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Posts Tagged ‘Rum Review’

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An El Dorado Spring

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 12, 2015

Bitter Rum and Cola

Bitter Rum and Cola

I am not sure how it has been for everyone else; but it seems to me that this past winter has outworn its welcome. So when the sun came out this past weekend, and the temperature climbed up above 10 degrees Celsius on Sunday afternoon, the Rum Chums and I moved our bi-monthly rum tasting outdoors for the first time in almost six months. The air still had some chill; but the rum we were sipping just seemed to taste better mixed with some sunshine.

I was fortunate enough to have scheduled myself off work the next day after the tasting, and since it was another warm sunny afternoon, I spent some time making cocktails with an old friend, the El Dorado 3 Year Cask Aged Demerara Rum.

Maybe the warm weather was responsible; but those cocktails seemed to be tasting particularly good as I soaked up the afternoon sunshine and listened to my tunes on my front deck. The mixed drinks were so good in fact, that I thought I should snap a few pictures and share the recipes here on my website:

El Dorado Recipe #1: Bitter Rum and Cola (a Cuba libre’ with bitters)

El Dorado Recipe #2: Iced Rum Darby (for an afternoon in the hot sun)

El Dorado recipe #3: Lime Daiquiri à la mode (a modern take on a classic)

Of course if you are more interested in the El Dorado 3 Year Rum, you can find my most recent review here:

Review: El Dorado 3 Year Cask Aged Demerara Rum

(Note: About six weeks ago, my friends at Woodman Wines and Spirits informed me that they were about to launch this great rum in Ontario. Its been several weeks since then, and I suspect the El Dorado 3 Year Old is already on the shelves at the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario). You will not be disappointed if you grab a bottle and mix a few cocktails this spring and summer.)

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on An El Dorado Spring

Review: Old Monk Gold Reserve Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 5, 2015

SAM_0958 Old Monk Gold Reserve RumLast week I embarked on a series of reviews of one of the most popular rum brands in the world, Old Monk. This brand is produced by produced by Mohan Meakin Limited in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, and according to the information I have received, all versions of this dark rum are distilled from molasses. Last week I revisited the flagship rum of the brand, Old Monk Very Old Vatted Rum which is blended and aged in India for a minimum of 7 years. This week’s review is for the more premium Old Monk Gold Reserve Rum which has been aged for 12 years.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Old Monk Gold Reserve Rum

“… Above the glass of the 12-year-old Gold Reserve Rum the breezes also bring me indications of black pepper, cinnamon and cloves with a light, but firm vanilla accent. As the glass sits, the aroma deepens bringing forward dark brown sugary smells and rich baking spices with impressions of cigar tobacco and crushed walnuts …”

Please enjoy my review of the Old Monk Gold Reserve Rum and stay tuned for my upcoming reviews of the Old Monk Supreme and the Old Monk Legend Rums.

Posted in Dark Rums, Rum, Rum Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Old Monk Gold Reserve Rum

Review: Blue Chair Bay White Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 19, 2015

Blue Chair White SAM_1349Fishbowl Spirits Llc. is a company wholly owned by Kenny Chesney, the well-known Country Music Singer from Knoxville, Tennessee. In May, 2013 Fishbowl Spirits launched Blue Chair Bay Rum, which features an assortment of rums which were apparently inspired by the relaxed island lifestyle of the country music star. The line-up includes an assortment of flavoured rums (a Coconut Rum, a Coconut Spiced Rum, a Banana Rum and a limited time only Coconut Spiced Rum Cream, as well as a standard White Rum. Although Blue Bay Chair Rum is based in Nashville, the assortment of rums they produce are distilled in Barbados and then bottled in Rochester NY by LiDestri Food & Beverage.

Three of these spirits, the Coconut and Coconut Spiced rums, as well as the White Rum have been brought into Alberta by Glazer’s Of Canada Llc, and they arranged for me to receive all three rums to review here on my website.

Lime and Maraschino Daiquiri

Lime and Maraschino Daiquiri

Blue Chair Bay White Rum, according to the Company Website is aged less than 100 feet from the high water line where there’s something about the sunlight and the wind on the water that gets into the oak casks and into every drop of Blue Chair Bay®.

