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Posts Tagged ‘Cocktails’

Review: Mocambo 20 Anos Anejo Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 26, 2013

mocambo9bThe Ron Mocambo 20 Anos Anejo is distilled by Licores Veracruz, S.A. de C.V.  According to their website the 20-year-old edition which I sampled is called The Art Edition. The Art Edition is a throwback style of rum which uses  old techniques of rum production, and then combines those techniques with modern aging techniques to produce an aged rum of unique taste and character.

Three years ago, a friend of mine brought a bottle of the Art Edition back from Mexico for me to taste and review. The result was my very first ‘stylized’ review where in my preamble to the review, I let my imagination take flight as I described the impressions the rum brought to me as I sipped it for the first time. The review was very popular, and I have wanted for the past three years to return to this rum for a second time. To that end, another friend of mine recently came back from Mexico, and my wish for a second chance at this bottle was granted when he came to my house for a visit and left me a small sample.

Of course, I had to close my eyes and let my imagination take flight for a second time. The rum still carries that same dry oaky flavour I remembered from before, and wouldn’t you know, my imagination took me to that same place I visited before.

You may read the full review here:

Review: Mocambo 20 Anos Anejo Rum

“…The Macombo 20 Art Edition is a style of rum that genuflects at the altar of old wood without apology. The rum embraces its age,  and its time spent in wooden casks.  In fact I would say the Macombo Art Edition is a celebration of old wood and cask aging….”

For your enjoyment, I have added a two sipping cocktails I designed to the end of the review, The Last Vaquero, and Vaquero Magnifico

Please enjoy my review of this outstanding Mexican Rum!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Mocambo 20 Anos Anejo Rum

Review: Doorly’s Fine Old Barbados Rum (XO)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 22, 2013

SAM_0850 Doorly's XODoorly’s Fine Old Barbados Rum (Doorly’s XO) is a product of R. L. Seale & Co. Ltd., distilled at the Four Square Distillery in Barbados. The Doorly’s XO is blended from aged rum stocks which are said to vary from six years to ten years of age. The bottle does not contain an age statement, therefore it may be true that to maintain a consistent taste profile, the actual age of the youngest stocks may vary from batch to batch. The rum is aged initially in American oak barrels, but after blending the final rum is finished in Spanish oak (Sherry casks). The final rum is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

My original review for Doorly’s XO published in April of 2010 shortly after the rum arrived in my home province of Alberta. Recently I decided to open a new bottle just to see if my perspective (or perhaps the rum) has changed.

You may click on the following excerpt to read my entire revised review:

Review: Doorly’s Fine Old Barbados Rum (XO)

“… The rum appears to have a strong column still influence as it immediately brings fine oak spices forward into the air above the glass. Caramel and maple scents are pushed upwards as are banana and orange peel spice. A nice deep dark tobacco lurks in the glass as well as some indications of orange marmalade and apricot jam …”

The Doorly’s rum is very easy to enjoy in a rocks glass with a little ice. It also serves very well as a high-end mixer as evidenced by my cocktail suggestion (the Spence Cocktail) at the end of the review.

Please enjoy my latest review!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Review: Spicebox Pumpkin Spiced Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 16, 2013

SAM_0870 Pumpkin SpiceSpicebox Whisky is based in Montreal, Quebec where they blend and bottle their Spicebox Canadian Spiced Whisky. Their new Spicebox Pumpkin Spiced Whisky was introduced last fall, and if you search enough through the liquor stores here in Alberta you can still find a few bottles hanging around. I really do not know much about this flavoured whisky as Spicebox website hasn’t listed it yet. I believe it is a seasonal product which might return in larger numbers again this fall. The Whisky is bottled at 70 proof or 35 % alcohol by volume and was brought into the Alberta Marketplace by Mondia Alliance Wine and Spirits of Montreal.

