The Rum Howler Blog

(A Website for Spirited Reviews)

  • Copyright

    Copyright is inherent when an original work is created. This means that the producer of original work is automatically granted copyright protection. This copyright protection not only exists in North America, but extends to other countries as well. Thus, all of the work produced on this blog is protected by copyright, including all of the pictures and all of the articles. These original works may not be copied or reused in any way whatsoever without the permission of the author, Chip Dykstra.

  • Cocktails and Recipes

    Click Image for Awesome Recipes

  • Industry Interviews

    Interviews

    Click the Image for Great Interviews with the Movers of Industry

  • The Rum Howler Interview (Good Food Revolution)

    Click on the Image to see my interview on Good Food Revolution

  • The Rum Howler Blog

    Unknown's avatar

  • Rum Reviews

  • Whisky Reviews

  • Gin Reviews

  • Tequila Reviews

  • Vodka Reviews

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,092 other subscribers

  • Subscribe

  • Visitors

    • 15,526,881 pageviews since inception

  • Archives

  • Follow The Rum Howler Blog on WordPress.com

Posts Tagged ‘Dark Rum’

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

Review: Caroni 1997 (Aka Ron Sherbrooke Private Cask) Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 22, 2011

The Ron Sherbrooke, “Drink Like a Pirate” Rum Festival is was held on September 19 at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta. Nineteen liquor agencies put up tables, and all told over sixty rums were poured. The event went off without a hitch, and everyone I saw left the evening happy, (and full of rum). And it wasn’t just the wide selection of rums which was impressive, it was also the quality of the selection that was special. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva, Flor de Caña 18 Year Centenario Gold, and the Ron Zacapa 23 Solero were just a few of the Premium Rums available to be tasted. Ron Abuelo, Bacardi, and Mount Gay were all there. Of course, I cannot name everyone but you get the idea. The first ever full fledged rum festival in Edmonton, Alberta was a big success!

One rum really caught my eye at the festival, I guess you could call it the ‘signature rum’ of the event. A Single Cask Rum from the departed Ron Caroni Distillery of Trinidad and Tobago. This rum was bottled for a local collective of stores called, the Signature Group and at the festival it was labelled,  Ron Sherbrooke-Private Stock, Caroni 1997 – 13 year old Dark Rum.

I was intrigued enough that after the Rum Festival I decided I should provide a review of this signature rum. The kind folks at  Sherbrooke Liquor, provided me a sample and the review is now complete.

Here is an excerpt from that review:

“…Caramel toffee, baking spices, and a nice dollop of vanilla will join the oak and the orange peel, and you will experience a rum which is not only very different from any rum you have tried before, you will experience a rum with a rich flavour that matches the nose which I described earlier…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Caroni 1997  (Aka Ron Sherbrooke Private Cask) Rum

Please enjoy the review of what I consider to be a very special rum!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Review: Cockspur Fine Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 1, 2011

Barbados is generally considered the birthplace of rum dating back to 1651 where the first recorded written usage of the word Rum Bullion appears. More than two hundred years later in 1884 a Dane, Valdemar Hanschell, founded a business in Barbados, supplying visiting ships with ropes, sails, salt, fresh fruit, meat and of course Barbados rum. Through the years, business thrived and so too did the popularity of his Cockspur Rum.

Cockspur Fine Rum is the flagship brand for the company. It is distilled from Island cane molasses, aged in American Oak, and brought to bottling strength with Barbados’ own coral filtered water. Both column still and pot still rums are used to in the distillation of the rum which bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…I began by sipping the Cockspur Rum in my glass, neat, without ice. The mouth-feel was slightly oily, and the initial flavour was very complex bringing a bevy of pungent flavours forward. I tasted charred caramel (treacle) and dark molasses as well as dry fruit flavours of prunes and dates…”

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: Cockspur Fine Rum

The review includes a nice ‘punch’ style recipe which I hope you enjoy!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Cockspur Fine Rum

Review: Old Sam Demerara Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 25, 2011

The original recipe for Old Sam Demerara Rum stretches back to 1797 when Edward Young & Co. (from London & Liverpool, England) imported their rum from the Caribbean (primarily from Guyana) and brought the first barrels marked ‘Old Sam’ to London, England. Today the rum no longer travels to England to be blended and bottled, rather it travels to Newfoundland where it is blended and bottled by the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC). The entire blend hails from Guyana, and I have been informed that the age of these rums in the blend is no younger than 2 years old. In fact some of the rum in the blend may be as old as 12 years, but as the rum is blended to a specific taste profile, the oldest rum in the blend may change from batch to batch. I was given a sample of the Old Sam Demerara Rum by Greg Kerr of the NLC for the purpose of my review.

Here is an Excerpt from that review:

“…The taste of molasses, candied caramel and orange peel leads out into the mouth but these flavours are soon accompanied by tobacco and musty leather. I also taste a dry fruity flavour which reminds me of raisins and prunes with perhaps a few figs and dates thrown in for good measure…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Old Sam Demerara Rum

I have included a nice recipe which I call the Maritime Mai Tai.

Please enjoy my review!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | 9 Comments »

Review: Plantation Nicaragua (1998) Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 18, 2011

The Plantation Nicaragua (1998) Rum is a column distilled rum which has been aged in used bourbon casks. The rum was transported from Nicaragua to France, and then it was aged for a short time in used Cognac casks to enhance the rum before it was bottled as part of Cognac Ferrand’s growing line-up of Plantation Rum. Cognac Ferrand has long had a special relationship with a variety of Caribbean rum producers which is based upon the rum producer’s need for quality oak casks to age their rum. Based upon this relationship, Cognac Ferrand is able to acquire certain old and unique batches of rum from various Caribbean sources, which they bring back to France and finish in their own warehouses and of course their own Cognac Casks.

I was given eight sample bottles, each 200 ml in size, which represent a good portion of the Plantation Rum line-up. The Plantation Nicaragua is the fourth of these sample bottles which I have chosen to review here on my blog.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…As I let the glass decant, the honeyed molasses evolves into a more butterscotch-like aroma, and I also begin to sense which seems to be some wisps of leather and green tobacco in the aroma. A growing awareness of fruit has come over me as a light sweet grapiness is also apparent…”

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Plantation Nicaragua (1998) Rum

Please enjoy the review!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Plantation Nicaragua (1998) Rum

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

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »