Review: Lost Spirits Cuban Inspired Rum

Dave Russell of RumGallery.com is back with a review of Lost Spirits Cuban Inspired Rum. Don’t miss it.

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imageLost Spirits Cuban Inspired Rum

A review by Dave Russell

 

Tasting Notes

Very Smooth. I see a dark reddish amber colored rum in the bottle, turning to a lighter copper color in the tasting glass. A potent pot-distilled rum bouquet wafts out of the bottle like a heavy treacle fog of past Cuban free spirits. On the nose, even at nearly double the strength of most sipping rums, this Lost Spirits expression immediately evokes the soft nuances found in several of the finer aged rums from Cuba, Panama and the Dominican Republic. Such rums tend to be cleanly distilled, highly rectified spirits that rely heavily on the wood of the barrel to define them. And Lost Spirits Cuban Inspired rum captures that paraffin, oak aged essence marvelously, with prescient vanillans, caramel, flour pastry, mild coconut, nutmeg, a fair amount of overripe tropical fruit and a hint of copper from the fermentation tank and still. Clearly, there’s a lot going on inside this rum, and the high 75.5% ABV help deliver the aromatic semi-volatile compounds more efficiently to your nose. In any case, the rum rewards prolonged careful sniffing.

imageThe initial taste delivers flavors so familiar to Lost Spirits other fine rums and whiskeys – their cultivated yeast ensures it so. Above that you taste a big woody overproof spiced jewel of a rum, with potent oaken vanilla, nutmeg and fruit showing a deft consistency during the segue from aromas to flavors. The medium-to-heavy weight body underscores the significance of what you taste, then the finish ends with more caramel, butterscotch and a lingering spiciness. You don’t often reach for an overproof rum when you want to sip something neat, and Lost Spirits Cuban Inspired rum is no exception, but dammit, it’s good enough to drink that way. Salud!

RG: Lost Spirits produces rum in single batches from a small copper pot still. I expect the aromas and flavors to be big and powerful with every new batch, although they may vary with each iteration, as no additives adulterate the rum for consistency.

Anecdotes
Lost Spirits Cuban Inspired rum makes no age declaration, and for good reason. It’s not aged in the Millenium-old traditions. Rather, it is matured using patented methods that I am not at liberty to discuss. Trust me, they are natural and simply hurry Mother Nature along. The bottle does however claim no coloring nor flavoring additives, and adds a bit of transparency by revealing the source materials; “baking grade molasses, water and a yeast culture.” I can tell you that Davis uses a similar foundation yeast strain for all of his liquors, giving each Lost Spirits product their signature flavor.

Bryan Davis is no stranger to making unique spirits, His Navy Style overproof rum has set the rum world all abuzz, and his heavily peated American whiskies, Leviathan and Ouroboros have twice the peat of most Scotch Whisky’s, and rival some old favorites among single malt aficionados. He sent the following notes to the Rum Gallery detailing his latest creation.

Fermentation
“Cuban Inspired overproof rum uses the same molasses as the Navy Style rum (Grade A and designed for confection) but with minimal dunder effects. We still use the banana in the yeast starter as a nitrogen supplement. The fermentation is kept at a cooler temperature and is conducted for an overall shorter time. In short, it is much less wild.”

Distillation
“Here is the biggest difference. Where the Navy is distilled in a low rectification style to bring all the funky fermentation character forward, the Cuban Inspired uses a high rectification (hence the name). By high rectification I mean a narrow cut of the rum to only bring a small portion of the flavors through – and to concentrate them (along with a very high alcohol content). It comes off the still with a strong, classic high rectification rum aroma (wax – Elmer’s glue).”

Oak
“The Cuban Inspired rum is matured predominantly in toasted new American oak with a bit of reused charred American oak. The barrels are not seasoned with sherry. The toasting brings out a very different set of wood effects from charring. And the reused oak is partially depleted so it brings different things to the party as well.”

Purpose
“I think the real idea is to show the range of flavors we can engineer into a rum, and to see if we could make a 151 sip-able. We have the ability to make such concentrated flavor bombs – we really wanted to take this one far away from the Navy Style tree – while still maintaining the aroma density with an entirely different profile.”

Lost Spirits liquors are the definition of Hand Crafted. Davis built his own hand-hammered and silver soldered copper pot still and fermentation tank, cultivated his own strain of yeast, developed patented maturation techniques, bottles the liquors by hand, and even drew the label that evokes Maxfield Parrish’s art.

Opinion
Lost Spirits rums are as real as they get – I’ve watched all of them develop and prosper into exciting spirits over the past few years. Try some, you owe it to yourself to sample this potently flavorful American success story.

Sure, patented maturing techniques and funky yeast strains on starvation diets are interesting. But the measure of a rum that purports to be Cuban Inspired simply must make a slayer of a classic daiquiri. So, does Lost Spirits’ latest overproof rum stand up to that challenge? Seguro que si! (Hell yes!) Lime juice and sugarcane syrup simply add more fuel to this house afire.

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To read more of Dave’s work, check out the Rum Gallery.

Alma de Bohemio 8 Year

While browsing the aisles of one of our favorite spirits shops we discover Alma de Bohemio, a Panamanian rum that has somehow eluded our grasp until now.  

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Bohemian Soul
by Mike Streeter

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Two weeks ago, while lazily driving south on US1 through the Florida Keys, I stopped at a place called Discount Liquors in Key Largo.  I know this to be a shop with good selection, fair prices, and every now and then, the holder of some unique and forgotten cane spirits treasures.

I browsed the rum aisle and picked up two of my favorites, a 750 of El Dorado 12 and a half gallon of Flor de Cana 4, both for a very good price.  Then I spotted a bottle that looked unfamiliar to me – Alma de Bohemio 8 Year from Panama.  How have I not heard of this rum before?  I tucked it away in the shopping cart and looked forward to sampling it when I got back to Key West.

As it turns out, the Alma de Bohemio brand (which translates to ‘Bohemian Soul’) has been around for a while, we had just never crossed paths with it.  Bohemio 8 Year is distilled using a two-stage method and then diluted to bottle strength before aging.  It rests in centuries-old American white oak casks and then blended by master blender Don “Pancho” Fernandez of Zafra, Havana Club and Ron de Jeremy fame.

I’m personally of the opinion that 5-10 year old rums occasionally hold greater character than some of their more mature cousins and Alma de Bohemio 8 Year definitely fits into this category.  It is a beautiful medium amber color and the initial aroma is wonderfully sweet, as is common of many Central American rums.  

I’m surprised at my first sip of Bohemio 8 year.  It packs a flavor punch and the oak notes much heavier than is typical of a rum this age.  Flavors of allspice and tropical fruits are present with fading hints of vanilla.  It is a wonderful slow sipper with an ice cube and would lend itself nicely to cocktails.

At just 20 bucks, Alma de Bohemio 8 Year has quickly become one of my favorite rums in this price range.  This potent Panamanian rum surely embodies the “Bohemian Soul” and is destined for much success.  Be sure to give it a try!

Until next time, Cheers!

Alma de Bohemio 8 Year

While browsing the aisles of one of our favorite spirits shops we discover Alma de Bohemio, a Panamanian rum that has somehow eluded our grasp until now.  

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Bohemian Soul
by Mike Streeter

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Two weeks ago, while lazily driving south on US1 through the Florida Keys, I stopped at a place called Discount Liquors in Key Largo.  I know this to be a shop with good selection, fair prices, and every now and then, the holder of some unique and forgotten cane spirits treasures.  

I browsed the rum aisle and picked up two of my favorites, a 750 of El Dorado 12 and a half gallon of Flor de Cana 4, both for a very good price.  Then I spotted a bottle that looked unfamiliar to me – Alma de Bohemio 8 Year from Panama.  How have I not heard of this rum before?  I tucked it away in the shopping cart and looked forward to sampling it when I got back to Key West.

As it turns out, the Alma de Bohemio brand (which translates to ‘Bohemian Soul’) has been around for a while, we had just never crossed paths with it.  Bohemio 8 Year is distilled using a two-stage method and then diluted to bottle strength before aging.  It rests in centuries-old American white oak casks and then blended by master blender Don “Pancho” Fernandez of Zafra, Havana Club and Ron de Jeremy fame.

I’m personally of the opinion that 5-10 year old rums occasionally hold greater character than some of their more mature cousins and Alma de Bohemio 8 Year definitely fits into this category.  It is a beautiful medium amber color and the initial aroma is wonderfully sweet, as is common of many Central American rums.  

I’m surprised at my first sip of Bohemio 8 year.  It is much smoother than I expected and the oak notes much heavier than is typical of a rum this age.  Flavors of allspice and tropical fruits are present with fading hints of vanilla.  It is a wonderful slow sipper with an ice cube and would lend itself nicely to cocktails.

At just 20 bucks, Alma de Bohemio 8 Year has quickly become one of my favorite rums in this price range.  This potent Panamanian rum surely embodies the “Bohemian Soul” and is destined for much success.  Be sure to give it a try!

Until next time, Cheers!

Travellers 5 Barrel Rum

Traveller’s Liquors has been producing well-balanced and appropriately priced spirits in Belize for nearly 60 years. Our favorite is 5 Barrel Reserve.  Check it out.

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Long known for their popular One Barrel Rum, Traveller’s Liquors Ltd. is a Belize City based distillery that specializes in rum, vodka and brandy production.  They started with a humble bar in 1953 and catered to tourists and business people who were traveling through the area.  Like most local bars in the Caribbean, they began to distill and blend their own rum.  Their spirits were well received and over the years the technique was perfected.  Traveller’s remains a family business and their pride in country and product shows in everything they do.

5 Barrel Reserve, the latest release from Traveller’s Ltd., is made from high grade, freshly cut sugar cane, distilled and aged for 5 years in American Oak Barrels.  At the moment it is only available in Central America.

The packaging of 5 Barrel is subtle.  It is presented in a short 750ml bottle with embossed scroll work framing the label and a plastic screw top.  Travellers could score some points by adding a real cork.

5 Barrel flaunts a rich medium-amber color and a quick swirl reveals long thin legs that slowly cascade down the side of the glass and hang just above the pool of rum below.  The nose is sweet with notes of brown sugar, caramel and a hint of tobacco and citrus. My first sip of 5 Barrel was a true pleasure.  It is much smoother than I expected of a rum this young with rich flavors and very little burn.  The texture is silky and notes of caramel and butterscotch are quite pronounced then give way to hints of orange peel, burnt sugar and allspice.  This rum should be enjoyed neat or with an ice cube or two.

Overall, Traveller’s has done a really nice job with 5 Barrel Reserve.  It holds many of the same characteristics of their younger rums, but much more bold and refined.  The tradition of sweet-balanced Central American rum remains intact with 5 Barrel Reserve.  To top it off, a bottle costs a mere $15 which puts it at the top of our list of rums in that price range.

Cheers!

Picture 7

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Review: Pyrat Cask 1623-Part 2

Lance Surujbally from Liquorature.com digs into the particulars of Pyrat Cask 1623 in the second installment of his review.  Read on, rummies…..

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Review: Pyrat Cask 1623
by Lance Surujbally

The palate?  No redemption, I’m afraid, and by now I was wondering – what the hell was going on? Did some disgruntled vet pop a few hundred rinds into the still? The liquid was thicker and oilier than other rums I’ve tried, and coated the tongue like it wanted to be a delivery system for a few fascinating flavours the master blender had pulled out of his hat; there was a sweet and lasting flavor, but what the hell was it? A liqueur?