Here is my full review:

Review: Blue Chair Bay White Rum

“… There were  light bits of spice wandering into the air with a smattering of buttery caramel. Perhaps I also sense some freshly mashed banana, vague notes of tropical fruit, some whispers of marshmallow, and hints of mint and licorice. When I add ice to the glass, the light scents seem to blow away in the breezes, leaving only phantoms of butterscotch above the glass …”

Please enjoy my review which includes a Lime and Maraschino Daiquiri as the suggested recipe for laid back enjoyment!

Cheers!

Posted in Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Blue Chair Bay White Rum

Review: Angostura 1919 Aged Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 12, 2015

Angostura 1919 Orange Daiquiri SAM_1469

Angostura 1919 Orange Daiquiri

In 1973, the House of Angostura bought Fernandes Distillers Ltd, adding the accumulated expertise of that Trinidadian distilling company to their own. According to the Angostura website, their Angostura 1919 Aged Rum pays homage to a particular rum produced in the 1930s by the master blender of Fernandes Distillers, J.B. Fernandes. (In fact, that rum produced by Fernandes Distillers is now considered to be of historical significance to those who study the development of rum in Trinidad and Tobago as well as the rest of the Caribbean.)

This historic rum was the result of a fire which consumed the Government Rum Bond in 1932. Mr. Fernandes purchased the remaining charred casks (which still contained rum) and discovered that they had been filled in the year 1919. The purchased rum was blended and became known as “1919 Aged Rum”. This 1919 aged rum became so highly regarded, that the House of Angostura chose to keep its memory alive with their own Angostura 1919 Aged Rum.

My sample bottle for this review was provided to my by the Bacchus Group who distribute the Angostura spirit throughout Western Canada.

Alpaco

Varlhona Noir Alpaco

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Angostura 1919 Aged Rum

” … Oak spice underlain by dry grassy tobacco leads out upon the palate with impressions of butterscotch and orange peel zest quickly following in their wake. If you allow the rum to breathe in your glass for about ten minutes a dry grassy mustiness is revealed with indications of herbal menthol and dried flowers  …”

Please enjoy my review which includes my suggested cocktail, the Angostura 1919 Orange Daiquiri, which I found uses the spicy orange peel spiciness found within the Angostura 1919 Rum to great effect. I also included an indulgent chocolate pairing, Varlhona Noir Alpaco, which is a pure Dark Chocolate from Ecuador. (Read the review to learn more.)

Cheers Everyone!

 

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

Review: Rum Nation Jamaica White Pot Still Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 5, 2015

Pot Still Cocktail SAM_1447

Jamaican Pot Still Cocktail

Rum Nation has been delighting me over the past few years with their fresh approach to the spirit we enjoy as rum. Fabio Rossi, who owns and manages the company, purchases select rums from various distillers in the Caribbean and the Americas, and provides a rather unique assortment of rare limited edition rum bottlings to both the European, and the North American market. Up until recently, all of Fabio’s rums have been well aged wonders. Some are aged solely in their country of origin where tropical aging increases the rate of interaction between the oak and the wood, and some have also seen a second period of aging in Europe where the more moderate climate allows for a more delicate interaction and additionally refines the spirit in a more subtle way. Sampling these well aged marvels has given me a greater appreciation of how both the dimensions of time and location affect the outcomes of maturity and taste with respect to aged spirits.

Last year, Fabio went in a different direction entirely with his Rum Nation Jamaica White Pot Still Rum. In the case of this spirit, the dimensions of time and location with respect to maturity are rendered irrelevant. Instead, the dimension Fabio chose to explore within this rum monster was flavour, as this new rum revels in its brutish, unaged, concentrated (bottled at 57 % alcohol) Jamaican pot still flavour (and it is anything but smooth and refined).

TAINORI

Valrhona Tainori Chocolate

This is a new direction for white rum, and you may read my full review by clicking on the following link:

Review: Rum Nation Jamaica White Pot Still Rum

“… When I took my first cautious sniff from the glass, I was struck by the depth and the intensity of the bouquet. This rum will not be for those who fear adventure in their glass. There is an omnipresent resin-like aroma similar to model airplane glue which dominates the breezes above the glass along with a grassy (chlorophyll like) scent which rides at the edges of that resin …”

Please enjoy my review which includes not only a cocktail suggestion, the Jamaican Pot Still Cocktail, but also contains my suggested chocolate pairing an intense bittersweet Dominican Cacao chocolate, Varlhona Tainori.

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

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