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Posts Tagged ‘Whisk(e)y Review’

Review: Bernheim Original (Kentucky Straight) Wheat Whiskey

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 17, 2013

Berheim Wheat WhiskeyAccording to the company website, Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey is produced at the Bernheim Distillery in LouisvilleKentucky, and then aged in Rickhouse Y at Heaven Hill’s, Nelson County aging facilities. The primary grain in the mash bill is winter wheat, and as I have indicated in my previous review for Highwood’s Centennial 10 Year Old Canadian Whisky, the use of wheat (which is more easily digestible than other grains) gives the resulting whisky a softer smoother flavour profile than corn, barley or rye. The Bernheim Original contains no age statement. However, as a ‘straight whiskey’ it must be aged a minimum of two years in new, charred oak barrels, and distilled at less than 160 proof. (The website implies an aging regimen of about 5 to 6 years and specifies that the whiskey contains no coloring, flavoring or blending agents.)

You may read my full review by clicking on the following excerpt (link):

Review: Bernheim Original (Kentucky Straight) Wheat Whiskey

“… The aroma is a nice mixture of spicy oak sap and toffee with some nuances of maple rising into the breezes as well. Although the whisky is predominantly a wheat mash there appears to be enough corn in the blend to give the aroma a very bourbon-like nose with fresh corn scents and honeycomb building as the glass sits …”

For your enjoyment, I have included a classic cocktail recipe for this whiskey at the conclusion of the review, the Whiskey Sour.

Posted in American Whiskey, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Bernheim Original (Kentucky Straight) Wheat Whiskey

Review: Jim Beam Devil’s Cut Bourbon Whiskey

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 13, 2013

Jim Beam Devils cut1Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is produced by the Jim Beam Distillery which was founded in 1795, and has operated as a family run business for seven generations. According to the company website, after bourbon whiskey ages (or any other straight whiskey for that matter), and it is emptied from the oak barrel, a certain amount of the spirit is left behind, trapped within the wood fiber of the empty barrel. This portion of trapped whiskey is called the “devil’s cut” and is usually lost to those who make bourbon. Recently however, the folks at Jim Beam have developed what they call a proprietary process which releases the devil’s cut from these empty barrels. What Jim Beam extracts from the barrel is held for a certain length of time (which apparently allows the flavour to develop), and then blended with a 6-year-old bourbon. The mixture is bottled at 90 proof (45 % ABV) and the result is a new style of bourbon which they call Jim Beam Devil’s Cut.

You may read my full review by clicking on the following excerpt.

Review: Jim Beam Devil’s Cut Bourbon Whiskey

“… Very briefly I taste sweet impressions of caramel, marmalade and maple syrup. However, very quickly the woody flavours and the spices within the whiskey build up and overwhelm the sweetness. The heart of the Devil’s Cut is a sort of whiskey extract which is literally pulled from the inside of the wood fibers of oak barrels …”

Please enjoy the review which includes a nice cooler style recipe of mine called Minted Brass.

Have a great day everyone!

Posted in American Whiskey, Cocktails & Recipes, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Jim Beam Devil’s Cut Bourbon Whiskey

Review: Bushmills Black Bush Irish Whiskey

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 17, 2013

SAM_0669 Black Bush Irish CoffeeA second review for the Day of St. Pat:

The practice of making whisky at the Old Bushmills Distillery can be traced back to 1608 when King James I granted Sir Thomas Phillips (landowner and Governor of County of Antrim, Ireland) a royal license to distill ‘uisce beatha’, the gaelic for ‘water of life’. Although this grant serves as the first documented evidence of whisky being distilled at the site which would become Old Bushmills, it was not as yet called Bushmills. By 1743 however, a distillery by this name was (according to Victorian whiskey journalist Alfred Barnard) was “in the hands of smugglers”‘.  (However, it was not until 1784 that Hugh Anderson officially registered the Old Bushmills Distillery with the Pot Still as its trade mark.) Today, the Bushmills brand is owned by the Diageo conglomerate with all of the whiskey produced under the Bushmills name produced at the Old Bushmills Distillery in Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

The Bushmills Black Bush is composed of whiskey aged in Oloroso Sherry and American oak (bourbon) cask. All of this whiskey is aged for up to 7  years with 80 per cent of the blend being Premium Malt Whisky.

