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Posts Tagged ‘Highwood Distillers’

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Review: Liberator Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 30, 2022

The Liberator brand is an authentic small batch craft spirits brand produced by Highwood Distillers to honor the WWII RCAF base that was located in their home town of High River as well as to honor the brave men and women who fought in WWII. This is a small volume bottling created such that Highwood would have a line-up of 100% Alberta made craft spirits produced for the local market.

Their Liberty Gin is is produced using Liberator Vodka as the base spirit. This base spirit is distilled in small batches using locally sourced wheat. The local aquifer fed by the nearby Rocky Mountains is used as the water source. This base spirit is infused with all natural botanicals to obtain the final flavour profile. All products in the Liberator Line-up are polished through a multi stage charcoal filtration system prior to bottling which is done with hand-applied closures and labels. The small batch production is limited to a maximum of 300 cases per batch.

Here is a link to my final review in my Liberator Series:

Review: Liberator Gin

“… Classic dry gin style with notes of juniper, licorice and citrus leading out. There is a sort of effervescent spiciness of citrus zest (grapefruit and lemon perhaps) as well as coriander rising into the breezes. A light floral note builds in the background with hints of orange and lime …”

Please enjoy my reviews which concludes with my serving suggestion, the Gin and Tonic (classed up a bit).

Chimo!

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Posted in Gin, Gin Review | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Review: Liberator Rye Whisky 

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 20, 2022

The Liberator brand is an authentic small batch craft spirits brand produced by Highwood Distillers to honor the WWII RCAF base that was located in their home town of High River as well as to honor the brave men and women who fought in WWII. This is a small volume craft offering created such that Highwood Distillers would have a line-up of 100% Alberta made craft spirits produced for the local market.

According to Michael Nychyk, Operations Manager at the Distillery:

This is a small volume brand in our portfolio; but we are proud it honours the RCAF and their connection to High River. And not to mention the spirits are great quality!

Liberator Rye is distilled using locally sourced wheat in small batches. Highwood uses water from a Rocky Mountain fed aquifer to bring the distillate to 75 % abv. and then ages the whisky in a single fill used bourbon barrel for five years. Once the whisky is mature it is blended with aged rye grain whisky to achieve the desired rye-forward whisky flavour profile. At that point the whisky is processed through a multi stage filtration system to polish the final product, after which it is bottled at 42 % alcohol by volume with hand applied closures and labels.

Here is a link to the full review of Highwood’s hand crafted Rye Whisky:

Review: Liberator Rye Whisky 

“… Things begin with a nice push of fine oak spices and rye-like grain spices. There is a lovely toffee sweetness with almond and vanilla emerging as well. A somewhat grassy tobacco aroma lifts out of the glass with hints of ginger spice and perhaps a touch of cinnamon, nutmeg and milk chocolate …”

Please enjoy my review which concludes with my serving suggestion, the Rye Whisky Splash.

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Liberator Rye Whisky 

Review: Liberator Vodka (Highwood Distillers)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 16, 2022

The Liberator brand is an authentic small batch craft brand produced by Highwood Distillers to honor the WWII RCAF base that was located in their home town of High River as well as to honor the brave men and women who fought in WWII. This is a small volume craft offering created such that Highwood Distillers would have a 100% Alberta made craft spirits line produced for the local market.

According to Michael Nychyk, Operations Manager at the Distillery:

This is a small volume brand in our portfolio; but we are proud it honours the RCAF and their connection to High River. And not to mention the spirits are great quality!

Their Liberty Vodka is distilled in small batches using locally sourced wheat. The local aquifer fed by the nearby Rocky Mountains is used as their water source, and the vodka is polished through a multi stage charcoal filtration system prior to bottling which is done with hand-applied closures and labels. The small batch production is limited to a maximum of 300 cases per batch.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Liberator Vodka (Highwood Distillers)

“… When I took a sip, my impression was that the vodka was soft vodka on the tongue. The lemon and lime in the breezes were joined by impressions of mint. The spirit was also lightly spicy with a pop of rye-like grain spice livening the palate …”

Please enjoy my review which includes my serving suggestion, the Vodka Daiquiri.

Chimo!

 

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Review: Century Reserve Rare Cask Series Beer Barrel

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 10, 2020

I recently received a bottle of Century Reserve Rare Cask Series Beer Barrel aged whisky. Bottle number 1205 to be exact. So I reached out to Highwood Distillers (who produce the Century Reserve brand) to find out a little bit about this new whisky.

Apparently, the folks at Highwood Distillery began a collaboration with Wild Rose Brewery some time ago bringing them freshly dumped charred American White Oak barrels that had previously aged 100% corn Whisky. The Brewery produced a stout ale, and then aged it in those barrels for 3 months making a product called Tenor Stout (which sold out very quickly).

Highwood then brought the barrels back to their distillery and filled them with 100% wheat Whisky and followed it along for 12 months (the point where they felt it had reached its flavoured potential). This Whisky was then brought to bottling proof, filtered and bottled at 42 % alcohol by volume. Including the time spent in Beer Barrels, the finished whisky is about 5 Year Old.

Here is a link to my full review and suggested serving:

Review: Century Reserve Rare Cask Series Beer Barrel

“… Dusty grain, fine oak spices, ginger and sandalwood. Vanilla, almond and light butterscotch. A whisper of malt/stout. A light smattering of additional baking spices with cinnamon and nutmeg. More dusty grain spices …”

Please enjoy my review and the Old Fashioned Cocktail recipe included.

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Century Reserve Rare Cask Series Beer Barrel

Review: Empire London Dry Gin (Highwood Distillers)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 14, 2020

The Highwood Distillery is the only locally (Albertan) owned major distillery in Canada. It sits in the town of High River, Alberta, which lies just about 40 minutes due south of Calgary, at the foot of the Rocky Mountain. The distillery producing more than 300,000 cases of bottled spirits per year. Although the bulk of their production goes towards Vodka, Flavoured Vodka, and Premixes, they also produce a sizable (and growing) amount of Whisky and Gin each year.

Empire Gin is the company’s premium traditional style London Dry Gin. It is produced by blending a light-bodied vodka spirit with juniper and the distillery’s own special botanical selection of natural herbs, spices and citrus. These botanicals are introduced during the final distillation, and the final spirit is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

Here is a link to my refreshed review:

Review: Empire London Dry Gin

“… We have a floral bouquet of coriander and citrus elements (in particular orange and lime; but also some grapefruit zest and hints of lemon). I also sense a firm juniper aroma with a mix of flowery herbs, building black licorice and a hint of mint and in the breezes above the glass …”

Please enjoy this refreshed review with updated photos and scoring. And do enjoy the cocktail suggestions which accompany the review.

Chimo!

Posted in Gin, Gin Review | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

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