I was tasting a smoothly sweetish spirit and a commingled taste of various almost impossible-to-discern elements dominated by orange marmalade flavor.  Again I got the annoyingly faint background tastes the nose had hinted at, without any of them having the courage to tek front and show us who was boss. The floral scents dimmed more than shimmered, the caramel-molasses and burnt sugar taste faded almost entirely, and what I was left with was something that wasn’t sure what it wanted to be…too sweet for a rum, not complex enough for a high-end. Excuse me fellas, I thought there was supposed to be rums here. This was what two hundred drops of my sweat had bought?

And don’t believe I was entirely mollified by the excellent fade, the only thing I don’t have a whinge about. The 1623 goes down very well, without serious burn or scratch, and even a non-rum-drinker might like that part: my 72 year old father-in-law took a sniff, smacked his gums, sipped it down and allowed it may even eclipse the standard Russian rotgut he preferred (talk about damning with faint praise there), while observing it had too much sugar, as if I should shoot off to Anguilla immediately and take them to task about the matter. In fact, I did send an email down there (and to Patron) asking about the taste and the sugar, which has thus far remained unanswered.

Pyrat’s Cask 1623, also known as Cask 23 for people who can’t be bothered to write the whole thing, is a blend of rums aged up to 40 years.  Note the careful phrasing on the Pyrat website: “We distill the dark amber spirit in limited quantities, ageing its smooth distinctive blend of premium Caribbean rums in oak barrels for up to 40 years.” What that means to me is that the oldest rum in the blend is 40 years old (not the youngest) and there’s no information regarding what proportion is that old. Even the barrels are a bit dodgy – I’ve heard of the usual burbon barrels, of course, and rumours of barrels that once held orange liqueur. So maybe that’s what it is. Caveat Emptor.

Pyrat’s 1623 won the 2007 Ministry of Rum tasting competition, and one can only wonder how the hell that happened. Let me put it to you this way: if you were handing out prizes for distinctiveness, Bundie, Old Port, Pyrat (both of them) and maybe Legendario would come out top – you could taste them blind and know what you were getting because they are so unique in taste, so different: but that difference does not translate into real quality, and frankly, I think Pyrat is teetering on the edge of not being a rum at all, what with all that extra stuff they must be chucking into the ageing barrels with such languid insouciance.

So there we have it. Unimprressive.  I know I sound a little miffed, perhaps even a shade snarky. But yeah I’m feeling let down, more than a little annoyed.  Actually, I’m plenty mad.  This rum is such a disappointment – it’s a forty dollar rum in a hundred dollar package, selling for two hundred.  Some might argue that I like the sugar-caramel-molasses taste in my rums, and just as I like that taste, so there are others out there who prefer peats, and others who will like orange or sherry or what have you.  No harm no foul.  Yet, I disagree: the whole selling point of Islay whiskies is that unmistakeable peatiness; with rums it’s the core of caramel and burnt sugar enhanced by the varying notes imparted by climate (Bundie or Old Port spring to mind immediately), distillation techniques, ageing and the barrels used.  In the top end of rums, there is an underlying harmony, a sort of zen marriage of all good things that comes together like a Porsche 911 GT3.  Sure it blasts off with you, but in a good way. All is in balance. You don’t mind getting your faced ripped off at 6500 rpm and 200mph because you are utterly ensorcelled by the sheer unbridled harmony of the components meshing together like they were lubricated in distilled angels’ tears.

And that’s not the case here. We’ve been sold on a marketing gimmick. We’ve been fed on rarity, a carefully parsed age statement, and price (and a really odd dearth of online reviews I have difficulty comprehending – what, has no-one tasted this thing?). When I tried the English Harbour 1981, the Appleton 30 and Master’s Blend, the El Dorado 21 and 25, the G&M Longpond 1941, I could taste the underlying structural complexity and efforts to both smoothen and balance off the competing flavours.  Here, we have an inexplicable central taste of citrus that advertises its ego from the get go, practically drowns out all other flavours, and to my mind is only marginally redeemed by an extraordinary smoothness.  Ultra-premium? Yeah, it’s about as Ultra-premium as a garage sale with one good item in it.

For a rum this expensive and positioning itself at the top of the rum chain, I’d suggest that they stop messing about with the Hoti medallion.  And replace it with one that bears the imprint of the patron saint of shell games and snake oil sellers.

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To read more from Lance, check out Liquorature.com.

Review: Pyrat Cask 1623-Part 1

Our friend Lance from Liquorature.com checks in with the first half of a Pyrat Cask 1623 review.  See what he thinks of this pricey rum from Anguilla.

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Review: Pyrat Cask 1623
by Lance Surujbally

 

I enjoy Pyrat’s XO rum about as much as I do the leisurely explorations of my favourite proctologist. And when one considers the abysmal regard I have for its enormous tangerine nose, one could reasonably ask what business I had shelling out four times as much to buy the brand’s top-end product, the Cask 1623.  Truth is, it was like a splinter lodged in my mind for over a year, and no matter how many times I passed it squatting smugly there behind a glass case, I could never get rid of the impression it was sneering at me and calling me a puling, whining cheapskate.  So the other day when I had some disposable income, I finally said to hell with it, and got ‘er.

Pyrat is a product of the Anguilla Rums company.  This is an establishment with its own origin story (whether true or not, it’s still fun reading) regarding a travelling seaman called CJ Planter who fell in love with an island girl who may have been the illegitimate daughter of a plantation owner and a local lady who dabbled in witchcraft.  CJ eventually began a rum-making concern which, it must be emphasized, did not create rums from scratch, but blended rums from elsewhere (which continues today – I imagine this is because Anguilla, a beautiful but tiny speck in the Caribbean which if you sneezed at the wrong time you’d miss as you flew over it, lacks the resources to have full blown sugar cane plantations on the available land).  Subsequent digging suggests that the Pyrat brand is actually owned by a Nevada outfit called the Patron Spirits Company, and they have a line of spirits products that extends from Patron tequila, to Ultimat vodka, to liqueurs, and rums. So do they own the Anguilla company?  Don’t know…probably they are acting as marketing and distribution agents for the factory, which, as  Ed Hamilton of the Ministry of Rum notes, was shut down in 2010. Note that the rum is now made from DDL’s rum stock from Guyana, and given the shutdown in Anguilla, it’s very likely that the blending takes place in Guyana as well (I was not able to definitely confirm this beyond the anecdotal).

Be that as it may, I must commend them for the mere look of the package.  I’m a sucker for a good presentation; it’s part of the overall aesthetic, I argue, much to the disgust of the various maltsters of my acquaintance, who refuse to be sidetracked by such mundane matters and make no bones about chucking wrapper, box and bunting as soon as they buy a bottle of anything. Here, Pyrat’s delivers, and this is as it should be for a self-annointed “ultra-premium” rum costing north of two hundred bucks. The hand blown bottle is encased in a wooden box (the Pyrat homepage says cedar, but I notice one reviewer says walnut, and from the lack of an aroma, walnut is my take also), and around its neck is a medallion with the patron saint of fortune tellers and bartenders, Hoti.  And there’s a hand lettered label signed by the master blender.  Pretty cool.

The rum is a dark amber colour, and has a heavy look to it. The cork is a real cork, no extras or plastic anything. And as soon as I opened the stopper, I knew I’d been had. Well, perhaps not – perhaps I’d allowed myself to be had in my eagerness to try something new at the supposed top end of the scale. The nose wafted out and it was immediately clear that customers of the XO had written in and started a campaign to assure Pyrat that the citrus they had sensed in the XO — the very thing I had disliked so much about it – was for wussies and they demanded something with just as much more orange heft: and Pyrat complied.  Open the botle and the waft of an orange grove comes right at you.

There’s a sullen, sulky heaviness to it when it pours into your glass that reminds you of a lighter-coloured El Dorado – and the legs were relatively slow and fat as they slid down the sides, so that part was good. But nosing it was about as subtle as the grapefruit scene with Mae Clark in 1931’s “Public Enemy”.  Yes, I got vanilla (and I had to strain for that); yes there were subtler hints of cherries and flowers here (more strain), under which moved the darker scent of burnt brown sugar – but there was nothing overly dramatic that grabbed my snoot, no I-see-Vishnu moment, no heavenly chorus of angel who should attend the opening of such a purportedly premium product. What was self evident was, as I’ve noted, that damned scent.

The citrus background was more muted than in the XO, but still far too prevalent and bashed the others into a sort of torpid insensibility – it’s like an orange Chuck Norris came through the joint, belted out a roundhouse kick to the face, and all the other smells fell down, twitching feebly.

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Tune in tomorrow for the second installment of Lance’s Cask 1623 review.

Review: Ron Abuelo Anejo

The Arctic Wolf signs back on with a review of Ron Abuelo Anejo, a unique and affordable rum from Varela Hermanos in Panama.  Check it out.

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Rum Review: Ron Abuelo Anejo  (80.5/100)
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)

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Ron Abuelo Anejo rum is produced by Varela Hermanos SA in Panama, Central America. This company has a history which dates back to 1908 when Don José Varela Blanco launched the the first sugar mill in the then recently formed Republic of Panama.  In 1935 the site began to distill sugar cane juice for the production of liqueurs. Today the company produces an impressive array of products which includes over one million boxes of liqueurs and of course a strong variety of rum. The Ron Abuelo brand is just one brand from this wide assortment.

My first taste of this rum came in Miami (Rum Renaissance) at an event sponsored by Abuelo Rums. At the end of the event I was given a courtesy gift bag by the sponsors, and it contained a small 200ml glass flask of Ron Abuelo Anejo which I kept unopened until now when I decided to sample the rum for the purpose of this review.

According to the website Ron Abuelo Anejo is produced from sugar cane juice rather than molasses and it is aged in white oak bourbon casks. A little research indicates that the Anejo is probably a 3 year old rum. It stands at the bottom of the rungs, with respect to the Ron Abuelo lineup, accompanied in the brand line up by a 7 year old and a 12 year old rum.

In the Bottle  4/5

Although I am reviewing the rum inside my small glass flask, I was sent a photo of the larger sized flagon style bottle after contacting the Varela Hermanos website. The presentation is a dark brown flagon style bottle which is sealed by what appears to be a plastic capped closure. My flask style bottle was also sealed with a similar closure. I am happy to see no evidence of a metal screw caps anywhere. The label on the bottle is very simple, and lacks any frills. I would prefer a little more information on the bottle with respect to age of the blend, and perhaps a little history of Ron Abuelo Rum to entice me to buy it. But I admit there is also a certain charm in the simple approach.

In the Glass  8/10

I always have this unrealistic expectation of a dark rich spirit when I pour rum or whisky from a dark bottle. So I was a little surprised when I first poured the spirit into my glass, and I saw a pale rum more the colour of barley straw than of mahogany. The pale colour is actually the expected colour for a three year old rum, so I should not have been surprised.

In the glass the rum is thin and does not coat the sides of the glass with anything more than a light sheen. The initial nose is sharp and carries the medicinal tones of a young rum. A sense of fresh fruit and berries seem to be in the initial breezes as well. As the rum decants in the glass I begin to notice vanilla and caramel rising into the air as well. When the glass is fully decanted, the nose becomes heavy with coarse brown sugar and is tinged with cinnamon accents. By now the lighter medicinal tones have disappeared.

In the Mouth 49/60

Just like the nose, the initial delivery into the mouth is quite sharp and carries a stronger alcohol bite on the tongue than I would prefer. However, the rum also carries stronger, richer, flavour than I would have suspected as well. Vanilla, caramel and citrus peel lead out first but I soon taste firm fruitiness reminiscent of black cherries and wild field-berries.  The fruity tastes are reminiscent of a Port wine influence, and they have me somewhat baffled by their appearance in such a young rum which has been aged in a bourbon cask.  The rum also contains more familiar strong flavours of brown sugar, spicy cinnamon, and even perhaps a little tobacco and leather. My research indicates that at least a portion of this rum may have been distilled from molasses as the production of rum year round from only cane juice is unlikely. The juice must be squeezed from fresh cane, and during the winter months this may not be available. This makes me wonder if it is a mixture of distillate from two sources (cane juice and molasses) which is the foundation for the very different flavours I am encountering.

