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Posts Tagged ‘Cocktails and Recipes’

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Review: McDowells No. 1 Celebration Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 17, 2011

Depending upon which website you visit, McDowell’s No. 1 Celebration Rum is listed as either the 3rd or the 4th best-selling rum in the World with sales of over 6 million cases per year. It is the largest selling rum in India with a market share between 38 and 40 percent. My research indicates that the McDowell’s No. 1 Celebration Rum is a result of a multiple distillation production which uses 5 copper column stills. The rum is aged for at least 3 years in oak barrels before being blended and bottled. Because the information from the various websites I visited was somewhat contradictory, I would not want to claim that these are solid facts, they should more reasonably be assumed to be good estimations.

The rum is distilled, blended and bottled at Ponda, Goa in India by United Spirits Ltd. (formerly known as McDowell Spirits Ltd). For your information, Goa, a former Portuguese colony is situated on the Western Coast of India. It is India’s smallest state by area, but the fourth largest by population, and the most prosperous by GDP.  Today Goa contains a unique blend of European culture merged with Indian hospitality. It is a preferred tourist destination in India famous for its abundance of white sandy beaches.

I have very little experience with rums from India, (Amrut Old Port Rum is the only other Indian rum I have tasted), and it will be very interesting to see what this Indian Rum has in store for me.

Here is an excerpt from  my review:

“…In the glass the rum has a rich mahogany color with reddish tinges in the light. The initial nose carries a lot of caramel, toffee and molasses forward with strong accents of vanilla and dry fruit….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: McDowells No. 1 Celebration Rum

As is my normal practice I have included a cocktail after the review which I believe suits this rum very well, the  Pondo Celebration Mule.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: McDowells No. 1 Celebration Rum

The Chinook

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 8, 2011

It has been a long and bitterly cold winter this year in Edmonton. The snow started in October and the cold followed the snow. Usually we get a few warm days here and there, and although the snow will accumulate, about half of it will be melted away by now. But not this year. Not only has the snow kept falling in amounts I haven’t seen for well over 30 years, but the thermometer has rarely popped above zero degrees centigrade meaning that I still have October’s snow under my December, January, and February snow. The piles beside my driveway reach up to the roof of my house and yesterday it was snowing some more.

What we need is a good ‘Chinook‘. A Chinook, for those who don’t know is a warm Pacific wind which flows over the Rocky Mountains. As it passes up over the mountains, it looses its moisture by the way of rain so that after it passes over the mountains it has become dry. Flowing down the westward side of the mountains it gains warmth due to something called adiabatic warming. Think about it. A warm, dry air mass pouring over the mountains coming to melt all that snow and warm up the winter time. It is not unusual for the temperature to increase by as much as 30 degrees Celsius during a Chinook and for a foot of snow to disappear. That sounds positively lovely!

So today I am making my own Chinook. A cocktail, I designed many months ago when I reviewed Highwood’s Momento Amber Rum. My Chinook might not change the weather, but it sure will make it easier to deal with.

The Chinook

1 1/2 oz Amber Rum (I suggest Momento Amber Rum )
1/2 oz  Cherry Flavoured Whisky  (I suggest Red Stag Flavoured Bourbon)
1/4 to 1/2 Oz Lime Juice
2 Tsp Simple syrup (or sub grenadine for colour)
3 Large Ice Cubes

Put all ingredients into a blender.
Blend until smooth(ish).
Serve in a wine glass.

Garnish with a thin lime slice folded around a Brandied Cherry with a spear through it.
(I have to give credit to forrest here for the wonderful garnish idea!)

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavoured Whisky, Rum | Tagged: , , | Comments Off on The Chinook

Review: Canadian Club Sherry Cask Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 6, 2011

The Canadian Club Sherry Cask Canadian Whisky is new twist on Canadian Club Whisky.  The base of this whisky is an eight year Old Canadian Club whisky made from the familiar “blended at birth”  recipe of corn, rye, rye malt and barley spirits. The spirits from these grains are blended before entering the white oak barrel, and then set down for six to eight years to age. Then the resultant whisky is double matured in Sherry Casks from Jerez Spain.

