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Posts Tagged ‘Top 25 Rums’

Rum Howler 2014 #21 Rum – Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 18 Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 4, 2014

rum_howler_badge-2014Ron Matusalem prides itself on being a Cuban style of rum with a history in Cuba they trace back to 1872 when two brothers, Benjamin and Eduardo Camp, together with a partner, Evaristo Álvarez opened a distillery in Santiago de Cuba. According to the information I found last April on the Matusalem website, the rum they were producing began to win acclaim by the first quarter of the 20th century. The distillery apparently operated until the 1960′s when due to the Cuban Revolution the Álvarez family was exiled, and the rum they made disappeared from the landscape.

Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 18 is aged according to the Matusalem company’s own style of solera aging process. According to the Matusalem website the average age of the rums (not the minimum age) which make up this Solera Blender is 18 years.

Ron Matusalem Rum Old fashioned

Ron Matusalem Old Fashioned

Here is a link to my recently written review which I wrote earlier this Year:

# 21 Rum – Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 18

” … The initial aroma carries a nice mixed aroma of caramel, oakspice and vanilla. The rich scent is complimented by dabs of marmalade and banana. As the glass sits, the oak spices build in the air, and the rum scents in the air are enriched by added impression of maple toffee, hints of cinnamon and cloves, some pipe tobacco and perhaps a bit of roasted walnut as well …”

This is a relaxing rum with just enough nuance to keep the glass interesting as you sip, but restrained enough that the sipping experience never becomes demanding. It also makes a tremendous Rum Old Fashioned!

Cheers everyone, enjoy my countdown of the World’s Best Rums!

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Rum Howler 2014 # 22 Rum – Havana Club Selección de Maestros

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 3, 2014

rum_howler_badge-2014Havana Club’s Selección de Maestros is an authentic Cuban rum that has 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 discontinued Havana Club Barrel Proof, and any differences between the two rums are more a matter of normal variation in batch production than any real difference between the rums.

This Havana Club 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 Selección de Maestros, is one of the first rums that I know of which uses older white oak maturation casks and then younger fresh oak finishing casks.

Selección de MaestrosHere is a link to my review:

# 22 Rum – Havana Club Selección de Maestros

” … 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 …”

The Havana Club Selección de Maestros really is a fine rum. It is a little spicier than most well aged rums in the market, but the spiciness (for me) works very well within the context of the overall flavour profile. The spirit is an excellent sipper, and if you wish to explore the cocktail rum just a bit, you will find the spiciness of this Cuban spirit works wonders in that realm as well. In fact I created a new cocktail recently, Cuban Style, which uses this Havana Club Rum’s spiciness to great effect.

Cheers everyone, enjoy my countdown of the World’s Best Rums!

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# 23 Rum – Dictador XO Perpetual

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 2, 2014

rum_howler_badge-2014Dictador is produced in Colombia on the Caribbean coast at Cartagena de Indias City. Rather than being produced from molasses, the rum is produced from the virgin honey of sugar cane which has been distilled upon a stainless steel alembic, and aged using Dicatador’s unique take on the solera-style aging system. Although the rum is produced upon a stainless steel alembic, the inner workings of this still contain more than enough copper such that it functions in basically the same manner as a copper pot still.

DictadorXOStatements on the Dictador website speak to a difference in the aging regimen used for their XO rums. Although the information is not specific, it appears that the major difference is in the oak selected. The intent seems to be to create a different rum flavour profile for the rum connoisseur.

This new rum flavour profile is (in my opinion) very appealing, and it has landed the Dictador XO Perpetual at the number 23 spot on my 2014 countdown:

Here is a link to my recently revised review I wrote for this outstanding rum:

# 23 Rum – Dictador XO Perpetual

” … I sense a wonderful butterscotch sweetness underneath a bouquet of oak and baking spices (vanilla, brown sugars, and cinnamon). Orange peel wells out of the glass, but if you are patient the orange peel soon melds with the butterscotch to give the air a lovely impression of marmalade …”

The Dictador XO Perpetual is a rum which carries a bit of flamboyance through its delivery. I found it especially good in an Old Fashioned cocktail the recipe of which is shared at the conclusion on my review.

Cheers everyone, enjoy my countdown of the World’s Best Rums!

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Note: You may follow my Countdown list of the 25 Best Rums in the World here:   The Rum Howler – Top 25 Rums of 2014

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# 24 Rum – El Dorado 8 Year Old Cask Aged Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 1, 2014

rum_howler_badge-2014According to the El Dorado Website, the El Dorado 8 Year old Cask Aged Rum is blended from selected stocks of rum which were produced from no less than four of Demerara Distillers’ traditional Heritage Stills including both the original Wooden Coffey Still which was rescued from the Enmore Estate and the Double Wooden Pot Still which was rescued from the Port Mourant Estate. Each of these stills is well over 200 years old and they represent the last of their kind operating in the world today. The use of these ancient stills ensures that the Demerara Rum produced at DDL’s Diamond Distillery is unlike anything produced anywhere else in the world. (For more information on the unique Heritage Stills in operation at the Diamond distillery you may read my first hand account here (Diamond Distillery Tour).

Rum Manhattan with El Dorado 8 Year Old Rum

Rum Manhattan with El Dorado 8 Year Old Rum

The new 8 Year Old Rum from El Dorado Rum was first released in Ontario, and has recently been made available here in Alberta too.

Here is a link to my recent review I wrote for this outstanding new rum from Demerara Distillers Limited:

#24 Rum – El Dorado 8 Year Old Cask Aged Rum

“… The immediate nose reveals a nice mixture of oak and coarse brown sugar as well as spicy scents of cinnamon and toffee, some luscious vanilla, and some not so subtle hints of orange marmalade …”

As good as this rum is to sip on its own, it is just as good when mixed in a classic cocktail. My  suggested recipe for the El Dorado 8 Year Old Rum is a Rum Manhattan.

Cheers everyone, enjoy my countdown of the World’s Best Rums!

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Note: You may follow my Countdown list of the 25 Best Rums in the World here:   The Rum Howler – Top 25 Rums of 2014

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The Top 25 Rums of 2014

Posted by Arctic Wolf on November 30, 2014

rum_howler_badge-2014Once again, I have prepared my annual listing of the best rums available in the world, this time for the year ending, 2014.

If you have followed any of my year-end countdown lists over the past few years you will have noticed that they are ever evolving as new spirits become available for me to taste each year, and as previously reviewed spirits disappear (for example: Appleton Estate 50 Year Old Jamaica Rum – Jamaica Independence Reserve) or become unavailable in my market for me to re-evaluate.

Another factor causing change in my rankings each year is the evolution of the various spirit brands which, contrary to popular opinion, do not necessarily remain consistent from year to year (or even from batch to batch). Within spirit companies, and within individual distilleries, philosophies and styles change as does the quality of the spirit produced from year to year (and from batch to batch).

download7_1680x1050My list as usual will be presented “Countdown Style” beginning on November 30th, and then through the month of December with the best rum of 2014 revealed on December 24, 2014 just in time for you to grab a bottle for Christmas and New Year’s cheer! As you return to this page each day (beginning November 30th), a new spirit will be revealed as we count down to the best rum I have personally tasted in 2014!

As so with no further ado, allow me to present my countdown list of

The Rum Howler – Top 25 Rums of 2014

And of course, allow me to present my choice as the 25th best rum in the World:

Flor de Caña Centenario 12

Note: I will be publishing two additional advent lists in the run up to Christmas, my 2nd annual Top 25 Canadian Whiskies of 2014, and my newest review series, The 12 Cognacs of Christmas!

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