In spite of the richness, when I sip the rum I find the flavours a little out of balance. The fruits and berries I taste seem to be out of step and do not merge into the more familiar molasses flavours of the rum. In a sense these flavours are clashing rather than harmonizing, and the fruitiness seems sharper than it should be.

I remembered that in Miami (at the Abuelo sponsored event) the rum was served to me with cola. Taking my cue from the that experience, I added cola to my tasting glass.  I found that the ‘Rum ‘n Cola’ style suited the Abuelo Rum extremely well. Since this is a three year old rum, I was not surprised that it performed much better as a cocktail rum than as a sipping rum.

In the Throat  11.5/15

A thirsty pirate would probably relish the swat to the tonsils that this rum delivers. The sharpness I detected in the aroma and in the initial flavour has come back to remind me that this is rum and not tea I am sipping. Spicy cinnamon seem to find legs in the finish which full of a spicy sweetness and is much longer than I would have suspected.

The Afterburn  8/10

The Ron Abuelo Anejo rum has a very unique flavour profile, and I cannot escape the feeling that somewhere in the mix, a port enhancement was used to deliver the flavour profile I am tasting. (I am probably wrong, as all indications I have received are that only bourbon barrels are used to age the rum.)  I like the rich flavours that I have encountered, and I like the easy mix-ability of the rum.   I just wish it was available up where I am north of the 42nd parallel.

Suggested Recipe

I like the way that cola mixes with the Abuelo rum. So I went on a bit of a search for a cola style bar drink that would be interesting but more importantly, taste great with the Abuelo Anejo Rum. A recipe I found on the Internet Cocktail Database which intrigued me was called the Mandeville. Its formulation is as follows.

Mandeville
(This is a standard shake and strain recipe to be served in a cocktail glass)

1 1/4 oz light rum
3/4 oz dark rum
1/4 oz Pernod
1/2 oz cola
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz grenedine

Garnish with an orange slice

The recipe looks nice but I have Chartreuse in my cabinet rather than Pernod. I also wanted a little more dark rum in the cocktail to better highlight the Abuelo rum. So, I made a few tweaks to suit the ingredients I had on had and made my formulation as follows:

The Mandeville
Arctic Wolf’s Variation

1 oz light rum (Flor de Cana 4 yr dry)
1 oz dark rum (Abuelo Anejo)
1/4 oz Chartreuse
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz grenedine
ice

1/2 oz cola
ice
Garnish with an orange slice

Pour the first five ingredients into a metal cocktail shaker with ice
Shake until the side of the shaker is well frosted
Strain into a tumbler glass filled with ice
Complete with cola
Garnish with an orange slice

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To read more from Chip, click here and here.

Review: El Dorado 25

Lance Surujbally is back with a review of El Dorado Vintage 25 Year Old.  What does he think of this delightful Demerara?  Tune in to find out.

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El Dorado 25 Year Rum
by Lance Surujbally

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F. Scott Fitzgerald famously noted that the rich are different from you and me.  The same could possibly be said of premium rums at the top of the scale.  They are so different, represent such an investment of time and effort, and are usually in such short supply that they come to represent something of the pinnacle of achievement in rum blending and production. Something rarefied, something out of the ordinary box in which most aged rums are placed. Something really, really special.

Such a rum is the El Dorado 25 year old, first seen in 1999 when the millennium edition came out.  Just think of what that means.  A full three years before the first stocks of the groundbreaking El Dorado 15 year old were put away (it came out in 1992 and so was set in motion in 1978), some farsighted visionary selected the barrels that held the rums which would eventually make their way into the first bottles of ED25. When the original blends were first casked, there were no personal computers, no cinema multiplexes, no ipods, cds, dvds or cell phones, and the premium rums that so dominate today’s high end market were barely a glimmer in someone’s eye. Five American presidents passed into and out of the White House while the casks slumbered and aged in DDL’s warehouses.

The ED 25 I reviewed here wasn’t the millenium edition but a more recent vintage (1980), and, perhaps as befits the pricey top end of the range, doesn’t skimp too much on the presentation (though I believe it could do better, and it seems to adhere to DDL’s philosophy of presentational minimalism).  It arrives in a glass decanter quite unlike any other bottle in the El Dorado range, and fits tightly into a black cylindrical tin.  The bottle is sealed with a glass-topped cork, firmly seated.  Nice, very nice.  Full brownie points for this, though it doesn’t equate to the bottle-lying-on-a-bed-of-satin in a blue box such as the Johnnie Walker Blue Label arrives with (and for a hundred bucks less for that one, you kinda wonder about that, but never mind).

The ED25 poured into the glass in a dark-brown cascade of liquid expense. At $300/bottle in Alberta (more in Toronto, I guarantee it, assuming it ever gets there), it was a pretty expensive shot no matter how little I decanted.  On the other hand, it was worth it.  Take the nose: Demerara rums are noted for thick, dark, molasses-based structure, and El Dorados pretty much pioneered the profile, but here, it was almost delicate.  Somehow, DDL’s master blender managed to mute the inevitable alcohol sting of a 40% rum, dampened the sometimes excessive molasses scent, and created a complex nose that was a mixture of fresh brown sugar, caramel, orange, banana and assorted fruits.  And I’m not talking about a mango, or apple or guava, but that mixture of fruits that gets into the best West Indian black cake served at Christmas time and weddings. Damn it was sexy.  While I’d had the ED25 before, I had been in a hurry that day and trying it along with five other rums – so sampling it again under more controlled conditions permitted a more analytical tasting (if a less enjoyable one, given the absence of good friends), where notes I had missed the first time came through more clearly.

No discussion of El Dorado rums can be complete without mentioning their famous wooden stills, and the care DDL took to ensure the survival of the various stills from plantations that once produced their famous marques. Port Mourant, Uitvlugt (pronounced eye-flugt), Enmore, Versailles, LBI, Albion, Skeldon…the names are like a roll call of honour for marques now almost gone. These days only a few are in continuous commercial production (ICBU, PM and EHP are the most commonly found), none on the original estates. As the individual plantation distilleries closed down and were consolidated at Diamond Estate factory complex over the decades, DDL moved the entire still from the closed estate factory to Diamond. DDL operates eight different stills each with its own profile: six columnar stills, of which four are Savalle, and one is the last wooden Coffey still in existence; and two wooden pot stills, also the last in the world. From these still come rums with clear and definable characteristics that still reflect the tastes and characters of their original plantations, where they were once made.

The El Dorado 25 year old is a blend of rums from many of these stills: the Enmore wooden Coffey columnar still; the LBI and Albion Savalle stills; and the double wooden pot still from Port Mourant.  Each brings its own distinct flavour to the table.  And on the palate, they emerge like flowers in the desert after a rain.  The rum emerging out of the blending of product from all these different stills was full-bodied, oily and coated the tongue from front to back. It was smoother than just about any other rum I had ever tried.  I’m unfortunately not able to separate which taste emanates from the rum coming from which still, but I’ll tell you what I did taste: liquorice, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, burning canefields at harvest time, and baking spices, faint citrus together with the scent of freshly grated coconut. The tastes ran together in a dark, rich mélange that were enhanced with a sweet that may be the only negative I have to remark on this superb rum.  I love the Demerara style – dark, full bodied and sweet – but the ED 25 is loaded with just a shade too much of the sugary stuff, and looking at my original tasting notes from six months ago, I see that I made exactly the same observation then. Beyond that, the thing is phenomenal.

The fade is similarly excellent.  Long, smooth and with a gentle deep burn that releases the final fumes and tastes to the back of the throat in a voluptuous sigh of completion. This is without doubt one of the best goodbye kisses I’ve ever experienced from a rum, and I still think of it as a sort of baseline to which I compare many others. The loveliness of the complex nose, of taste reeking of class and sundowners, of a finish redolent of warm tropical nights on a moonlit shore, makes one want to laugh out loud with sheer delight.

At the top of the scale in any endeavour, ranking the best becomes problematic. When trying to assess the ED25, the relative comparisons are inevitable. There are certainly richer or more varied noses on other premium rums (English Harbour 25 is better, and I do have a soft spot for the Appleton 30); there are rums with more complexity (Mount Gay 1703); better body and taste (Flor de Cana 18, perhaps Clemente Tres Vieux for some), and for a finish, can anything beat the Gordon & MacPhail Jamaica 1941 58 yr old?  But if you hold the “best” hostage to any one criterion, then you’re shortchanging the rankings, and will get nothing but vagueness. For a rum to ascend to greatness, it must be well-rounded, with near-excellence (if not actual brilliance) in all categories.  Appearance, colour, body, taste, nose, balance, grace, emotional appeal, personal attraction and a certain timelessness…that’s the mitochondrial DNA of such a rum, and what comprises its core amino acids.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the El Dorado 25 year old. In the opinion of this Demerara-style-loving reviewer, it is, quite simply, one of the best rums of its kind ever made.

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To read more from Lance, check out Liquorature.

Review: A.D. Rattray Caroni Rum

Our friend Lance Surujbally of Liquorature signs on with us to review a rum from the A.D. Rattray Cask Collection.  Tune in to see what he has to say.

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Picture 267A.D. Rattray Cask Collection 13
by Lance Surujbally

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Why the bottle of A.D. Rattray Cask Collection 13 year old Caroni rum (bottle 128 of 290) states it is “made exclusively for Co-Op” (a grocery chain) on the label is a mystery to me. This is especially the case since I have been able to find it on sale in at least two other countries, and the labels on neither have any such mention.  I can only conclude that this is a distribution issue, not a matter of commissioning or purchasing some kind of exclusive bottling (which both other merchants in Calgary —  the Kensington Wine Market and Willow Park – indulge in).

The selling point of a rum like this one is never just the rum itself, but exclusivity and rarity.  Like the Appleton 30 (1440 bottles) and the English Harbour 1981 (5774), this is an extremely limited edition of 290 bottles, emerging from a single cask.  As if this were not enough, it’s 13 years old and un-chill filtered, as well as having no additives at all – just like the two Cadenhead offerings I’ve tried – and these last two points are the Caroni’s great strength and also (to some) a weakness. Fortunately, and curiously, the price of the rum when I bought it was in the forty dollar range, which seems low ….either it isn’t that exclusive, not that good, or someone is testing the water to see if the price point can be supported for premium limited-edition rums as they are by whiskies.

The name of the rum comes from the Caroni (1975) Ltd sugar company of Trinidad and Tobago, which was established in 1887 and taken over by the government of T&T when it acquired Tate & Lyle’s shareholdings in 1970 (51%) and 1975 (49%) – it went under because it consistently lost money and no buyers could be found, in 2004. This may well be some of their last stock still available commercially as a bottled product so even if the rum is not to your liking, it’s possible that as an investment…well, it’s up to you.

adrattrayThe rum itself was attractively packaged in a black cardboard tin, in which a slim bottle of light amber fitted tightly. Tin foil wrapped around a well-seated cork.  It’s a thing of mine that I enjoy the voluptuous sound of a cork popping gently out, so points there. At 46% ABV, I’m was not expecting a gentle nose that tenderly massaged my snoot and beckoned invitingly with soft, caramel-scented breath, and I didn’t get one – but it was not as sharp and medicinal as I feared either.  In point of fact, it was, in spite of its lack of “post processing”, rather good.  Distinct, and clear, separating early into notes of vanilla, nuts and burnt sugar, with the muskier molasses scent underlying everything. And yes, a claw or two to remind you of its slightly higher alcohol content.

