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Posts Tagged ‘Cocktails and Recipes’

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Review: Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 11, 2011

The Cruzan Rum Company is located on the Island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. The Island of St. Croix is the largest of the US Virgin islands, being approximately 28 miles long and 7 miles wide. Along with the tourism industry and one of the largest oil refineries in the Caribbean, the St. Croix economy is dependent to a large extent upon the Rum Industry as a major engine of their economic growth.

All of the Cruzan Rums are produced using a modern five column distillation method which produces a light bodied rum, the quality of which can be tightly controlled by the five column distillation. The rum is then aged in once used American oak bourbon barrels. The Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum is a relatively new offering, boasting 9 spices blended in an aged rum. The spices listed upon the Cruzan website are allspice, vanilla, pepper, ginger, mace, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and juniper berry. It is bottled at 40 per cent alcohol by volume and is, I believe, aged for up to two years in the aforementioned American Oak.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“… When I brought the glass to my nose I was struck by the scents of pungent spices mingling with the sweeter scents of caramel toffee. Vanilla, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and cloves are easily identified in the breezes although vague unfamiliar accents above the glass tell me that much more is going on…”

You may read my full review here:

Review: Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum

I have included a nice recipe,  Spiced Punch, for your enjoyment.

Please enjoy the recipe and the review!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavouerd Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum

Review: Hornitos Plata Tequila

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 9, 2011

Hornitos Plata Tequila is a 100 % Agave Tequila produced by the Sauza Tequila Import Company  located in Tequila, a municipality of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. The Tequila is the creation of Don Francisco Havier Sauza (Don Franco), a third generation member of the Sauza family who founded the La Preseverancia, distillery. Don Franco is credited with helping the Mexican Government to establish the Jalisco region of Mexico as the exclusive origin of genuine tequila in 1974.

According to the company website, the Plata is constructed to be a pure expression of the natural agave flavour of Tequila, and is made with no aging or contact with wood at all.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The entry into the mouth is spicy with more of that citrus than I noticed on the nose. The spicy taste is kind of like black pepper but with a touch of cloves and ginger thrown in. The vegetal earthiness of the Agave fruit lies under the spices accenting them with that punky agave taste but in some ways the earthiness takes a backseat to the pepper which becomes even spicier as you sip some more…”

Here is a Link to the Full Review:

Review: Hornitos Plata Tequila

Of course I have a cocktail recommendation which in this case is one of my own cocktails, The Green Ripper.

Please enjoy the cocktail and the Review!

Posted in Blanco Tequila, Cocktails & Recipes, Tequila, Tequila Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Hornitos Plata Tequila

Review: Chinook Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 7, 2011

Chinook Canadian Whisky is produced by Alberta Distillers Limited (ADL) in Calgary, Alberta. I do not know much about this whisky. It appears to be a relatively new brand on the Canadian Whisky landscape. The bottle tells me it is a five-year old Canadian Whisky bottled at 40 per cent alcohol by volume.  I received the bottle for review from Ravinder Minhas, of Mcbsw Sales Company Inc. who is the distributor of this spirit  where I live.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The nose from the glass is a pure expression of dusty dry Canadian rye whisky. There are a few hints of oak and vanilla but the rye is first and foremost. It is almost as if you can smell the field of ripening grain right there in the glass. I even smell bits of straw and chaff as if the autumn harvest is about to begin…”

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: Chinook Canadian Whisky

Of course I have offered a suggested recipe at the end of the review and have included a link to that recipe here:

The Canadian Cooler

Please enjoy the review and the included recipe.

Cheers!!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Chinook Canadian Whisky

Review: Famous Newfoundland Screech Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 4, 2011

The Famous Newfoundland Screech is a Jamaican blend, the roots of its ancestry tracing back over 300 years to when fishing fleets from Newfoundland, with their cargo of Northern Cod and North Atlantic Tuna, traveled south and established a tradition of trade with Jamaica for that elixir of the Caribbean, known as rum. This trade established Newfoundland as one of the major portals for the legal import (and of course a little illegal smuggling) of rum into Canada. There have always been a good variety of rum brands on the shelves of my local liquor store which began their journey westward across Canada from the easternmost Province of Newfoundland and Labrador; the most famous of these brands is certainly the Screech Rum.

According to my correspondence with the Newfounland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC), Screech is a blend of 4 marques that are produced in the same distillery as Appleton Estate Rum. All of the marques are aged in once used white oak bourbon barrels for a minimum of 2 years. The final blend is bottled at 40 % (abv).

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“… As you fist sip the rum you will find that it full of molasses flavour with those typical Jamaican Rum flavours of banana and orange peel heating the palate alongside that molasses. As the rum sits in the glass, the heat subsides and you can notice charred caramel and baking spices beginning to build. The rum is moderately complex, and there are nice nuances of flavour if you look for them…”

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: Famous Newfoundland Screech Rum

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Famous Newfoundland Screech Rum

Review: Black Stallion Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 2, 2011

Black Stallion Vodka is a product of Black Stallion Spirits, a Calgary, Alberta based company which has been importing Russian Vodka since 2002.  This is an authentic Russian Vodka distilled at the Kratos Distillery, one of the oldest producers of liquor products in Russia. The distillery was fully reconstructed and modernized in 1997, and a new main building was constructed with modern equipment installed.

There is a lot of information on the back of the bottle; but, unfortunately for me it is all written in Russian.  I would have liked this information to be translated as I like to read about the heritage of the spirit I am sampling, but I can glean from the bottle that it is a 750 ml size, and the spirit is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

Here is an excerpt from the review:

“… As we all took our first full swallow of the Black Stallion, I noticed the spirit imparted some real warmth to my palate and the back of my throat. The vodka was carrying some hotter rye-like spices from the grain distillate forward….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Black Stallion Vodka

As well I hope you enjoy the recipe at the end of the review, The Vodka Darby Cocktail.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Vodka, Vodka Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Black Stallion Vodka

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