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Posts Tagged ‘White Rum’

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Review: Montanya Platino Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 9, 2010

The Montanya Tasting Room (Photo Courtesy of Montanya Distillers)

Up in the San Juan mountains of Colorado, in the heart of the High Country, 9318 feet above sea level, there sits an anomaly upon the landscape of world of rum. In this unlikely locale, far removed from the tropical climes of the Caribbean, the Montanya Distillery is open for business making their award-winning rum. I mention award-winning, because this year the distillery captured major awards at two of the most prestigious rum tasting competitions in the USA. At both the San Fransisco Worlds Spirits Competition in San Fransisco and at the Rum Renaissance – RumXP Tasting Competition in Miami, the Montanya Platino captured Gold Medals!

Photo Courtesy Montanya Distillers

Fortunately I was in Miami acting as a judge at the RumXP Tasting Competition (for those who do not know XP stands for Expert Panel), and I was able to acquire a sample bottle of the Montanya Platino rum to review on my blog.

I did a little research and discovered that all of the rum produced by Montanya Distillers is made on a small copper pot still. It is a small batch distillation which produces roughly 10 gallons of rum in each batch. When enough rum has been distilled to fill a reused whisky barrel. It is then set down to age at altitude in the small town of Silverton, Colorado for roughly 6 weeks.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“Montanya Platino begins with a combination of honeyed caramel, bourbon vanilla and mild anise flavours on the initial palate. There is a little softness in the mouth which seems to give legs to a somewhat dank vanilla thread that runs through the rum. A touch of corn whisky stemming no doubt from the brief time in the whiskey barrels leaves a vague imprint in the rum’s flavour profile…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Montanya Platino Rum

Enjoy the review and please remember to drink responsibly.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Montanya Platino Rum

Review: Kōloa Kaua`i White Hawaiian Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 2, 2010

 

Olokele Sugar Mill on the Gay & Robinson Plantation: Photo Courtesy Jeanne Toulon (Kōloa Rum Company)

Kōloa Kaua`i White Hawaiian Rum is a white rum produced fresh from a 1210 gallon copper pot still with no barrel aging.  The actual base material for the distillation is not molasses, but rather the Gay and Robinson Plantation crystallized sugar.  I am told that the sugar has a higher than normal molasses content, and having been given a sample of the raw sugar, indeed it carries forward a wonderful molasses aroma.  From this distillate, and using the vintage copper pot still, all of the Kōloa Rum is made in a batch style.  The resulting white rum is about as pure as rum can be,  bottled fresh with no barrel aging.

This style of rum is unusual for me to taste and sample as most white rums I have reviewed here on my blog are aged rums which have been filtered clear. The fact that this rum is bottled fresh means that we are getting a glimpse into the unaged and unaltered structure of Kōloa Rums.

Here is an Excerpt from my review:

“…I taste a pleasing combination of light peppery spice and the vegetal tones one gets from a spirit bottled fresh from the still. Banana peel, a ribbon of mild anise,  and lime accents swim in the currents of a very light honeyed rummy caramel…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Kōloa Kaua`i White Hawaiian Rum

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Rum, Rum Reviews, White Rums | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Kōloa Kaua`i White Hawaiian Rum

Introducing Kōloa Kaua`i Hawaiian Rum

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 3, 2010

It was at the Rum Renaissance in Miami Florida this past May that I was first introduced to Kōloa Kaua`i Hawaiian Rum. The Kōloa Rum Company had been ‘up and rumming’ for approximately one year, and in spite of the competition from much more experienced rum companies, the Kōloa Kaua`i Dark Hawaiian Rum garnered one of prestigious gold medals at the Rumxp Tasting Competition which was in held conjunction with the event. This was a remarkable feat considering that the license to distill alcohol had been issued only one year previous, on April 1, 2009.

So I decided I had better get to know this company a little better, and after I emailed my information request, I was contacted by Jeanne Toulon, Director of Public Relations, for the Kōloa Rum Company.  Jeanne was only too happy to help me out and soon deluged me with news clippings, a cool video and as much information as she could stuff into the large brown envelope that she sent my way.  I was even given a small sample of the crystallized brown sugar from the Gay and Robinson Plantation which is the basic raw material from which all of the Kōloa Rum is distilled.  (I should add that her generosity also extended to the delivery of three bottles of the Company’s, Kōloa Kaua`i Hawaiian Rum, so that I could sample and review them at my leisure here on my blog.)