I don’t know how many people reading this have ever seen a sugar cane field burn in the tropics at harvest time, and can speak of the experience (I’m one of them): there’s a kind of deep smell of burning brown sugar that permeates the whole area, and lingers in your nose for days. I’ve always liked it when handled well within a rum’s bouquet, perhaps because of the memories it evokes of my boyhood. After leaving the Caroni to open for a few minutes, that lovely aroma stole around and about the other scents, which gradually became identifiable as faint hints of citrus fruit and notes of cherries, not so ripe as to be cloying…just young enough to impart some sting. I could have gone on smelling that for a lot longer than I did.

The body of the Caroni turned out to be sharper than I personally preferred, and lighter, clearer: definitely a medium bodied rum, hot and spicy on the palate, and a bit dry. This mostly likely comes from the additional spirit of the 46% I was sampling, as well as tannins from the thirteen years of ageing in the oak barrels, which was not mitigated. The lack of additives also played its part: that lack is a point of pride of the distiller, but I’m just not convinced it really works for rums, no matter how much it succeeds for whiskies (rummies like their libations sweeter, as a rule). On the other hand, by eschewing the chill filtering process, all the original oils, fatty acids, sugars, esters and phenols remain in the body, and this was what probably accounted for its somewhat richer taste.  Certainly, after the peppery spiciness faded, the sweetness (less than usual but still noticeable) came through more clearly, as well as banana, smoke, leather and – alas! – too much oak.

The fade is excellent, bar the same issue – the burn is deep and long, and that burnt sugar and caramel taste lingered, and spirit fumes wafted up the back of my throat and just…stayed there. The bitterness of the barrel was unfortunately part of what lingered also, so on that level the Caroni failed for me, but I’m perfectly prepared to accept that others will enjoy that aspect more than I did. As an aged rum, as a sipper, therefore, I must concede I like it above the more expensive offerings from Cadenhead; and as a mixer the Caroni is unique and superb (and the lower price makes it suitable for a better than average cocktail). Where I think it falls down is in the thinner body and lack of any attempts to mute the oaken taste, which fortunately is not so prevalent as to overpower everything else, just prevalent enough to make a good rum fall to the middling rank, instead of inhabiting a loftier plane in my esteem.

A.D.Rattray, a company established in 1868 by Andrew Dewar and William Rattray, was originally an importer of olive oil and European spirits, which branched out into blending and storage of malt and grain whiskies. Now owned and operated by Mr. Tim Morrison (formerly of Islay’s Morrison-Bowmore distillery, and a descendant of Mr. Dewar), its core mission is to make unusual, exclusive, limited edition whiskies from stock obtained from all the unique whisky producing regions of Scotland. The company would appear to be going with a trend now gathering steam – that of premium scotch makers branching out into other spirits, like rums. I’m all for innovation – I found the Renagade line of the Bruichladdich distillery intriguing essays in the craft, and for all my dislikes of the Cadenheads, I must concede they have tried to take rums in a different direction than the heretofore dominating “sweet and brown” philosophy – and I look forward to seeing what else comes out in the future from such out-of-the-box thinkers.

In summary, the price is reasonable, the colour, body and nose are lovely, and the taste is unique, if a bit harsh: if the rum fails at all, it’s in the decision not to mess with it – this has led to the prescence of oak maintaining an influence not all will appreciate.  Are other similarly aged rums better, tastier, smoother and more complex? Yes, absolutely. But I also think that the Caroni is one of a kind, a rum lover’s secret discovery – a sort of prime number of a rum, which is indivisible by anything other than you and itself.

Quite aside from its coming rarity and decent pricing, that’s enough of a reason to give it a shot.

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To read more from Lance, check out Liquorature.

Eclipse Silver Review

Chip Dykstra, The Arctic Wolf, finds himself with a head full of adjectives and bottle of Mount Gay Eclipse Silver.  See what he thinks of this popular white rum.

Chip iconMount Gay Eclipse Silver  81.5/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)

History:

Barbados is situated as a gateway from the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean. For this reason, sailors from the Old World often used the island as their first stop on the way to the New World. This meant Barbados was ideally suited for trade between the two worlds in the seventeenth, the eighteenth and the nineteenth century.  From the beginning, part of that trade, as recorded in the earliest records, was rum.

The tradition of producing rum on Barbados dates to an early period in the seventeenth century.  Evidence exists of of small scale distillation as early as 1637, and the first recorded written usage of the word Rum Bullion appears on the island in 1651.  In fact this is the earliest recorded usage of the word Rum as it relates to the distilled spirit anywhere in the world.  As such, Barbados is generally considered the birthplace of rum.

Mount Gay Rum has been produced on Barbados since the beginning of the eighteenth century, making Mount Gay one of the oldest, (if not the oldest) rum brand in the world.  Evidence exists of stills in use at the Mount Gay Plantation site as early as 1667, and written confirmation of rum produced on the site in 1703.

Review: Mount Gay Eclipse Silver

In the Bottle 4/5

Mount Gay Silver Eclipse Rum has a new bottle design. Gone is the typical flagon style bottle which is in use by so many spirits companies. The new image for the Eclipse rum is a modern, slim, oval shaped bottle with a bold, eye catching label which properly reflects the heritage of Mount Gay Rum in a contemporary style.

I find the bottle and label design slick and attractive with bright colours and bold fonts which are are easy to read and eye catching. When I set the bottle in my rum cabinet, it stands out clearly against the other bottles inviting me to choose Mount Gay Eclipse rather than another rum.

Picture 141I so wish that the metal topper would have been scrapped in favour of a plastic threaded closure. I remain convinced that metal toppers do not work well in my climate. Perhaps in the south, where extremes of temperature and humidity are not as variable as where I live, those metal toppers work fine. But in my climate I am sure to have problems with evaporation after the bottle is opened.

In the Glass 8/10

The Eclipse Silver Rum is a clear spirit.  I held my glass up to the light and against various backgrounds trying to detect some colour but I found no trace of any at all. The tilted glass shows a light oily sheen which very slowly released stubborn crawling legs. A gentle inviting aroma begins to creep up from the glass.

It is unusual in my experience for a white rum to display such an inviting aroma in the glass. The scents and smells of light butterscotch were evident as was a firm presence of banana, a mild citrus zest, and a light minty aroma. As the glass decanted a vague grassy vegetal scent began to waft upwards as well. The vegetal tones grew stronger as the glass decanted and some might describe this as slightly medicinal.

My overall impression is that the rum appears to be crisp in the glass with a more complex nose than I was expecting.

In the Mouth 49/60

I began by sipping the Mount Gay Eclipse Silver neat in my glass without ice. The initial flavour was slightly acidic and perhaps a little harsher than I was expecting. I was perhaps beguiled by the inviting nose and was expecting more sweetness than I received. The caramel and butterscotch  flavours in the rum are soft. Flashes of vanilla flavour are present, but I catch no nutty flavours at all. In the mid palate  I taste soft ripe banana and citrus zests and these seem to be the dominant flavours. As well, I catch hints of a vague minty candy flavour.

I decided to build a few cocktails to see if I could discover the range of the rum’s mix-ability. I began with a simple rum and cola by adding a small splash of cola to my glass. Increasing the ratio of cola to rum slowly, I found that at a ratio of 1 part rum to 2 parts cola the mixture tasted nice, but throughout this cola mixing experiment the Silver Eclipse did not seem to excel. I think perhaps the sweetness of the cola was not where this particular rum wanted to find itself.

Next I made a simple daiquiri. Mixed with lime and simple syrup the Eclipse rum tasted much better (Very good!).  The rum flavour of the Eclipse seemed to push through the daiquiri and made it more impressive. I will have to experiment a little more, but I can say with confidence that this rum is a very good daiquiri rum.  I had a similar experience when I made a mojito, and my conclusion is that the Mount Gay Silver Eclipse Rum is particularly well suited to tropical citrus cocktails.

In the Throat 12/15

When sipped straight, the Silver Eclipse had an almost Tequila like feel in both the delivery and the exit. A spicy citrus is left in the mouth and a grassy vegetal trail is left in the throat. But when the rum is mixed in a citrus style cocktail such as a daiquiri, the sensation is much different. The finish of the cocktail is lengthened by the oily texture of the rum and the finish is long and nice.   Since the rum is a mixing rum I chose to put more weight on the finish displayed in the cocktail than in the finish displayed neat.

The Afterburn 8.5/10

I have never encountered a rum which displayed such duality. When sipped neat the rum displays many elements which I find underwhelming. But when mixed, in particular with citrus, the rum finds its legs and becomes much more impressive. Time will tell, but I feel this may become a favourite of mine as a cocktail rum.

Suggested Recipes

Picture 146Mount Gay Eclipse Silver lends itelf quite well to traditional cocktails such as Mojitos and Daiquiris.  Here’s another simple drink that it plays well with.

Rum and Tonic

Tonic water contains a substance called quinine which complements the piny notes of gin, and hence the famous Gin and Tonic is a very popular bar drink. I believe that the quinine in tonic water is also a nice complement to the grassy vegetal tones I detect in the Mount Gay Silver Eclipse.

1 1/2 oz Mount Gay Silver Eclipse Rum
1/2 oz Tonic Water
Ice
Slice of Lime quartered

In an old-fashioned glass place the lime cut into four quarters.
Fill the glass with crushed ice and add the Rum and Tonic.

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To read more of Chip’s work click here and here.

Cubaney 25 Review

The Arctic Wolf scores a rare bottle of Cubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve 25 from the Dominican Republic.  Check out his review of this exceptional rum.

Chip iconCubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve 25 Year Soleras Rum  96.5/100
A review by Chip Dykstra

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I have a friend in the Dominican Republic with a website called Rums of the Domincan Republic (Drums).  His name is Pavol Kažimir.  Pavol and I have exchanged emails a few times, and we met in Miami at Rum Renaissance where we seemed to hit it off with each other quite well. But, I was very surprised when he emailed me during the summer and asked me which bottle of Dominican Rum I would like to receive when his friend visited Edmonton. I stated a preference for something that maybe wasn’t available in my locale, and Pavol promptly arranged for Oliver and Oliver to provide me a sample bottle for review.

The bottle that was chosen surprised me all the more, the Cubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve, a solera blended style with aged rum as old as 25 years in the blend.  If you have not heard of Oliver and Oliver, I should explain that they are an independent bottler of rum operating in the Domincan Republic.  They buy barreled rum from major rum producers, and then age it using a solera aging system in the “Cuban” style.

I thank you Pavol for obtaining this sample for me, and lest I bore everyone, I  better get on with the review:

In the Bottle 4/5

Picture 43The Cubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve arrives in a tall, slender, flagon style bottle. The glass is clear allowing a nice view of the rich dark rum inside.  Protecting the bottle is a slender black rectangular box which will allow me to keep the spirit protected from the light as I slowly sip its contents over the next several weeks and months.  The plastic screw top which seals the bottle has me a little concerned. It has a flimsy feel to it and I am thinking the plastic diffuser may have to be replaced with a solid cork at some point on my shelf.

Overall I am pleased with the presentation, although perhaps it is a little understated considering the premium nature of the run inside.

I have trouble with the Spanish on the label but even I can see that the  label states the  Cubaney Ron Tesero is solera aged, and bottled at 38 % alcohol by volume.

In the Glass  9.5/10

The rum in the glass is a deep, rich, bronze color which carries the rich aroma of dark brown sugar and wonderful baking spices. A faint smoke is present which carries scents of dried fruits, raisins, and a soft and subtle cherry-like scent in the background.  A little wave of soft tobacco is mixed in, as is an ever present woody backdrop which seems to tie everything together. I even sense a smidgen of brine and tar in the breezes; almost, but not quite reminiscent of Islay peat.

This is a truly great nosing rum, and although I have used words like tobacco, tar, and woody, you will have to trust me that everything is meant in a most wonderful way.

