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Posts Tagged ‘Review’

Review: Summer Love Spiced Pear Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 17, 2018

This past fall at the Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Show I met, Mike Stanfield, Founder of Starr Distilling Co. based in Calgary Alberta. He was presenting his new Summer Love Vodka flavours, Raspberry and Peach. We struck up a conversation about the burgeoning Micro distilling industry in Alberta, and I wanted to know his story.

Mike told me that his venture started as a hobby making Limoncello and Coffee Liqueurs in his basement to share with friends. His repertoire expanded to making fruit infusions and letting them sit for months to absorb flavor and color. Mike said that he never intended to make spirits commercially, he just enjoyed serving his creations at dinner parties sending his friends home a little happier than when they arrived.

Mike eventually found SRL Global Distillers and a business relationship was forged. They currently produce his Summer Love Raspberry and Spiced Pear Vodkas which he is marketing in Alberta. The base vodka for these spirits is distilled 5 times and filtered to be a neutral spirit. Real fruit from British Colombia is used to create his flavours.

Each bottle of Summer Love Spiced Pear Vodka is produced using more than a pound of BC pears combined with the warm flavour of real cinnamon bark. The spirit is bottled at 34.6% alcohol by volume.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Summer Love Spiced Pear Vodka

“… When I took my first sip, I decided that the scents and smells I encountered in the breezes above the glass gave a true representation of the overall flavour. I tasted heated cinnamon immediately, and that same light sweetness of cane sugar. The flavour of pears came through as well; but the fruit is definitely taking a backseat to the cinnamon …”

Please enjoy my review which includes my recommended cocktail, the Summer Love Mule.

Posted in Flavoured Vodka, Vodka, Vodka Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Summer Love Spiced Pear Vodka

Review: Whistle Pig 10 Year Rye Whiskey

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 15, 2018

Whistle Pig 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey is an interesting whiskey. It is a 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey which began its life as part of the blending stocks at a distillery in Alberta Canada (almost certainly Alberta Distillers in Calgary Alberta).

This spirit was purchased by Whistle Pig Whiskey and transported to the Whistle Pig Farm in Shoreham Vermont where it was finished in once used bourbon barrels. According to my discussions with the local rep for Whistle Pig, because the whiskey was not aged for the entire maturation period in Canada, it is technically not a Canadian Whiskey (which must be aged only in Canada). It does though, meet the requirement in the USA to be bottled as a Straight Rye Whiskey.

Here is a link to my review:

Review: Whistle Pig 10 Year Rye Whiskey

“… The initial aroma from the glass is full of burly rye notes with accents of maple and wood spice. Both oak and cedar are present with firm vanillans and spicy wood sap. Some dusty dry grain is evident as well …”

 

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: Whistle Pig 10 Year Rye Whiskey

Review: Liquormen’s Ol’ Dirty Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 14, 2018

Liquormen’s Ol’ Dirty Canadian Whisky is a celebrity branded whisky which celebrates the classic Canadian television Series Trailer Park Boys, as well as a the Liquormen of the old West.

According to the Liquormen’s website, there was a group of ruthless bandit’s called the Liquormen in the late 1800’s. They weren’t interested in gold or jewels, rather they stole liquor. Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles (the Trailer Park Boys) launched Liquormen’s Ol’ Dirty Canadian Whisky in 2016 to honour the legacy of those Old West Bandits.

Here is a link to my full review of this new Canadian Whisky,

Review: Liquormen’s Ol’ Dirty Canadian Whisky

“… There are some corn and rye scents as well as a light dusting of wood spice, but these scents are to large extent ambushed by the building sweetness and the dank sour fruitiness. There is also a firm hint of alcohol astringency and a light grassy quality in the air which each warn me that the spirit is quite young and immature …”

I hope you enjoy the review, stay tuned for more reviews of new Canadian Whisky reviews upcoming.

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Liquormen’s Ol’ Dirty Canadian Whisky

Review: Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 12, 2018

Caba Wabo Reposado was the very first tequila brand I reviewed on this website. At the time of that original review, I was told that it was produced from agave grown in the lowlands of Mexico’s Tequila producing region. This was important to know, because lowland agave will usually bring more earthy/punky flavours through the distillation than highland agave which tends to bring spicier pepper and citrus flavours through the distillation. This year when I researched Cabo Wabo, I could no longer verify any information regarding the growing region of the agave used to produce the spirit.

To be clear, I am not sure whether anything within the spirit changed, however it is true that the ownership of the brand has been evolving. Cabo Wabo Tequila was created in 1996 by Rock & Roll legend, Sammy Hagar and named after the nightclub he owned in Cabo San Lucas. In 2007, Gruppo Campari purchased 80 % of the brand from the musician, and then purchased the remaining 20 % in 2011.

As my original review for the spirit may no longer reflect the current contents, I thought it would be fun to revisit the Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila with an updated review.

Review: Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila

“… The breezes above the glass bring hot spices and citrus zest forward with the typical punky agave aroma (this aroma always reminds me of baked squash) peculiar to Tequila is muted somewhat. This seems to indicate the spirit has more highland character than lowland …”

Please enjoy my new review which concludes with my cocktail suggestion, a traditional Margarita Cocktail.

Chimo!

Posted in Reposado Tequila, Tequila, Tequila Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila

Review: Summer Love Raspberry Vodka

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 11, 2018

This past fall at the Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Show I met, Mike Stanfield, Founder of Starr Distilling Co. based in Calgary Alberta. He was presenting his new Summer Love Vodka flavours, Raspberry and Peach. We struck up a conversation about the burgeoning Micro distilling industry in Alberta, and I wanted to know his story.

Mike told me that his venture started as a hobby making Limoncello and Coffee Liqueurs in his basement to share with friends. His repertoire expanded to making fruit infusions and letting them sit for months to absorb flavor and color. Mike said that he never intended to make spirits commercially, he just enjoyed serving his creations at dinner parties sending his friends home a little happier than when they arrived.

Mike eventually found SRL Global Distillers and a business relationship was forged. They currently produce his Summer Love Raspberry and Spiced Pear Vodkas which he is marketing in Alberta. The base vodka for these spirits is distilled 5 times and filtered to be a neutral spirit. Real fruit from British Colombia is used to create his flavours.

Summer Love Raspberry Vodka is produced using more than a pound of real raspberries in every bottle! It features the both the tart and the sweet flavour of fresh-picked British Columbia raspberries.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Summer Love Raspberry Vodka

“… Mike promised me both the tart and the sweet flavour of fresh-picked British Columbia raspberries. I am happy to say that the flavour I encountered when I took my first sip was exactly as described. If any sugar has been added to sweeten the flavour, that sweetness has been added judiciously which makes this about as good a representation of real raspberry fruit as I have tasted in a flavoured spirit …”

Please enjoy my review which concludes with a nice cocktail suggestion, my Cran-Raspberry Cosmopolitan.

Chimo!

Posted in Flavoured Vodka, Vodka, Vodka Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Summer Love Raspberry Vodka