Ungava Gin is a product of Domaine Pinnacle a family owned orchard and cidery located on a beautiful heritage property near the historic village of Frelighsburg in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada. Although primarily known for their Ice Cider and Maple Creams, Domaine Pinnacle also produces a very unusual Gin called Ungava.
In case you do not know, the Ungava Peninsula sits at the northern extreme of Quebec, between Labrador and the Hudson Bay. This is at first glance, a barren uncompromising land situated atop the tundra of the North Canadian shield. There are no trees to be found, and Tundra stretches (seemingly) endlessly from Ungava Bay in the east all the way to Hudson Bay in the West. To the North are the cold waters of the Hudson Strait which separates the Ungava Peninsula from Baffin Island to the North. This is (again at first glance) not the ideal place from which to begin the idea of creating a new gin.
Nottingham Walrus
However, if one looks a little closer (although, of course, you must look in the summertime), and if one talks to the Inuktitut people who have lived in the region for centuries, one will discover that there are a variety of botanical plants growing in the tundra right before your eyes. Six of these unique arctic botanicals (which grow wild in the region) are used in the construct of the Gin that bears this regions name. These botanicals, Nordic Juniper, Crowberry, Labrador Tea, Cloudberry, Arctic Blend, and Wild Rose Hips are hand-picked in the summertime and serve to bring a unique Northern Canadian charm to the Ungava Gin.
You may read my full review of this interesting gin by clicking on the following excerpt link:
Review: Ungava Gin
Please enjoy the review which includes my cocktail suggestion, the Nottingham Walrus!
Have a great Sunday Everyone!
Last fall a good friend of mine visited Brazil. I had asked him before the trip if he could find me a bottle of the Brazilian rum known as Cachaca (pronounced Ka sha sha). I was pleased when he returned just prior to Christmas with two small (170 ml) bottles of Port Morretes, the Prata (silver) and the Ouro (3-year-old premium).
Soyombo Super Premium Mongolian Vodka is a spirit which celebrates the mystical history of the Mongolian people. The vodka which bears the symbol of Soyombo is (according to the website information I found) produced at the original distillery site of Bogd Khan’s Winter Palace (Bogd Khan was the last Mongolian Emperor). This site is located in Ulaanbaatar, which is the capital city of Mongolia. The Soyombo symbol is the first character of the original Mongolian Soyombo script which was developed (according to legend) by Undur Geghen Zanabazar, the First Resplendent Saint and Bogd Khan of Mongolia. According to the legend, Zanabazar had a vision of symbolic signs drifting amongst the clouds in the eternal blue skies of Mongolia. From these heavenly signs he created the Soyombo script. The Soyombo has since become a national symbol of Mongolia, and is found on both the Flag of Mongolia, and upon the national Coat of Arms.
Kavalan Whisky is produced by the King Car Group at the newly built Kavalan Distillery at Yi-Lan, Taiwan. The distillery features imported copper pot stills from Scotland and clean water sourced from the Central Mountain and Snowy Mountain Ranges of Ylan to produce a unique Taiwanese whisky. The first expression of their Concertmaster series is a Port Cask finish single malt whisky which was of course finished in a variety of Port Wine casks from Portugal (which include Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage Port). The Whisky does not carry an age statement; but because we know that the distillery opened in 2008, and the fist Concertmaster whisky began to appear in Canada in 2013; we can assume the Whisky is no older than 5 years and may be as young as three years old.
Amarula
The Rum Howler Blog 