In the Mouth 58.5/60

The rum carries a firm but soft sweetness forward as well as a nice spiciness that coats the tongue and the sides of the mouth from the first sip. I taste rich baking spices wrapped inside a deep dark brown leathery toffee and molasses. The smoke I noticed on the nose seems to be a sherry cask influence which provides a bevy of dry fruit with little packets of cherry flavour hidden within. Leather and tobacco underpins the flavour profile rising and falling with my mood, but without ever appearing bitter. I even taste that smidgen of tar and brine buried deep in the woody spices.

This reminds me of a really good scotch whisky, not in flavour but in approach. The underpinning elements of smoke, leather and tobacco appear to act in the same manner that light smoky peat does in whisky.  They carry the sweeter flavours forward and embrace them rather than trying to devour them.  I am impressed by the way that no particular flavour exists at the expense of another.  This is extremely complex, but very well balanced!

In the Throat 14.5/15

The strong complexity continues all the way through to the exit. My mouth is left with a sweet and spicy afterglow. My throat feels a very light burn and I can taste fleeting mirages of cocoa, dry fruit, and wisps of that brine tar.  There is absolutely no bitterness in the exit which amazes me given the flavour profile and age of the rum.  When sipping the rum neat at room temperature, the finish is absolutely divine.

The Afterburn 10/10

As a general rule, I avoid rums which carry excessive age, and strong notes of tobacco and wood. I find these rums have a tendency to go bitter in the finish and the oak takes more from the spirit than it gives. I was fearful that this rum would show too much oak in its delivery as the age of the rums in the blend seemed to me to be almost excessive.  But… my fear was entirely unwarranted. In the solera style, the blender seems to have captured just the right amount of old age to give the rum character and depth, and just enough younger rum to add enthusiasm and vigor.  Yet I taste no duality of style.  The rums have married and blended into a harmonious balance which is flavourful and complex with neither aspect being at the expense of the other.

This is a rich, decadent rum, full of character and it is amongst the best rums I have ever tasted.

Picture 48Suggested Recipe

My first suggestion is to enjoy Cubaney Ron Tesero Grand Reserve neat at room temperature in your favourite chair while reading a good book.  This rum is one of the two or three best tasting rums I have encountered thus far.  My only cocktail expression I allowed myself was a simple cocktail which I call  The Perfect Moment.

The Perfect Moment

2 oz Cubaney Ron Tersero
Slice of lime
Ice

Fill a rocks glass half full of ice. 
Spear a slice of lime with a long toothpick.  Place the lime into the ice. 
Pour the rum over top.
 Enjoy the Perfect Moment!!

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To read more from Chip click here and here.

ED Single Barrel ICBU

Chip Dykstra signs in with a review of El Dorado Single Barrel ICBU.  This is part of the super-premium (and difficult to find) Connoisseur’s Range from ED.

Chip iconEl Dorado Single Barrel ICBU Rum
(Savalle Still) (86.5/100)
a review By Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)

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El Dorado has introduced a Single Barrel rum using only distillation and fermentation techniques of the Savalle Still (using the same traditional methods which have been employed for 250 years).  As the barrels from this still were originally marked with an ICBU marque to signify the rums from the Uitvlught Sugar Factory in Gayana, this rum is labeled El Dorado Single Barrel Demerara Rum ICBU.  It is part of the new Connoisseur’s Range from ED.

I consider this somewhat of an artisan offering which gives the rum aficionado a glimpse into the particular characteristics of demerara rum from a particular still, in this case the Savalle Still.  Rum from this particular still would normally be blended with product from other stills and from other barrel types to construct a quality Demerara blend.  The original distillation techniques of the Savalle Still produces a very particular flavour profile to the distillate, and this review will be a reflection of that particular flavour profile which the Savalle Still imparts.

In The Bottle  4 /5

Picture 27As you can see the bottle has an elegant tapered shape which is distinctive from the more familiar bottles in the El Dorado line up.  The wider shoulders and narrow bottom is a functional design making the bottle easier to grip and hold.  The bottle also has a nice little booklet attached to the neck which provides an interesting write up on the Uitvlught Sugar Factory and the Savalle Still.

In the Glass  9/10

The rum displays a rich oil which presents long legs down the inside of my glass.  A complex oak and tannin-filled scent rises from the spirit.  In the breezes with the woody tannin, I smell sweet dark brown sugar spices, and a firm citrus note that reminds me of orange and banana peel.  The overall impression is of richness and complexity.  In my previous review of the El Dorado Single Barrel PM, I noted a much more severe woodiness in the aroma. The ICBU offering appears to be much more approachable.

In the Mouth  52.5/60

The first thing I taste in the ICBU is the balance between the woody tannins and the sweeter molasses based flavours. My earlier review of the El Dorado Single Barrel PM noted that the PM offering was very intense with woody tannin flavours.  The ICBU is much gentler.  The oak is strong, but the sweetness of the brown sugar spices balances the sharpness of the oak and citrus zests.  There is no bitter aftertaste to spoil the experience.  As well, flavours of caramel, toffee, and vanilla all lie in moderation under the oak spice as does a slightly charred nuttiness, and flavours of toasted coconut.

In the Throat  12.5/15

Oak tannin and orange peel dominate the finish on the palate.  It may be a tad spicy,  but a touch of sweetness also lingers which tempers the experience.  In the empty glass are rich aromas of baking spices and brown sugars.  The smell is very luxurious, and I sense a bit of that rich luxury in the finish as well.

The Afterburn  8.5/10

It is fascinating to explore the taste profile which the distillation and fermentation techniques of the  Savalle Still  impart into the demerara rum profile.  Although I was sampling and tasting  for the purpose of this review, I have an impulse to purchase a bottle and make this a regular encounter. If you are curious and wish to experience an exploration of the demerara rum taste profile,  you will enjoy these new El Dorado Single Barrel Connoisseur offerings, particularly the ICBU.

Suggested Recipe

Although the El Dorado Single Barrel ICBU Rum is primarily meant as a connoisseur’s sipping rum; I could not resist the urge to explore at least one cocktail experience.  Since I have been using cranberry juice in my cocktails lately, I decided to do a variation of one of my earlier bar drinks, the Traveler Cocktail.   I call the new cocktail made with the El Dorado ICBU Single Barrel Rum, Savalle Row, which is probably a bad pun but a very good cocktail.

Savalle Row
a cocktail by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)

Picture 311 1/2 oz El Dorado ICBU Single barrel Rum
3/4 oz Triple Sec
3/4 oz Lime juice
3/4 oz Cranberry juice
ice

One each, frozen Raspberry and frozen Blackberry for garnish

Shake all the ingredients over ice
Strain into a suitable glass
Garnish with the frozen fruit

Note: This cocktail is “Forrest Approved.”

And always remember, the aim is not to drink more, it is to drink better!

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To read more of Chip’s work click here and here.

Koloa Gold Review

Chip Dykstra investigates one of the hottest new rums on the market, Koloa Kauai Gold.  What did he think of it?  Read the full review right here.

Chip iconReview: Kōloa Kaua`i Gold Hawaiian Rum 81.5/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)

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Nestled on the Island of Kauai, the Kōloa Rum Company is making history.  It started nine years ago when the company was first incorporated.  A seven year struggle through red tape and government bureaucracy ensued before the necessary permits and licenses were granted, and finally on April 1, 2009, the Kōloa Rum Company was granted a license to distill their rum.  The first legally distilled rum in the island’s history.

The Kōloa rums are not made from traditional molasses, rather they are distilled from the crystallized sugar produced at the local Gay and Robinson Sugar Factory. This sugar, produced from 100% Kauai cane, has a higher than normal molasses content and as such, the sugar is a good starting point for making artisanal rum. All of the rum is distilled using a 1210 gallon copper pot still which was purchased in Kentucky, and transported first by train, and then by boat all the way to Hawaii.

My introduction to the Kōloa Rum Company’s Hawaiian rums was at Rum Renaissance in Miami, Florida. The Kōloa Dark Rum won a Gold Medal at the festival in the Rum XP Tasting Competition, and this was my first clue that something special might be happening in Hawaii. A gold medal rum, produced by a company which was just beginning to spread its wings…. I decided to investigate, and after contacting the Kōloa Rum Company, I was sent samples of their entire range for my review. Since their gold rum was the first of the rums which I obtained, I decided to start the review series with the Kōloa Kauai Gold Hawaiian Rum.

Picture 98In the Bottle 4/5

As you can see the Kōloa Gold Rum is presented in a typical flagon style bottle.  A nifty map of the Hawaiian Islands is printed on the white foil which seals the plastic screw cap, and the front label shows an illustration of the Koloa Rum Company’s newly opened  plantation style tasting room.

In the Glass 8.5/10

The Kōloa Gold Rum is a pale amber/gold spirit which has achieved its color by the addition of caramelized sugar; the same sugar (direct from the Gay and Robinson Sugar Plantation) which is used as the base product for the distillation of the Kōloa rums. I was given a sample of this sugar by Jeanne Toulon, Director of Public Relations at Kōloa, and learned that the pale crystallized sugar has a wonderful sweet molasses scent and flavour. This same aroma was very evident when nosing the gold rum. The nose of the rum also displays evidence of banana peel, citrus zests, and the grassy vegetal tones of a fresh spirit which has not been aged in oak. The rum seems much more mellow and approachable than I would have suspected given that it was bottled with no barrel aging.

In the Mouth 48.5/60

A surprising mild flavour is the initial impression I received when I sipped the gold rum for the first time. Again the flavour of the Gay and Robinson crystallized sugar comes though very clearly. It is a honeyed, caramel flavour which is sweet and inviting. Citrus zest, and light peppery spices follow with perhaps a little plantain or banana in the mid palate. The grassy vegetal flavours of the still are in evidence, but they are mild and do not detract from the spirit. I believe the caramelized sugar is serving as an effective agent to ensure the rum flavour stays consistently soft and somewhat sweet.

I found the addition of a single ice cube added creaminess to the rum which made the experience more enjoyable when sipping.

In the Throat 12/15

The finish was smooth and perhaps a tad sweet. Although the rum was enjoyable to sip, the ending can become a little cloying if it is sipped without ice. Caramel, honey and light peppery zest seemed to leave their marks in my throat in that order of dominance.

The Afterburn 8.5/10

The Kōloa Kauai Gold Hawaiian Rum is quite remarkable. The Kōloa Rum Company has been producing rum for only a short while, and already they are producing a solid gold rum which displays an inviting aroma, an approachable sweet flavour, and a solid underlying structure.  I say… well done!

Suggested Recipe

A rum from Hawaii deserves to be represented by a cocktail with a Pacific Island flair. I thought Rum and Pineapple Juice would be a nice starting point for a such a cocktail. The addition of a little bit of lemon juice to provide a touch of citrus bite would, I think, complete such a cocktail. I tried to keep things simple, and delicious.

Picture 99The Iced Kaua`i Cocktail

2 oz Kōloa Gold Rum
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Simple Syrup to taste
Ice

1/2 Glass of cracked Ice

Pour the first four ingredients into a metal shaker with ice
Shake until the metal shaker frosts
Strain everything into a suitable glass half filled with cracked ice

Garnish with fresh Pineapple
Enjoy

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To read more from Chip, click here and here.
Become a Fan of Koloa on Facebook.

Review: Zafra Master Reserve

Arctic Wolf scores some face time with the crew from Zafra and gets the skinny on what makes this 21 year old Panamanian rum so tasty.  Read the review here.

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Chip iconRum Review:  Zafra Master Reserve    90/100
by Chip Dykstra

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One of the highlights of my trip to Miami for the Rum Renaissance Festival was meeting the people who are responsible for producing Zafra Master Reserve.  In an ultra hip city like Miami,it was totally unexpected to find such a genuinely nice group.  If the approach they take towards their rum is half as good as the approach they take toward building relationships, then the Zafra Master Reserve Rum will be a delight to sample and review.