In case you are wondering, the Kōloa Rums are made using a vintage 1210 gallon vintage copper pot still imported from Kentucky.  This copper still was first shipped by train to the west coast and then by boat to the Islands of Hawaii.  Constructed just after World War II, the still was previously used to distill Kentucky whiskey.

The actual base material for the distillation is not molasses, but rather the Gay and Robinson Plantation crystallized sugar.  I am told that the sugar has a higher than normal molasses content and indeed it carries a wonderful molasses aroma.  From this distillate, and using the vintage copper pot still, all of the Kōloa Rum is made in a batch style.  The resulting white rum is about as pure as rum can be,  bottled fresh with no barrel aging.  The gold rum is just as fresh as the white, with the gold colour stemming from the addition of caramelized Gay and Robinson Plantation crystal sugar.  And finally, the dark rum, which also uses fresh rum, is enhanced with the same caramelized sugar as well as a secret recipe of spices to give it the dark rich colour and flavour which resulted in the Gold Medal at Rum Renaissance.  In a way these are throwback rums made in the manner and style of the past when it was entirely the blender’s mastery that was needed to sooth the spirit rather than the use of oak barrel aging.

The The Kōloa Rum Company has already broken new ground being the first company to legally produce rum on the Island of Kaua`i.  They have also recently established a Plantation style tasting room for visitors to the distillery to enjoy their rums, and they have won a Gold medal at Rum Renaissance.  All of this after merely one year of operation! I think it is obvious to see why I was excited to learn more.

So over the next several weeks I will be embarking on a Hawaiian odyssey of sorts. I will review each bottle of Kōloa rum, putting them through the rigors of my tasting methodology.  What the results of my reviews will be, I cannot say at this point, but what I can say is that based upon the accolades they have already earned, and based how hard they have worked in their first year of operation, I am entering upon my Hawaiian odyssey with a very positive outlook.  You can look forward to the reviews over the next several weeks.

Posted in Dark Rums, Flavouerd Rums, Howls, Rum, White Rums | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Introducing Kōloa Kaua`i Hawaiian Rum

Rum Review: Bermudez Ron Viejo Blanco

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 29, 2010

Introduction

This is the fourth review I am publishing with respect to the rums of Ron Bermudez. I previously reviewed the Ron Anejo Bermudez 5 Anos; the Bermudez Don Armando; and the Bermudez Anniversario upon my blog using sample bottles provided to my by J. Ernesto Orozco of  Biwest Imports Ltd.  My sample bottle of the Bermudez Ron Viejo Blanco rum was also supplied by Biwest Imports Ltd., as they are introducing the Bermudez rums into my home Province of Alberta.

The Bermudez Distillery is the oldest commercial rum distillery in the Dominican Republic.  The words on the bottle  ‘Viejo Blanco’ translate from Spanish to English as ‘Old White’, indicating to me that the Bermudez rum is an aged clear rum.  Exactly how old I am not sure, but I expect, based upon the particular wording used here, that the rum is aged anywhere from 1/2 year to 3 years.

I found the Bermudez Ron Viejo Blanco  to be a surprisingly high quality ‘white’ rum.  Here is an excerpt from my review:

” …The Bermudez Ron Viejo is very similar in taste profile to the Bermudez Don Armando which I reviewed earlier.  It is not quite as suave and smooth as the 10-year-old, but is it perhaps one of the smoothest ‘blanco’ rums I have encountered to date.  It is slightly sweet in the mouth, but still carries enough spice to warm the tonsils…”

You may read the full review here:

Review: Bermudez Ron Viejo Blanco

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Rum Review: Santiago de Cuba Ron Carta Blanca

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 15, 2010

 

Pictured to the left is a bottle of Santiago de Cuba Ron Carta Blanca, an authentic Cuban rum which was provided for me to sample by a good friend, who just returned from the Caribbean. He asked me to take the bottle home with me,  try as much as I needed to and place the review on my Blog.   (Some of my friends think it is really cool to see the rums they love reviewed on my blog. whereas, I think it is really cool to have friends who think like that.)

I have very little information on the rum, other than what I can decipher from the label and the smattering of information on the internet where it is sold by some internet dealers as a standard Cuban white rum.

Here is an excerpt from the review:

“…The caramel flavour of the rum is soft, and I also taste light minty candy flavours. Flashes of vanilla present themselves, but I catch no nutty flavours at all. Some Banana peel and citrus elements appear, but they are mellowed rather than too sharp….”
You may read the full review here…

Rum Review: Santiago de Cuba Ron Carta Blanca

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