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Posts Tagged ‘Rum Review’

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Review: London Dock Rum (Favell’s 70 Proof)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on June 3, 2012

Favell’s London Dock Rum is (according to the label anyways) is blended and bottled in Canada for White Favell (Vinters). The Canadian agency responsible for blending and bottling this rum is the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC).

The label tells us that London Dock is a Demerara Rum produced in Guyana; therefore I can deduce that the rum was distilled on the East Bank of the Demerara River at the facilities of Demerara Distillers Ltd. (DDL).  (This information was confirmed to me by both the NLC and Demerara Distillers.) It is apparently produced from original marques of rum which in the past would have been shipped to England to mature in the London Docks, hence the name London Dock Rum. Of course, the rum no longer travels to England to mature, rather it travels from Demerara County in Guyana in bulk to St. John’s Newfoundland to be blended bottled by the NLC. London Dock is an old style Demerara rum, with strong flavours of molasses and treacle.

(I was given a sample bottle by the NLC for the purpose of a review here on my website.)

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“… The London Dock Rum has a strong aroma of molasses and burnt caramel, and there is only a light essence of ‘woodiness’ rising from the glass. (My general impression from the aroma is that the rum has been aged somewhere in the range of two years or so.) Other smells drift up from the glass, a bit of orange and banana peel, some indications of vanilla and some  medium sweet baking spices …”

You may read my full review here:

Review: London Dock Rum (Favell’s 70 Proof)

Included with the review are two cocktail suggestions for this rum, the Mandeville, and Baron Bliss.

Please enjoy the review and the cocktails suggestions that follow, Cheers!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: London Dock Rum (Favell’s 70 Proof)

Review: El Dorado Spiced Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 27, 2012

I was privileged recently when I received an invite to visit the facilities of Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) in Guyana, South America. During this visit I was given a complete tour of the Diamond Distillery where DDL’s famous El Dorado Rums are produced. This included a tour of the old plant which houses the heritage stills (famous stills from various estates in Guyana some as old as 250 years, all working and still producing rum), and I saw DDL’s new high-capacity four-column distillation plant which is now in operation.

During this trip, I also was able to taste the entire line of El Dorado rums including the new El Dorado Spiced Rum. In fact at the guest house where I was staying, a full bottle of the El Dorado Spiced (and a few others as well) were left for our small Canadian group to enjoy each evening. I snapped a nice picture of the bottle while I was there and spent a little time gathering some tasting notes.

Here is an excerpt from the resulting review:

“…. As the glass sits, I receive firm indications of allspice and cloves rise as well as a nice updraft of cinnamon. A brief appearance of oak also reaches the breezes above the glass coinciding with some quiet notes of orange peel and citrus. I was expecting more of a molasses push from this spiced rum, but the El Dorado Spiced seems to be a lighter style of rum than what I was expecting …”

Here is a link to the full review:

Review: El Dorado Spiced Rum

As well you should try my great punch recipe at the end of the review, Georgetown Punch!

Cheers Everyone!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavouerd Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: El Dorado Spiced Rum

Review: Havana Club Selección de Maestros Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 20, 2012

Havana Club’s new Selección de Maestros Rum is an authentic Cuban rum that has recently replaced the Havana Club Barrel Proof in the portfolio of Havana Club Rums. It is my understanding that the Selección de Maestros is produced in the same manner as the Havana Club Barrel Proof, and any differences between the two rums are more a matter of normal variations in batch production than any real difference between the rums.

The rum undergoes a rather unique maturation process where it is first aged in old white oak barrels, and when the final rum is blended, it is then finished in specially ‘selected’ younger finishing casks. I have heard of this ‘Double Barrel’ approach with whisky, but the Havana Club Barrel Proof and now its replacement, the Selección de Maestros, is the first rum that I know of which uses older white oak maturation casks and then younger fresh oak finishing casks.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“… The immediate nose is of sweet toffee, with a nice complement of cinnamon. Nutmeg and cloves work their way into the breezes along with a little oak, some hot orange peel and a touch of green tobacco. As the glass sits, the aroma of toffee intensifies making the rum seem very attractive, which of course leads me to steal a sip …”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Havana Club Selección de Maestros Rum

As well I have added a Cuba Libre’ Style cocktail for your enjoyment called, Cuban Cane Harvest.

Please Enjoy my review!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Havana Club Selección de Maestros Rum

Review: Tanduay Superior Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 6, 2012

In 1999, The Manilla Wine Merchants Inc. formally changed their name to Tanduay Holdings, and they are currently one of the largest rum producers in the world. In fact Tanduay Rum is regularly listed alongside Bacardi Rum as the two best-selling brands of rum in the world. The reason I had never heard of Tanduay until about five years ago is simply because almost all of their rum sales occur in Asia where Tanduay is the most popular brand.

According to the Tanduay Website, all of their rum is produced from four main ingredients, distilled alcohol (from sugar cane molasses), demineralized water, sugar, and a rather nebulous term, ‘other ingredients’.  The website explains that the distilled sugar cane molasses is aged in oak barrels for a minimum of two years for all their brands, after which it is blended with the aforementioned water, sugar, and those ‘other ingredients’. The Tanduay Superior is labeled as a 12-year-old rum produced by Tandauy Holdings for their domestic market. This 12-year-old rum is considered ‘the cognac’ of rums by Tanduay and is the most premium ‘production rum’ in their current portfolio.

My good friend Lance, who also reviews rum on his website, Liquorature, supplied me with a sample of Tanduay Superior from which I was able to cobble together this review.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“… When I initially brought the rum to my nose I noticed caramel and molasses rising with a good dose of oak and baking spices thrown in for good measure. The amount of wood that I detect is a good sign. My fear was that those ‘other ingredients’ would be dominating the rum, but to be perfectly honest the nose of the rum does not seem to carry any untoward scents and aromas….”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Tanduay Superior Rum

Please enjoy the review!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Tanduay Superior Rum

Review: Ron Millonario XO Reserva Especial Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 22, 2012

Ron Millonario XO Reserva Especial Rum is a new rum which has entered the Alberta marketplace from Peru. It was extremely hard to research this rum as not even the Ron Millonario Website has any information about it.  The website does speak of three old Scottish column stills and a slow distillation process used to produce their rum from sugar cane molasses, although the exact distillery which produces the rum is not mentioned (only that it can be found in the North of Peru). It is implied that this distillery uses its own specially selected yeasts in the fermentation process, and mention is made of the distillery’s own coopers who construct their own aging barrels from American and Slavonian oak.

Although specifics about this particular rum are hard to find, it does give me an opportunity to review the spirit with very few preconceptions.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“… As the glass breathes baking spices build with luxurious scents of vanilla, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. I seem to be catching hints of dry fruit which are sort of reminiscent of Christmas fruit cake. My sense is that the aroma is very well balanced… “

You may click the following link to read the full review:

Review: Ron Millonario XO Reserva Especial Rum

Cheers!

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Ron Millonario XO Reserva Especial Rum

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