Mr. Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez, the Master Blender and Director at Zafra, began his career in Cuba working with his father who was a liquor and wine merchant.  After earning a degree in Microbiology, he began working in the Cuban Beverage Industry.  The Master of Masters, Don Ramon Fernandez Corrales, taught him the ways of Carta Blanca, the foundation of developing aged rums.

In the mid and late 1970’s, acting as Director of the Cuban Beverage Industry, Don Pancho assisted in the training of master blenders at distilleries around the world.  Along the way, he learned the ways of Vodka making in Poland, Whisky production in Scotland and Wine making in Europe.  These skills have added to his personal touch and have enhanced his final products.

In the early 1990s he worked as the Master Blender for Varela Hermanos (the makers of Abuelo Rum).  Finally after a successful 40 year carrier, at an age where many plan to retire, he considers himself in his prime.  His latest creation is the Zafra Master Reserve 21 Year Old Rum which is being brought to the market by Dana Imports.

Allow me to introduce my review:

In the Bottle 4 /5

Picture 177As you can see, the rum is presented in a tall slender bottle with little in the way of frills. A solid high density cork completes the presentation which is minimalistic but rather nice.

In The Glass 9/10

When I poured the Zafra Master Reserve into my glass, I was immediately aware of the bourbon barrels used to age the rum. Initially, the corn and bourbon notes were dominant in the glass as I nosed it.  As the glass decanted, warm rich notes of oak spices began to build as well as a distinct fruitiness which reminded me of dark cherries, blackberries, and plump purple grapes.  As the rum continues to decant the aroma builds to a finale of deep brown sugar and toffee spices.

When I tipped the glass at an angle and then upright again to observe the legs, I saw an army of droopy leglets starting to form, but only a few coalesced into droplets and began to run down the side of the glass back into red tinged amber brown rum. This shows a persistent oil consistent with well aged rum.

In the glass, the rum is rich, complex, and very inviting as one would expect from an aged rum.

In The Mouth 54.5/60

The rum enters the palate with a soft bourbon flavour which is very approachable. However this soft approach is followed quickly by a wave of oak spices and tannin. Riding the crest of these waves are flashes of cherries, blackberries and grapes which are vaguely reminiscent of a port influence upon the spirit.  Within these currents is that ribbon of sweet corn and vanilla bourbon which I noticed on initial entry.

The more typical rum flavours of toffee and molasses provide the structure, or platform, upon which all of the previously mentioned characteristics and flavours reside. They sit just under the waves and currents of the other flavours, acting as an anchor maintaining the integrity of the rum spirit.

If there is a fault, it is in the character of this rum to change with my moods and with my previous palate condition. However the variance in flavour is never disappointing. I may taste different things on different days, but I am always pleased with the overall effect the Zafra has in my mouth. I believe the length of time spent in aging barrels has given the rum the ability to accent previous flavours on my palate and incorporate them into its flavour profile. This result is a rum which is rich, elegant, and full of character!

In the Throat 13.5/15

Whereas the entry into my mouth had the soft overtones of bourbon, the exit is all about complex oak flavours and spices battling down my throat.  The sweeter fruitier elements seem to be entwined into the oak tannins.   I cannot help but have one more sip as I write this down.

The Afterburn 9/10

Have you ever wanted a perfect rum for a special occasion.  Not a rum you savor for yourself, but one which you bring out when you want to share a special moment with a gathering of friends or family. That is what Zafra Master Reserve has brought to the table. This is a special rum with many nuances of flavour, and the kind of rich complexity which brings that special flair you are looking for when you share a special rum with friends and family.

Suggested Recipes:

Picture 165The Panamanian Harvest Cocktail

2 oz Zafra Master Reserve
1/8 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
Dash of Angostura Bitters

Ice
Frozen Blackberry

Chill a small cocktail glass until it is very cold.

Aromatize the glass with Maraschino Liqueur.
(This can be done by pouring a little in the glass, swooshing it round and expelling any excess. The object is to coat the inside of the glass with a film of the liqueur.)

Pour the Zafra, Dry vermouth, and Angostura Bitters into a metal shaker with cracked Ice.
Shake over ice.

Strain into the chilled rocks glass.

Garnish with a Frozen Blackberry.

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For more from Chip Dykstra, check out the Rum Howler Blog.

Mocambo 20 Review

Chip Dykstra is back with more commentary about rum.  This time he checks out Mocambo 20, a Mexican rum known for complex body and unusual packaging.

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Mocambo 20 Anos Anejo Rum 87.5/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
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I take a sip of Mocambo; I close my eyes, and my imagination takes me where it will.  Perhaps, because I am tired and had a long day of work, my imagination brought me to the end of a dusty desert trail in the low mountains of the Mexican desert.  I feel as though I have been hiking the mountain trails all day, my wife beside me sharing the journey. Now we sit by a campfire with our throats full of dust and the sweat clinging to our faces. Scraps of old dried wood found nearby are used to feed the fire which burns low to the ground and is mostly ash and coals and smoke now. Our leather raincoats which we never needed are rolled up and will be used as pillows tonight.  I smell the fresh mountain air, and it is mingled with the smells of the desert; the dusty trail, the dry sage brush, even some long abandoned wooden barrels that lie at the side of the campsite. My wife is boiling some tea by the campfire. I am chewing on some raisons and caramels.  I take a swig from a long slender bottle of Mexican rum.  Everything feels and tastes just about right, and we will sleep well tonight under the starry Mexican skies….

History

The Ron Mocambo 20 year old rum is distilled by Licores Veracruz, S.A. de C.V.  According to their website the 20 year old edition which I sampled is called The Art Edition.   The Art Edition is a throwback style of rum which uses old techniques of production, and then combines those techniques with modern aging to produce an aged rum of very unique taste and character.

In the bottle 5/5

Picture 26Artist, Victor Fernández, was selected to decorate the rum bottle with natural fibers to represent old Mexican handicraft in a modern art style. Each bottle is a unique artwork. The bark fibers cover the glass in a unique style and every bottle will have a slightly different presentation.

And to make things even better, the bottle is corked with a quality high density cork. I am impressed with the care and attention to detail shown.

In the Glass 8.5/10

The Mocambo rum displays a leathery brown colour, with a distinct grey pallor.  When I swirl the glass, I am rewarded with nice legs which trickle back down the sides of the glass.  The scents and smells which rise from the glass are very unique, and the overall effect is unlike the aroma of other rums which I have come across to this date.  Wisps of wood smoke and rawhide drift into the air in front of a lightly sweetened caramel and dried raisin.  This is pungent more so than sweet; and I can almost smell desert dust and sagebrush.  It is as if I really am traveling along an old forgotten trail through the low desert mountains of Mexico.

In the Glass 52/60

The Mocambo 20 Art Edition is a style of rum that genuflects at the altar of old wood without apology. The rum embraces its age, and its time spent in wooden casks.  In fact I would say the Mocambo Art Edition is a celebration of old wood and cask aging.

In the mouth, the rum  feels old and tastes old. The old wooden casks have been allowed to set their mark firmly into the flavour profile. There is a soft mild leathery (tobacco?) bitterness; but, this is a mild approachable bitterness of older wood tannins, and earthy smoke.  Whispers of ripe freshly cut cocoa bean, and Oolong tea set vague impressions of their presence into the rum but do not try to overwhelm it.  Caramel accents are far back in the flavour profile, sitting behind the old woody tannins, and leathery tobacco smokiness.  Yet… that whisper of caramel sweetness is not lost.  Even in its minimalized form, it acts to support the other flavours allowing that mellow bitterness to become more than it was.

In the Throat  13/15

The finish brings to mind dry fruit and roasted nuts.  Sweetness seems to be absent as the rum exits my mouth, but the mildly bitter tea and cocoa flavours identified on the palate seem to stay on the back of the palate well after the rum is gone.  I just cannot escape that feeling of long dusty desert mountain trails followed by wood smoke campfires.

The Afterburn  9/10

This is one of those rare rums which tastes a little better each time you try it.  The first impressions are of a rum that is too woody, with unsettling, unfamiliar flavours.  This unfamiliarity seems to belie its nature as a cane spirit. But with each return to the Mocambo my palate adjusted, and I found myself enjoying the rum more and more.  I know many persons will not easily adapt to this style, but if you are patient with your palate,  I believe that the rum has many rewards to offer.

Suggested Cocktail

The rum has an excellent woody and mildly bitter character which may be easily destroyed in a typical cocktail.   I want to embrace the unique character of the rum in constructing a cocktail, and perhaps bring that character to a wider audience.  What I have come up with is a gloriously uninhibited cocktail that combines Rum, Gin, Scotch Whisky and Grand Curacao.  Because I could not get the imagery of dusty Mexican trails and campfires out of my mind as I sipped the Macombo,  I decided to name the cocktail after the Mexican Cowboys who may still ride those trails:

Picture 23Vaquero Magnifico

1 3/4  oz Mocambo 20 Anos Anejo Rum
3/4 oz Bombay Blue Sapphire Gin
3/8 oz Old Parr Superior Scotch (Sub Johnny Walker Gold Label)
1/4  oz Grand Curacao
Angostura Bitters (dash)

Mix over two ice cubes in a rocks glass and enjoy.

Another cocktail I endorse came about by accident.  I was making my first Vaquero Magnifico, when I got distracted.  I got back to the task and realized that half of my ice cubes were melted.  I added 1 1/2 ounces of Mocambo to the glass anyway and then 3/8 of an ounce of Old Parr Superior Scotch.  Then I decided to check the flavour to see what else was needed.   The flavour was so nice, I decided to stop and just enjoy what was in my glass.  I’ll call it…The Last Vaquero:

Picture 25The Last Vaquero

1 1/2 oz Mocambo 20 year old Rum
3/8 oz Old Parr Superior whiskey
3/4 oz ice cold water

1 large Ice cube

Build on ice and Enjoy!

I should note that if you do not happen to have Old Parr Superior Scotch, I also had great success with Johnnie Walker.

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To read more of Chip’s work, check out The Rum Howler Blog.
Bottle image by Rob Burr.

Downslope White Rum Review

Chip Dykstra takes on Downslope White Rum, yet another new high-end small batch spirit from Colorado.  How does it rate?  Read the entire review here.

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DownSlope Distilling White Rum

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Picture 8DownSlope Distilling White Rum 78/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)

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DownSlope Distilling, Inc. of Centennial, Colorado was incorporated in May of 2008 and began production about a year later after they received their Federal Basic Permit to produce distilled spirits.  Their sugar cane vodka and a white rum hit the market in August of 2009.  All of the Downslope products are distilled using a Double Diamond Pot Still created for them by Vaughn Wilson in Arkansas.

The white rum produced at DownSlope is made from dried Maui cane juice rather than molasses.  The cane juice is fermented in 300 gallon tanks and distilled twice in 220 gallon batches. Production from cane juice results in a drier, less sweet rum than would be produced from molasses.  After two runs through the still, the distillate is filtered through an instrument called the Lichtenstein.  This is a device designed by Master Distiller Mitch Abate who is responsible for the entire distillation, filtering, and cellaring process.  DownSlope White Rum is bottled at 40% alcohol by volume.

In the Bottle  4.5/5

DownSlope’s White Rum is presented in a short squat clear bottle.  It is sealed with a nice high density cork which provides that satisfying ‘pop’ when opened.  The labeling is clear and uncluttered and the entire presentation is professional and attractive.