Please click on the following excerpt to read the review which contains two great St. Patrick’s Day cocktails, Fool’s Gold on the Rocks, and of course, Irish Coffee:

Review: Bushmills Black Bush Irish Whiskey

“… The initial breezes above the glass are warm and inviting. I sense some soft caramel toffee rising into the air with some sweet malty aromas, hints of dry fruit (raisins and apricots), a nice lightly spicy oak presence, and some light impressions of cocoa … “

Please enjoy my second St. Patrick’s Day Review!

(Note: Sample for this review provided by the Diageo Marketing  team in Alberta.)

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Irish Whskey, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Bushmills Black Bush Irish Whiskey

Review: Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 17, 2013

SAM_0654 KilbegganSt. Patrick’s Day has rolled around one more time. (Although with a temperature outside at minus seventeen degrees Centigrade and still 40 centimeters of snow still residing on my back lawn it seems more like January than March.) In many places throughout the world, this is a day to revel in the Irish heritage which we either share by birth, or we share by spirit (on St. Patrick’s Day at least). We wear green; we attend parades; and some of us even drink green beer in what has become more of a secular holiday which celebrates Irish culture, than a religious holiday which celebrates the Patron Saint after which the day was first named.

And celebrating Irish culture is not a bad thing; it was after all the Irish who first distilled “uisce beatha“, which translates from Irish into English as “the water of life“. I could go into a long and detailed etymology,  but suffice it to say that “uisce beatha” is probably very close to the original form of the word which would later become “whiskey”.  My blog is full of reviews of this wonderful spirit, but I must admit it is sorely lacking in content dedicated to the Irish variety.

Today, I will go a small way towards correcting this imbalance by reviewing a whiskey from the Emerald Isle which embodies the character and the class of spirits we call Irish Whiskey; a spirit which can trace its heritage back to 1757, and makes the claim that it is linked to the oldest distillery in Ireland, the Kilbeggan Distillery.

Please click on the following excerpt to read the full review:

Review: Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey

“… The Kilbeggan is very pleasant in the glass with a nice warm mahogany colour and initial scents of vanilla, punky toffee, and light sandalwood. As I let the glass breathe, I notice some nice fruity notes (banana and orange peel in particular), a bit of pickle juice, some green grape, and a nice little dollop of almond …”

Of course I have include a nice cocktail for the Day of St. Pat, The Irish Mojito Swizzle.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

(Note: Sample for this review provided by the Alberta Beam Global team)

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Irish Whskey, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey

Review: Wild Turkey American Honey

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 11, 2013

SAM_0575 American HoneyWild Turkey Bourbon is distilled and bottled by the Austin Nichols division of Campari Group. The distillery located near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky was built by the Riply brothers in 1869, In 1952 by the Gould Brothers purchased the facility which was later bought by Pernod Ricard in 1980 who in turn sold it to the Campari Group in 2009.

Wild Turkey American Honey is a bourbon based liqueur crafted from Kentucky Bourbon and wild honey. I received a bottle for review a few months ago, and after much delay finally got around to providing this review:

Your may click on the following excerpt to read the full review:

PassionReview: Wild Turkey American Honey

“… The entry onto the palate is relatively smooth with the sweet honey flavour melded nicely into the bourbon. This tastes much like the nose implies. Honey, butterscotch, and oak with some nice tobacco and vanilla accents. Some of the spiciness reminds me of rye, which is not surprising as Wild Turkey Bourbon is known to have a higher than average rye content …”

And because this is the week of Valentines I have added a great seasonal cocktail based upon the American Honey, called the Honey Passion Cocktail.

Please enjoy the review and the cocktail!

The spirit is bottled at 35.5 % alcohol by volume.

 

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavoured Whisky, Liqueur, Liqueur Review, Whisk(e)y Review, Whisky Liqueur | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Wild Turkey American Honey