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Posts Tagged ‘Diageo’

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Review: McDowell’s No. 1 Reserve Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 25, 2017

indian-summer-2-sam_2796United Spirits Limited (USL) is the owner of the McDowell’s No. 1 spirits brand which (with its sales of Whisky, Rum and Brandy) is one of the largest spirits brands in the world. The company is headquartered in India where the lion’s share of those sales take place. In 2013, the spirits conglomerate, Diageo purchased a controlling share in USL (54.8 %) and it was shortly after this acquisition that I began to see the McDowell’s No. 1 Whisky appearing on the store shelves here in Alberta.

McDowell’s No. 1 Whisky is described on the USL website as the flagship brand of the company. It is their best-selling spirit with sales of over 53 million cases per year, and is produced from a blending of both imported Scotch whiskies and selected Indian malts and grain spirits.

Here is a link to my latest whisky review:

Review: McDowell’s No. 1 Reserve Whisky

“… I would describe the aroma as honeyed with a mixture of sweet grain spice and butterscotch, coupled with fine oak spice and hints of malt. I let the glass sit to see how the nose developed, and noticed that fine wood and dusty grain spices began to dominate the breezes …”

Please enjoy my review which includes a very nice tall cocktail, Indian Summer 2.

Chimo everyone!

Posted in Indian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: McDowell’s No. 1 Reserve Whisky

Review: George Dickel Rye Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 8, 2016

George Dickel Rye

George Dickel Rye (introduced in 2012) is a straight rye whisky produced from a 95 % rye mashbill. It is the only whisky produced by the company (George A Dickel & Co.) not distilled and aged at their Cascade Distillery in Cascade Hollow, Tennessee.Instead the rye whisky is mashed using a 95% rye and 5% malted barley mashbill, then distilled and aged by Midwest Grain Products (MGP) in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

The whisky is then sent to Diageo’s Plainfield, Illinois facility where it is first chilled to a specific specifications before being charcoal mellowed, and then bottled at 45 % alcohol by volume. (The brand is currently owned by Diageo).

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: George Dickel Rye Whisky

“… The breezes above the glass carry strong rye note coupled with woody spice, maple and caramel. The aromas have merged together well and the combination is very enticing. As I allowed the glass to breathe I noticed a nice mixture of vanilla and baking spice  cinnamon and hints of nutmeg and allspice) which gave the air a bit of a rum-like aroma …”

Please enjoy  my review of this pleasing rye whisky.

Chimo!

Posted in American Whiskey, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: George Dickel Rye Whisky

Review: Bulleit Small Batch 95 Rye Whiskey

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 30, 2016

Bulleit RyeBulleit Small Batch 95 Rye Frontier Whiskey (bottled as Bulleit Frontier Rye Whisky in Canada) is bottled at 45% alcohol by volume and (according to the Bulleit  website) the spirit is a straight whiskey produced from a heavy rye mashbill (95 % rye) which also contains a small amount of malted barley (5 %). The whiskey carries no age statement, however based upon my tastings I would estimate the age of the spirit to be in the range of 5 years old with some of the whiskey possibly older, and some of the whiskey possibly younger.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Bulleit Small Batch 95 Rye Whiskey

“… Dusty dry grain and honeycomb are evident. There is a sense of fresh tobacco with some light baking spices (vanilla, ginger and cinnamon) and maple syrup. As the glass sits, woody oak smells build, some bittersweet chocolate drifts into the air and more rye grain and rye spice well up into the breezes …”

Please enjoy the review.

Chimo!

 

Posted in American Whiskey, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

Review: Bulleit Rye Frontier Whiskey

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 1, 2015

Bulleit Rue SAM_1513

Bulleit traces its heritage back to 1830 when tavern keeper Augustus Bulleit (after a few experimental trials) created his Bulleit Bourbon and began to market his whiskey both locally and then later to areas outside of Kentucky. As misfortune would have it, Augustus Bulleit disappeared while transporting some barrels of his bourbon to New Orleans, and the brand disappeared for over 100 years. In 1987, Tom Bulleit revived the brand which bears his great-great grandfather’s name. (Today the brand is owned by the Diageo Conglomerate who market the product throughout North America and into Europe.)

Bulleit Rye Frontier Whiskey is bottled at 45% alcohol by volume and (according to the Bulleit  website) the spirit is a straight whiskey produced from a heavy rye mashbill (95 % rye) which also contains a small amount of malted barley (5 %). The whiskey carries no age statement, however based upon my tastings I would estimate the age of the spirit to be in the range of 5 years old with some of the whiskey possibly older, and some of the whiskey possibly younger.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Bulleit Rye Frontier Whiskey

“… full of sappy new wood smells of both oak and cedar with accents of fresh rye bread. Dusty dry grain and honeycomb are is evident as well. There is a sense of fresh tobacco and some light baking spices (vanilla, ginger and cinnamon) and maple syrup as well. As the glass sits, the woody oak builds, some bittersweet chocolate reaches up and more rye and rye spice well up into the breezes …”

Please enjoy my review!

Posted in American Whiskey, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Review Crown Royal XO

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 17, 2015

Crown Royal XO bottle 2Last year, (January 16, 2014) Crown Royal® made an addition to its portfolio of Canadian Whiskies (in the USA) with the introduction of Crown Royal XO, which they have promoted as an “ultra-premium blended Canadian whisky”.  The whisky was crafted by Crown Royal Master Blender, Andrew MacKay and according to the fact sheet I was sent, it is a blend of more than 50 of Crown Royal’s finest whiskies which are finished in cognac casks from the French Limousin Forest.

According to Mr. MacKay:

“The ultra-premium nature of Crown Royal XO and the smoothness of the liquid can be attributed to the handcrafted approach we took while creating the unique blend. We’re looking forward to sharing this special blend with adults across the country and encourage them to incorporate it into their celebrations of extraordinary moments and events.”

For those of you familiar with the family of Crown Royal whiskies available in Canada, Crown Royal XO, sounds remarkably similar to the Crown Royal Cask No. 16 (click on the link for my previous review) which according to the Crown Royal (Canadian) website, is also a blend of more than 50 different aged Canadian whiskies which are finished in Cognac casks from the Limousin forest in France.

Here is a link to my full review which includes information regarding how these two blends differ as well as how they compare:

Review: Crown Royal XO

“… The initial aroma from the glass revealed sweet butterscotch and maple rising into the air with a combination of light but firm rye accents and fine wood spices. As the glass sat I began to sense some of that typically punky Crown Royal sweet corn aroma along with a few slightly musty ripe corn cobs alongside some spicy grain. I searched for an indication of the Cognac Cask enhancement and found a few apple scents wandering in the air and some very light indications of dry raisins …”

Please enjoy my review which includes a new cocktail suggestion, Crowning Glory.

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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