In the Glass 8/10

The rum displays itself as a clear spirit with no haze or hints of colour.  A very light oil is present on the sides of the glass when it is swirled, but legs do not form and run down the sides of the glass.  The aroma is slightly vegetal and medicinal at the same time.  A light caramel rises from the glass with hints of banana.  The impression one receives from the glass is that of a very young spirit fresh from the still, reminiscent of cachaca.

In the Mouth 46.5/60

The cachaca style continues into the mouth as the rum carries light caramel and no apparent oakiness.  I taste banana peel and orange zest.  Sipping it straight is not really preferred.  This is not meant to be a criticism, rather it is a straight forward assessment as very few white rums are meant to be enjoyed neat.

In tasting this rum over several days I discovered that it mixes quite well in most traditional rum drinks.  The rum and coke I tried tasted great at a ratio of 50 % rum to 50% coke, and the mojito I mixed was very enjoyable.  I then, went out on a limb, and mixed a cachaca style drink, the caipirinha.   In this form the rum really excelled.  I should not have been surprised, as the rum is made from cane juice and bottled with little or no aging.  This is similar to Cachaca (a cane juice spirit from Brazil) which is perhaps a closer cousin to the DownSlope white rum than the traditional molasses based rums most of us are more accustomed to.

In the Throat 11/15

When sipped straight, the rum has a pronounced burn in the throat which forces me to sip very slowly.  Banana peel and light caramel slide down my throat in about equal degrees of dominance.  The medicinal quality I noted on the nose seams to reappear in the finish but is not present when mixed in a cocktail.

The Afterburn 8/10

My final score of 78/100 represents a rum which I consider to be a solid mixing rum.  I do not recommend sipping the rum straight, but I think it’s perfect for creating high quality cocktails.  Because the rum is made from cane juice rather than molasses, the flavour is less sweet, more dry, and has very little oakiness.  This means that cocktails made with DownSlope rum will have a slightly different flavour than you may be accustomed to.  However, they are every bit as enjoyable as cocktails made with sweeter white rums.

Suggested Cocktail

The bar drink I am going to recommend is a Caipirinha made with DownSlope White Rum instead of Cachaca.  For those interested, the Caipirinha is the national cocktail of Brazil and is in fact one of the most popular cocktails in the world.  The Downslope White Rum flavor profile lends itself perfectly to this classic drink and is particularly nice on a hot summer day.

Picture 23Downslope Caipirinha

1 1/2 oz Downslope White Rum
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 teaspoons crystal sugar

In an old fashioned glass place the lime cut into four wedges and the sugar.
Muddle (mash the two ingredients together using a muddler or a wooden spoon).
Fill the glass with crushed ice and add the Rum.

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To read more from Chip, check out The Rum Howler Blog.

Havana Club 7 Review

Freshly tanned and relaxed from a week of drinking rum in Miami, Chip Dykstra waxes poetic about one of Cuba’s most popular rums, Havana Club 7 Year.

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Picture 3Review: Havana Club 7 – 83.5/100
a review By Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)

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In most of the world,  Havana Club rum  is associated with the brand owned by Pernod Ricard who is currently embroiled in a battle with Bacardi over whom owns the rights to the Havana Club Trademark.  Suffice it to say, if you buy Havana Club outside of the US, it is probably the Pernod Ricard brand, and if you buy it within the borders of the US,  it will be the Bacardi brand.  In the end, after lots of lawyers have made a ton of money, the matter may finally be resolved…or not.

The subject of my review is Havana Club 7 Year Old. It is an authentic Cuban Rum.   This rum has become widely available in markets outside of the US, including where I live in Alberta, Canada.

Introduction:

Sometimes when I take the first sip of new rum, I close my eyes and let the it show me where it belongs.  This rum brought me to an old tavern, close to the docks.  The kind of place you see in old movies where the rum flows and stories get taller in the telling.  The place has an oily, tobacco stained floor. Cigarette smoke drifts up to the ceiling mingling here and there with the occasional smell of a Cuban cigar.   A girl sits on a boardwalk stage, singing slightly out of key, as the patrons in the tavern pay more attention to their stories than to her.  A burly bartender, who looks like he can handle whatever trouble comes his way, wipes the sweat from his brow, and then with the same towel wipes the bar-top.  He glances at me playing solitaire in the corner of the room and sipping the rum he served me.  I had told him I would stay and pay him well if the rum was good.   He served me a soft oily, smoky rum called Havana Club.  I smile… the tip will be generous tonight.

Picture 20In the Bottle: 4/5

The Havana Club 7 year old rum arrives in a tall slender brown bottle.  The Havana Club label is bold and assertive with an eye catching style.  The presentation is solid except for the pressed on screw cap.  I have come around a little in recent months to the acceptance of plastic screw caps, but I still believe the pressed on metal caps are inferior.  I have had too many which did not properly reseal my bottle.

In the Glass  8.5/10

I am a fan of long slender legs that move slowly and gracefully. This is exactly what I see in my glass after I give it a small swirl with the Havana Club rum. The side of the glass carries a lot of oil, and the rum is sure to have a long finish.  The rum is a little darker perhaps than I was expecting. It has a look of richness that is very inviting.

The nose displays a moderate amount of smoke which seems to subdue the aroma from the glass to a certain extent. Over time, molasses, dark brown sugary baking spices, dried fruit (raisins and prunes) and a lurking tobacco all find their way out of the glass and into my nostrils. I would have scored this a little higher had the nose been more assertive.

In the Mouth  51/60

This is not a clean, crisp rum barreled in American oak and bottled with that smooth tinge of left over bourbon. This is a molasses filled rum with an unmistakable smoky character. The molasses carries a lot of sweetness forward into the smoke with prunes, raisins, and dates dancing in the wisps. Leathery tobacco crouches in the smoke adding a slightly bitter counter punch to the molasses sweetness.

Hot oak spices provide a bridge between the bitter and the sweet, but it is and odd union, with a certain metallic strangeness attached to the flavours that is hard to identify, but there nonetheless. The rum fits that tavern I described earlier. It is a rum for smoke filled rooms where men swap tall stories of adventure, or play solitaire depending upon their company and their mood.

In the Throat  12/15

The rum fills my throat with smoke and finishes with that odd lingering metallic taste. The sweetness from the molasses has become cloying, and the oak spice carries more odd flavours of grassy green tobacco and subtle hints of sulpher.  Strangely, this is nicer than it sounds.

The Afterburn  8/10

I can see why this is a favoured rum on forums and chat rooms around the internet.  It is dark and rich and carries a full round flavour profile compared to other rums in its price range.  It has a soft oil and a tobacco richness.  It is right at home in the taverns where the stories are tall and the air is thick . There are times when I really enjoy that particular style of ambiance and atmosphere. The next time I am in that mood, this will be the rum I sip.

Suggested Recipes

This is an authentic Cuban Rum so I thought I would suggest  a bar drink called the, Cuban Special:

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Picture 22Cuban Special

2 Oz Cuban Rum (Havana Club 7 Year old Rum)

1 Oz Lime Juice

1 Tbsp Pineapple Juice

1 Tbsp Triple Sec

Build over Ice in a Mixing glass

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Garnish with a chunk of pineapple

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Picture 23Cuban Coffee

1 Oz Cuban Rum (Havana Club 7 Year old Rum)

3/4 oz Tia Maria

Hot Black Coffee

Sugar to taste

Top with Whipped Cream

Garnish with grated bittersweet Chocolate

Enjoy! and please remember my aim is not to get you to drink more, it is to get you to drink better!!

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To read more of Chip’s work, check out the Rum Howler Blog.

El Dorado 5 Year Review

The Arctic Wolf explores the virtues of Demerara rum. ED 5 year seems to agree with him quite well. Read the full review.

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Picture 3El Dorado 5 Yr Cask Aged Rum  – 86 pts
By Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)

Demerara County (in Guyana) is popular across the world for its rich, three hundred year history of rum production. Using a combination of old wooden stills in conjunction with modern stills and distilling techniques, Demerara Distillers Ltd. (DDL) has built a reputation for outstanding quality and consistant production.  DDL is the currently the largest supplier of bulk Caribbean rums to Europe and North America.

In the Bottle  4/5

The new bottle design for the El Dorado 5 Yr Old Rum has a neat inverse curve which tapers down to a flared bottom.  The new red label with the large gold number 5 emblazoned upon it is simple but also attractive.  I would like the bottle to be corked instead of capped with that annoying pressed on screw cap,  but that is just a niggle.

In the Glass  8.5/10

The bottle, when opened, provides an aroma of coarse toasted brown sugar with hints of cinnamon. As the bottle is poured the glass imparts the slightly bitter smell of oak tannin and wood. When I let the aroma linger in the air I receive additional wiffs of dark molasses and a mild toasted coconut.

When I swirl the glass I see tiny rivulets of oil on the side of the glass. Small legs form and trail back into the rum.  Nice!

In the Mouth  52.5/60

My first taste of the El Dorado 5 Yr old was surprising. I had expected a similar Demerara sweetness which I experienced when I tasted the El Dorado 12 year old.  However, instead of tasting like a typically sweet South American Rum, this has more of a Caribbean Island flavour profile with a hint of mildly bitter tobacco resting under the flavours and spices.  I taste toasted notes of spicy oak, dry fruits (dates, figs and coconut), as well as a caramelized brown sugar. Although the rum is buttery, it is also  slightly dry with a tea like flavour that asserts itself with the dryness.  This spicy, slightly bitter, toasted flavour profile is actually very robust and displays a very nice complexity and balance.

In the Throat  12.5/15

In the throat, the buttery feel gives way to dryness which diminishes the appeal of the finish somewhat. There is a small bundle of vanilla at the end, and the toasted coconut remains as well.  My palate was left a little dry and spicy.  The burn was gentle, which makes the rum nice to sip neat.

The Afterburn  8.5/10

The El Dorado 5 yr old Rum first disappointed me when I missed the typical South American sweetness; then it confused me with a mildly bitter counter punch of flavor; and finally it delighted me with its robust complexity and balance.  I was so used to the sweet toffee like profile of the El Dorado 12 year rum that my first impression was that I had opened the wrong bottle.  Once I settled down, and realized that this was a different blend of El Dorado,  I began to take a new approach.  I had to put aside my expectations, and see what I had, rather than what I expected.  What we have is a robust, spicy, El Dorado with a more Caribbean Island profile than sweet South American.  It is a nice sipper and an even better mixer.  I designed a new Daiquiri for the rum which I find mildly delicious on hot summer days.

Arctic Wolf’s  Sloe Comfortable Daiquiri
a cocktail in the daiquiri Style by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)

1 Ounce Dark Rum (El Dorado 5Yr Cask Aged)
1/2 Ounce Southern Comfort
1  Ounce Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
1/2 Ounce Fresh Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Sloe Gin
4 Large Ice Cubes
1 Chilled Glencairn Glass

Place the  Ingredients in a Metal Martini Shaker.
Shake Until Martini Shaker Chills.
Strain Into a chilled Glencairn Glass.
Add the Ice from the Martini Shaker.
Garnish with an Orange Slice if desired….. Enjoy!!

Cockspur 12 Review

The Arctic Wolf is back with another in-depth rum review.  This time he goes a few rounds with Cockspur 12 Year.  Tune in to see what happens.

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Chip iconCockspur 12 Year Old Bajan Rum

By Chip Dykstra

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Cockspur 12 Year Old Bajan Crafted Rum   85/100

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Barbados is generally considered the birthplace of rum dating back to 1651 where the first recorded written usage of the word Rum Bullion appears. More than two hundred years later in 1884 a Dane, Valdemar Hanschell, founded a business in Barbados, supplying visiting ships with ropes, sails, salt, fresh fruit, meat and of course Barbadoes rum. Through the years, business thrived and so too did the popularity of his Cockspur rum.

