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Posts Tagged ‘Cocktails and Recipes’

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Howling Highlight: Christmas Eggnog

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 11, 2009

Last week I howled about rum cakes and shared my favourite recipe with you.  I got a few comments in private that implied my recipe was too simple.  I  respectably disagree.  I’m pretty sure everyone who read the recipe, if they baked anything at all, had every ingredient I called for in the cupboard.  I prefer those elegant everyday recipes to the ones where you have to run to the store to buy spices and ingredients you will never use again.  I had some suggest that I should have chosen a different rum.  To that I say, “Go for it”.  I’m pretty sure a wide variety of rums will work with the recipe I gave you.

This week the Christmas tradition I am howling about is eggnog.  Again I am going to share a simple recipe in terms of ingredients, but this time it will require a bit of a baker’s touch to pull off.

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Here is my own eggnog recipe for Christmas:
(This makes about four servings. )

3         eggs at room temperature, separated
3/8   cup sugar (for the yolks)
3        tablespoons sugar (for the whites)
1/4   teaspoon vanilla
a touch fresh ground cloves  (About 1/16 of a teaspoon)
a pinch of fresh grated nutmeg (About 1/8 of a teaspoon)
a dash of fresh ground cinnamon (About 3 /16 of a teaspoon)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, chilled
1         cup whole milk

For the adults
We add the following to the mix:
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1/2 cup dark rum
(Flor de Cana Grand Reserve )
2/3 cup Canadian Whisky
( Forty Creek Barrel Select)

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First the yolks

Separate your egg yolks and your egg whites in two bowls. Whisk the first amount of sugar and the vanilla into the egg yolks.   A a touch of  ground cloves, a pinch of nutmeg and a dash of cinnamon into the yolk bowl.   Add the cream, the milk and the rum and whisky (for adult consumption only). Make sure everything is mixed thoroughly.

Now the whites

This is where a baker’s touch is necessary.
Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks (3-4 minutes). Add the second amount of sugar slowly during this beating process.

Now we combine

Gently and with large circular motions blend the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture, trying to keep things as ‘poofy’ as possible.

Sprinkle a little left over spice on the top of each glass, and enjoy with your favourite chocolates!

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Early in the coming week I will have my personal top twelve picks for Christmas gift giving  (The 12 Spirits of Christmas).

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Howls, Rum, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: , , | Comments Off on Howling Highlight: Christmas Eggnog

Whisky Review: Centennial 10Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 8, 2009

Fifty Reviews and Going Strong

My Goodness.  It is been barely 7 weeks and I am publishing my Fiftieth Review.  Of course, this doesn’t mean I have consumed 50 bottles of Rum and Whisky in seven weeks, nor does it mean I have sampled 50 different bottles.  You see, when I opened this site I already had a variety of reviews complete and published elsewhere.  About twenty on the Ministry of Rum, three or four on Rum Connection, and about three whisky reviews on Refined Vices.  As well I had written about ten whisky reviews which had never been published, as well as one tequila review, and four or five rum reviews.  So the table was set seven weeks ago with almost forty reviews complete before I began my trip into the blogosphere.

I should also note, that long before I ever wrote my first full review; I was putting my thoughts onto paper, and keeping a catalog of my scores for various whiskies, (and some rums) in my handy dandy notebook.  I started doing this shortly after I bought my first copy of Jim Murray’s 2007 Whiskey Bible.  In fact I consider my writing  to be largely influenced by Jim Murray and his writing.  He is without a doubt, the best of the best when it comes to writing about whisky and probably spirits in general.

I still have all of those notes,  which I refer to constantly, as I write new reviews, so in a way it has been relatively easy to reach my fiftieth review milestone.

So why did I choose a relatively obscure Canadian Rye whisky to review for the big Five Zero.  Simple, it was next in line.  You see I try not to play favourites; I try not to display any bias when I write a review.  Choosing a particular distillery, or a particular spirit and claim it worthy of this milestone might just be the wrong way to present information that is meant to be impartial.

Not that Centennial 10Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky is in any way an inferior spirit. It happens to be very very good.  A true Canadian Rye whisky, but one with with a very interesting twist.  Centennial Rye Whisky, rather than having corn in the mash bill with the rye, uses Canadian soft Winter Wheat with the rye grain in the mash bill.  This gives the Centennial a smooth and soft flavour profile unlike any rye whisky I have encountered.  Using grains grown exclusively on the Canadian prairies, distilling the grain in my home Province of Alberta, and aging the spirit in the severe Western Canadian climate for a minimum of ten years, means  Centennial is a Rye Whisky unlike any other in the world.  Not bad for an obscure Canadian rye whisky, made in a relatively unknown Canadian distillery, Highwood Distillers.

Although I suspect the rest of the world will catch on…

But enough of my babble…

Here is my fiftieth review:

Review: Centennial 10 Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | 7 Comments »

Whisky Review: Glenrothes Select Reserve

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 8, 2009

Glenrothes Select Reserve:

Scottish Legend has it that the Glenrothes distillery produced its first drops of Scottish spirits on December 28 1879, coincidentally the same day the rail bridge over the River Tay collapsed in one of the World’s most spectacular rail disasters.

Glenrothes is a typically good Speyside Whisky, with spice and character at the forefront of its flavour profile.  The Glenrothes whisky is used as a base whisky in the Cutty Sark and Famous Grouse Blends.  Indeed if you are a blended Scotch drinker and feel the inclination to move to the Single Malts, you will find the Glenrothes Blends to be excellent introductory malts in which to begin the Journey.

The Select Reserve was blended by Malt Master  “John Ramsey” to serve as a signature malt to represent the character of the Glenrothes Distillery.  In order to capture the essence of Glenrothes the Malt Master used whiskies from a variety of vintages, and from a variety of aged oak barrels.  Thus a spectrum of flavours from the variety of ages and oak is apparent in the final single malt blend.

Here is my review of this splendid Speyside Malt:

Review: Glenrothes Select Reserve (Scotch Whisky)

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Whisky Review: Glenrothes Select Reserve

Howling Highlight: Legendario Rum Cake

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 5, 2009

This is the month of Jolly Ol’ St. Nick.  And believe it or not Fine Spirits and Christmas have a tradition of togetherness which cannot be denied.  Rum cakes and Eggnog immediately come to mind.
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Speaking of Rum cakes I found a great recipe at  Amazing Christmas Ideas.

Although their recipe is great, I like my own Legendario Rum Cake which I bake two weeks before Christmas:

Legendario Rum Cake

1/3 cup softened butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2    eggs
2/3     cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
dash cinnamon
dash nutmeg
sprinkle of salt
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 0z  Legendario rum.
1 1/3   cups chopped pecans and walnuts mixed

Mix the first 11 ingredients together and stir until everything is well moistened
Stir in the walnuts and pecans
Pour into a well greased 6 inch round casserole dish
Bake at 325° about 55 minutes.

Leave the cake in the casserole dish and drizzle 1 oz rum over the cake.
Seal the casserole dish with plastic wrap.
Once per week drizzle 1/2 oz of rum over the cake and reseal it.
Microwave and serve on Christmas eve

I love to pour a rich chocolate sauce over the hot pieces of cake when I serve it.

I will share my Eggnog recipe with you next week, as well as a list of my top twelve spirits to give as gifts this Chrismas.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Howls, Rum | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

Whisky Review: Schenley OFC Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 3, 2009

Schenley OFC Canadian Whisky
(The OFC stands for Original Fine Canadian)

Schenley OFC bills itself as the most decorated of Canadian Whisky boasting of 25 medal Selections at the Monde Selection Awards.  These awards, while impressive, only tell the story of previous Schenley bottlings.  I say, ‘previous’, because I notice a difference in the new bottles I have seen as opposed to the older Schenley OFC bottles.  The age statement, in the past, proudly stated ‘8 Years’.  That age statement is now entirely missing.  It remains to be seen whether some of the famous Schenley quality is missing as well.

I should note that Schenley OFC is distilled at Schenley Distilleries which have facilities in Valleyview Quebec, and Lethbridge Alberta.  It is my understanding that the facilities in Quebec are responsible for the distillation, aging and bottling of this whisky.

You can read the full review here:

Review: Schenley OFC Canadian Whisky

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

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