch of creme de fresh on the nose with vanilla pudding and cream of wheat porridge. The impression was subtle but it was quite pleasant. When I took a small sip, those aromatic impressions manifested upon the palate as light flavours of lemon and citrus zest melded with vanilla and some of that cream of wheat porridge …”

Please enjoy my review which includes a mixed drink suggestion, ‘Mean” Gene Okerlund’s Cocktail!

Chimo!

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Cocktail Hour: The Hummingbird

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 12, 2016

It is quite common when mixing tiki drinks to mix two disparate rums with different flavour profiles in order to bring the best of both to the final cocktail. I like to do the same when making cocktails with brandy and cognac. Specifically, I like to mix a young vibrant spirit with a well aged brandy or XO Cognac in sour cocktails. A ribbon of strong overt oak spice (from the well aged spirit) seems to take these cocktails to a whole new level.

hummingbird-sam_2779That is the theme for the following cocktail. (My wife insisted that I call the serving, The Hummingbird, as it is named for the avian visitor which has been dropping by the hanging flowers by our back window this fall.)

Hummingbird

1 oz H by Hine Fine Champagne VSOP (click here for review)
1/2 oz Hine Antique XO Premier Cru
3/4 oz Orange Juice
3/8 oz Lemon Juice
3/8 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Sugar Syrup
dash Angostura Bitters
Ice
Twist of Orange Peel

Add the first seven ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice
Shake until the outside of the shaker begins to frost
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with a Twist of Orange Peel

Please Enjoy Responsibly!

If  you are interested in more of my original cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

Note: My Review for Hine Antique XO Premier Cru Cognac will publish tomorrow, Chimo!

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Cocktail Hour: The Cane Mutiny

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 9, 2016

The Captain Morgan Media Team sent me a recipe for their Jack-O’Blast Rum which mixed the pumpkin spiced spirit with Ginger Beer and Lime. It was basically a Moscow Mule made with their spiced rum instead of with Vodka, and paying homage to the cocktail which inspired the serving, they called their suggested libation a Mutiny Mule.

Mutiny Mule

1.5 oz. Captain Morgan Jack-O’Blast
3 oz. Ginger Beer
0.5 oz. Lime Juice

Combine all ingredients in a glass filled with ice, stir and garnish with a lime wedge.

the-cane-mutiny-sam_2842

The Cane Mutiny

I quite enjoyed the serving, but decided to make a few small changes which I felt more firmly highlighted the Pumpkin Spiced flavour of their new rum. The first change was to alter the proportions such that the Jack-O’Blast Rum was the dominant ingredient within the cocktail. Then I replaced the Ginger Beer with Ginger Ale which is not nearly so spicy and therefore allowed the Pumpkin Spiced Rum to be the star of the serving.

I decided to call my recipe, The Cane Mutiny.

The Cane Mutiny

2 oz Captain Morgan Jack-O’Blast Spiced Rum
3/8 oz fresh Lime Juice
dash Sugar Syrup (to taste)
1 1/2 oz Ginger-ale
Ice
Lime Slice for garnish

Add all of the ingredients into a Mixing glass
Stir Gently
Pour into a rocks glass filled with ice
Enjoy Responsibly!

Note: If  you are interested in more of my cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more mixed drink recipes!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: My Review of the Captain Morgan Jack-O’Blast Spiced Rum will publish tomorrow, Chimo!

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Cocktail Hour: Bourbon and Ginger

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 28, 2016

Although I like short cocktails (shaken or stirred), the truth is that when I am on my back deck with friends, I usually do not want to take the time to measure everything into my cocktail shaker or mixing glass let alone taking even more time to shake and double strain the final serving into a fancy glass. I just want a simple bar drink that I can sip on. I call these simple servings, deck drinks.

bourbon-and-ginger-sam_2760The best deck drinks have only three ingredients, a base spirit, a mixer (soda or juice) and ice. And in fact, it is not unusual for me to have a variety of juice and sodas with ice in my back yard cooler so everyone who has joined me can mix their own servings with whichever spirit they happen to have brought over that day.

Recently I had an opportunity to taste Buck 8 Year Old Bourbon on my friend’s back yard deck. I decided that the long winding grassy flavours within the spirit made it perfect base for a Bourbon and Ginger-ale deck drink.

Bourbon and Ginger

2 oz Buck 8 Year Old Bourbon
2 oz Ginger ale
Ice

In a rocks glass add ice
Pour Bourbon over ice
add splash of Ginger-ale
Stir

Enjoy Responsibly!

Note: If  you are interested in more of my cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

Note: My review for Buck 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon publishes tomorrow.

Chimo!

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