The second maturation allows the whisky to acquire some of the characteristics of the sherry (similar to sherry cask matured scotches), but this second maturation is of a much shorter time period which ensures that the core spirit remains the centerpiece of the whisky. When the Canadian Club Sherry Cask is bottled, it is done so at 41.3% alcohol by volume, just a hair over the regular 40 % strength of the rest of their line-up.  That added little boost of alcohol is just one of the unique characteristics of this C.C. Whisky.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…Initially, I receive wiffs of a nice sweet cherry aroma from the glass as I nose it. Hints of orange marmalade, and lemony zests fade in and out. I seem to receive additional (different) citrus notes each time I sample the whisky…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Canadian Club Sherry Cask Whisky

As well I have included a nice swizzle cocktail at the end of the review, The Canadian Club Swizzle.

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

Review: Canadian Club Classic

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 30, 2011

Canadian Club Whisky or C.C. as it is known amongst its advocates was my father’s favourite whisky. He was quite happy when a family event like a wedding or anniversary would come around, and he could volunteer to supply the spirits for the event. Dad never paid much mind to which beer he chose, or which wine, or even which rum, vodka or gin; but… he always insisted on Canadian Club Whisky. In fact as he grew older he would often share a story where he remembered fondly the 25th Wedding Anniversary Celebration for Mom and himself. As the night was winding down many of the guests commented to him that he certainly didn’t shave off any corners with respect to the liquor. He served his friends the best; he served them Canadian Club. Dad was proud of the reaction his neighbours and friends showed him that evening, and he always cherished that night where he was universally recognized for his generosity and his good taste.

The Canadian Club Classic, which is the subject of my review is a whisky my Dad would certainly have enjoyed. It is a couple of steps up from his whisky of choice, the previously reviewed Canadian Club Premium.  ‘Blended at Birth’, the C.C. Classic Whisky is a mixture of rye, rye malt, corn. and barley malt spirits. These spirits are blended before being placed in white oak barrels where they age together for a minimum of 12 years. The Classic contains a higher amount of malted barley in the blend than its younger sibling the Premium, and the result is a slighter sweeter more rounded whisky with the smoother character that the longer time spent aging in oak provides.

You may click on the following link to read the full review:

“…The entry into the mouth is soft and creamy. That typical ‘dank’ Canadian Club flavour is muted in this expression, and the whisky finds more sweet butterscotch than spicy toffee at first tasting….”

Review: Canadian Club Classic

Please enjoy the review and the great new cocktail I have included called the Classic Canadian Ice Storm.

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

Review: Red Stag by Jim Beam

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 23, 2011

For the past two weeks I have been reviewing some bourbon whiskey which I  received in a collection of sample jars from the personal collection of  J. Leslie Wheelock, (a member of the Alberta Beam Global team), which spanned an impressive range of unique whiskies from Canada, Scotland, and the USA.  This week I dipped into the samples and chose Sample Jar # 14, Red Stag  Black Cherry Flavoured Bourbon.

Red Stag Flavoured Bourbon is a black cherry flavoured, 4-year-old, Jim Beam Bourbon. It appears to be intended primarily for the mixing of cocktails and bar drinks although it has been suggested that it can be enjoyed as a sipper as well.

For the purposes of the review I broke the process into two parts. The first part of the review process involved five independent taste sessions (about one ounce each) consumed neat and with ice, and I drew my tasting notes from that part of the review process. I then constructed a few cocktails including two which I found on the Red Stag Website (The Brass Buck and Red Stag and Cola).  I used these cocktails to round out the review with ancillary information regarding the suitability of the flavoured Whiskey for bar style cocktail drinks.

You may read the results of my research here:

Review: Red Stag Flavoured Bourbon

And please remember that the intention of my blog is to help you drink better spirits, not more spirits!

Please enjoy the review and the cocktails which follow:

Posted in American Whiskey, Cocktails & Recipes, Flavoured Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Red Stag by Jim Beam

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