You may click on the excerpt to read the full review:

Review: Spicebox Pumpkin Spiced Whisky

“… Impressions of vanilla, brown sugar and butterscotch are dominant, however bits and dabbles of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger work their way into the breezes as well. These breezes above the glass actually do remind me of the sweet spicy aroma of a freshly baked pumpkin pie, (minus the actual pumpkin of course) …”

I admit this offering surprised me with its tastiness, and I was able to construct a very nice cocktail, the Orange Pumpkin Spice Muddle!

Enjoy my review, and if you happen to own a bottle of the Spicebox Pumpkin Spiced Whisky, do try my cocktail!

Cheers

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavoured Whisky, Spiced Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review, Whisky Liqueur | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Spicebox Pumpkin Spiced Whisky

Review: Ron Matusalum Gran Reserva 18 Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 12, 2013

Ron Matusalem Rum Old fashioned Ron Matusalem prides itself on being a Cuban style of rum with a history in Cuba they trace back to 1872 when two brothers, Benjamin and Eduardo Camp, together with a partner, Evaristo Álvarez opened a distillery in Santiago de Cuba. According to the information I found last April on the Matusalem website, the rum they were producing began to win acclaim by the first quarter of the 20th century. The distillery apparently operated until the 1960′s when due to the Cuban Revolution the Álvarez family was exiled, and the rum they made disappeared from the landscape.

The brand was resurrected by Claudio Álvarez Salazar, who is the great-grandson of Evaristo Álvarez. Of course, it was not possible, given the political situation in Cuba, for Claudio to produce or bottle the rum in Cuba. Apparently, it is produced (presumably by a third-party as Ron Matusalem does not own a distillery) in the Dominican Republic, and then bottled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana by Proximo Spirits.

The subject of this review, Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 18 is not an 18-year-old rum as many people believe, rather it is aged according to what the Matusalem company calls a solera aging process. According to the website descriptions, the average age (not the youngest age) of the rum in the blend is 18 years.

You may click on the following excerpt to read my full review:

Review: Ron Matusalum Gran Reserva 18 Rum

“… The initial aroma carries a nice mixed aroma of caramel, oakspice and vanilla. The rich scent is complimented by dabs of marmalade and banana. As the glass sits, the oak spices build in the air, and the rum scents in the air are enriched by added impression of maple toffee, hints of cinnamon and cloves, some pipe tobacco and perhaps a bit of roasted walnut as well …”

Please enjoy my review which includes a nice recipe for well aged rums, The Rum Old Fashioned!

Cheers!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Ron Matusalum Gran Reserva 18 Rum

Review: Still Waters 1+11 Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 8, 2013

SAM_0890 CrowsnestBarry Bernstein and Barry Stein own and run the Still Water Distillery, Ontario’s first micro-distillery which they founded in 2009. They not only manage the distillation and the blending of the Still Waters’ products, they also act as the distillery’s Chief Bottle Washers and Bottle Fillers. In fact, there is not a single aspect of their business that they do not either personally oversee or do themselves.

Late last year, Still Waters released the cryptically named  Still Waters 1+11 Canadian Whisky, a blend of selected whiskies from other Canadian producers to which they have added up to 10 % of their own Hand-Crafted whisky. I tasted this new whisky last fall when I scored it blind as part of my duties as one of the jurors for the Canadian Whisky Awards. When I later examined my scores and noticed the Still Waters Whisky had done well on my score sheet, I decided to contact the distillery to see if they would be interested in a review.

Happily, they agreed and forwarded me the necessary sample.

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

Review: Still Waters 1+11 Canadian Whisky

“… The initial nose brings a lovely dry rye grain to the breezes filled with scents of autumn harvest including the fresh straw and chaff. As the glass breathes, impressions of caramel and corn build with accents of tobacco, sandalwood and oak spice. I notice indications of both zesty citrus fruit (lemon in particular) as well as a touch of fruity sourness with the two nuances playfully dancing together in the light breezes above my glass …”

Please enjoy the review which includes a new cocktail I call the Crow’s Nest.

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Still Waters 1+11 Canadian Whisky