In the Bottle  4.0/5

Cockspur 12 year old rum is packaged in a clear corked bottle with little to no frills.  The label is simple and understated.  I prefer my premium rums to be in sleeved packages to protect the spirit from the deleterious effects of light and UV rays.  Of course if you drink the contents within a normal period of time, then this is not a problem.  If like myself you collect spirits and drink their contents slowly over time then such packaging is more important.

In the Glass  9/10

The rum looks dark and rich and smells of deep brown molasses, baked cinnamon buns, and roasted pecans.  A faint tobacco (cigar like) aroma is deep in the glass.  There is also a touch of light oil on the sides of my glass.

In my Mouth 51/60

Several flavours jumped out at me on first tasting.  Toasted vanilla and charred molasses grabbed my taste buds first, and then I was subdued by a lurking tobacco richness that swelled up and filled my mouth.  However, old oak also made its presence felt leaving a bitter tannin tinge in the mouth.  Hot spicy cinnamon and roasted pecans nestled in the background.  As I let the drink settle in my mouth the oak and tobacco swelled to overtake the palate leaving a slightly dry bitter sensation.

In the Throat  13/15

The finish is all bittersweet chocolate and cigar smoke.  A buttery feel in the throat contradicts the dryness in the mouth.  (I believe the oaky tobacco flavour and aroma fooled my palate into sensing a dryness that my throat denies.)

The Afterburn  8/10

Somewhere there exists an Altar of Oak that all distillers of rum and whiskey worship.  They set their spirits within this Altar and pray that it will impart its goodness into the distillate.  But with this 12 year old rum, I believe, the rich taste of the spirit was to a point sacrificed in the name of the oak aging.  The spirit was given unto the altar for far too long.  We have a myriad of wonderful flavours, but in the end tobacco and bitter oak tannin have taken more from the rum than they have given.  I truly believe this rum would have benefited from an earlier removal from the Oak barrels.

Suggested Cocktail

In choosing a cocktail for this rum I needed to find a good flavour combination for the oak and tobacco flavour I taste in the Cockspur 12.  I chose to mix with pineapple and orange juice as I thought they provide a nice fruity base to mix the cockspur with.  My recipe is almost the same as for a Berry Cocktail,   I use more juice to make the drink more refreshing, and simple syrop instead of grenedine.  And of course a dark rum instead of white rum,

Arctic Wolf’s Dark Rum Cocktail

1 1/2 oz Cockspur 12 year Old Rum

1 1/2 ounce Pineapple Juice

1 1/2 ounce Orange Juice

1 teaspoon of simple syrup

1 squeeze of fresh Lime Juice

Fill a Collins glass with chipped Ice.  Add the first four  ingredients one at a time pouring slowly over the ice.  Cut a Lime in quarters and squeeze one quarter of the lime over the cocktail into the drink.  Stir and serve.  Garnish with a left over quarter of Lime, and pin with an umbrella if desired.

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If you want to read more from Chip, tune in to the Rum Howler Blog


Juan Santos 21 Review

Juan Santos is gaining a very strong reputation for their new line of Columbian rums.  Chip Dykstra completes his coverage of their launch with a review of JS 21.

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Picture 3Juan Santos 21 – Antigua Reserva Review

By Chip Dykstra



Juan Santos 21 Yr Old Rum   93.5/100

This is the final review on a series of new Columbian rums that are entering the North American marketplace via my home province of Alberta.  Allow me to introduce Juan Santos Twenty One Year Old Rum.  I found this to be a tremendous rum with unmatched smoothness, and a wonderful soft clean finish.

In the Bottle 3.5/5

This rum deserves a better presentation.  While the labelling and flagon style bottle was fine for the younger presentations of Juan Santos Rum.  This is a 21 year old rum which deserves to be placed upon more of a pedestal to create the proper ambiance.

In the Glass 9.5/10

As with the younger Juan Santos rums, in the glass one definitely gets the impression that there is a strong whisky influence to this rum both in looks and aroma.  Rising into the air, with the smell light toffee and brown sugar, is a light touch of Canadian rye whisky.   The aroma of whisky and rum have in fact melted together such that it is difficult to discern whether we have a bottle of rum or a bottle of Canadian whisky.

In the Mouth  56.5/60

Wonderfully delicious!  So very soft and smooth on the tongue.  That whiskey character I noted in all younger versions of the Juan Santos rums has in fact melted with the rum into a buttery praline cream.  Soft caramel notes are mingled with light spices, and the result is wonderfully balanced and remarkably deep in flavour.  Just the vaguest hints of almonds and cinnamon arrive on the tongue with ghostlike vestiges of caramel, nutmeg, allspice, and rye.

In the Throat  14.5/15

This is soft and smooth with just a dab of gentle oil giving the rum a tremendous finish.  Absolutely no harsh backbite, and no bitterness at all. The flavour evaporates in the throat leaving a crisp clean palate with just phantoms of the experience lingering.

The Afterburn 9.5/10

Juan Santos 21 Year Old Rum is perhaps the smoothest rum I have ever encountered.  The balance is staggering, as I was completely unable to discern anything but fleeting mirages of individual flavours.  When one tastes the rum next to the 5 yr, 9 yr and 12 year a remarkable progression occurs on the palate.   Each rum is smoother than the last, and with each rum the melting of the flavours together is a treat to the palate.  By the time we reach the 21 year old the progression is complete.  A total mixing of flavours into a truly wonderful rum.   Just about perfect!

Suggested Cocktail:

Arctic Wolf’s  Sloe Colombian Cocktail

2 oz of Juan Santos 21 yr old Rum

1/2 oz of Sloe Gin

Dash Angostura Bitters (optional)

2 Large Ice cubes

1/8 oz Dry Vermouth

Green Olive

Slice of Lime

Add the Juan Santos Rum, the Sloe Gin, and Angostura bitters with 2 Large ice cubes in a mixing glass and stir lightly. Pour the Dry Vermouth into a small chilled cocktail glass.  Swirl the vermouth to coat  all parts of the glass. Then pour the vermouth out and discard it.  Spear a fresh green olive with a long toothpick and place it in the chilled cocktail glass and strain the mixed ingredients over the olive (do not add the ice). Squeeze the lime slice over the glass to release a few drops of juice into the drink.

Enjoy!

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To read more of Chip’s reviews, check out the Rum Howler Blog.

Don Q 151 – A Tasting

Swankpad waxes about Don Q Puerto Rican 151 Rum bottled in the 1960’s.  It might just be the right overproof for a 151 Swizzle. Read on!

The details are just a click away.

HC Barrel Proof Review

Long a staple at duty free shops worldwide and a favorite of the Rum Connection team, Havana Club Cuban Barrel Proof Rum gets the once over.

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Picture 3HC Cuban Barrel Proof Review

By Chip Dykstra

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Havana Club Cuban Barrel Proof Rum   95/100

Havana Club Cuban Barrel Proof Rum is an authentic Cuban rum that has become widely available in most markets over the last several years.  Unfortunately, due to severe restrictions on Cuban goods, it remains absent from the American market.

In the Bottle:  4.5/5

The bottle is packaged in a very attractive beige cardboard box with the bold blue and red Havana Club logo on the front.  The box states that the rum is first aged in Extra Old white oak, and then the final blend is finished in special ‘selected’ finish casks.  I have heard of this ‘Double Barrel’ approach with whisky, but this is first time I have read of the approach used to finish an aged rum.  And I believe it is very unusual to choose young oak for the finishing, and older ‘used’ oak for the initial aging.  A quick check of the Havana Club website expands on this information and peaks my interest. The bottle itself is very attractively labelled, but I am disappointed in the screw cap.  I prefer nice dense cork toppers.

In the Glass:  9.5/10

The rum has a lighter color than I was expecting and a mild reddish tinge.  As I poured the rum into my glencairn glass my nose was immediately swatted with a sweet toffee updraft.  Hints of cinnamon spice compliment the aroma, and I am very pleased with the complete lack of any charred or burnt notes.  This is intense, sweet and clean.  I let the drink sit for just a moment, and a pleasant liquorice aroma reminiscent of Sambuca enters the fray.  I even catch just a smidgen of raw oak sitting at the very back of the nose.  This is marvellous.

In the Mouth: 58/60

Toffee!!  Old style Macintosh toffee.  Remember that stuff from 15 years ago in the red cardboard box.  You had to smack it on the table to break it.  I taste that old style toffee….Yumm!  Cinnamon too…  just a tad, just enough to give the rum a little heat.  This is so good!  Deep in the back of the palate there is a little spicy port wine cigar smoke, and finally traces of oak tannin.  Over the top of all of these flavours is a sweet rum molasses.  This is complex, yet almost perfectly balanced,   one of the finest flavour profiles I have ever experienced. It is hard to let the rum sit in my mouth, I just want to feel it slide down my throat.

In the Throat:  14/15

A silky smooth follow through leaves the mouth heated, and the throat coated with a very gentle oil.  In the throat I feel a nice little bit of that spicy port cigar.  The toffee and cinnamon flavours stay the longest which suits me just fine.  The follow through is incredibly smooth for a 45% spirit.

The Afterburn: 9.0/10

Wow, does this ever deliver!  It is really hard to find fault in the experience, and the fact that I have not even been tempted to visit another rum since I opened the bottle reveals its spectacular character.  The flavours are so intense yet so complimentary to each other that I am truly impressed.  If you folks in the USA have no other reason to lift the Cuban trade embargo,  this elixir is reason enough!  (Note that this is not intended as a political statement; it is a Rum Statement!)

Sip and Enjoy!

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If you want to read more words of wisdom from Chip, tune into his blog.



Juan Santos 12 Yr. Review

Next up from Casa Santana’s  line of Columbian rums  is Juan Santos Anejo 12 Anos.  Our friend Chip Dykstra gives it a taste and reports his findings.

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Picture 3Juan Santos 12 Year Rum Review

By Chip Dykstra


Juan Santos 12 Yr Old Rum   90/100

We have come to the fourth review on a series of new Columbian rums  entering the Canadian marketplace.  The Juan Santos 12 year old rum brings an increased level of smoothness and depth to the rum glass, and it was truly a pleasure to review the sample which was provided for me by the rum’s Canadian importer, The Liber group.

In the Bottle 4/5

Other than the colour of the label, the presentation has not changed significantly from the previously reviewed Juan Santos spirits.  as I said in an earlier review, I prefer that as the rum becomes more premium (and more expensive), the bottle and label should better reflect  premium nature of the spirit.

In the Glass  8.5/10

I noticed less oil in the glass of the Juan Santos 12 year than I did with the younger rums.  This is so counter intuitive that I did a side by side check to be sure.  The rum has also become noticably darker than the nine year old, although it still displays reddish highlights in the glass. The aroma is mild toffee and nuts, with hotter spices rising which, like in the nine year old, remind me of Canadian Whisky.

In the Mouth  54.5/60

The Juan Santos rums are so soft and buttery in the mouth, that it almost feels like the rum melts upon the tongue.  The twelve year old has a hot zest on the front of the delivery, but individual flavours have become so indistinct that I can only ask you to imagine a smooth Canadian rye whisky merging with a soft caramel rum.  The rum flavour dominates, but other than toffee and vague dashes of cinnamon I cannot describe anything in particular.  This kind of balance is rare.

In the Throat  14/15

The rum has a long buttery smooth finish. There is a only a faint burn in the throat.  The harshness apparent in the finish of the five year old rum is gone completely.  We no longer have a rum for pirate ships, this is a rum the pirate chief has hidden away to savour when he cashes in his booty.

The Afterburn 9/10

What a marvelous rum.  Smooth in character and long in finish.  Each Juan Santos rum has brought a  higher level of balance and smoothness to the palate.  The flavours melt and mingle together making them a treat to sip, but also easy to mix into exotic cocktails.

Suggested Cocktail:

In keeping with the whisky like feel to this rum I decided to do a take on the old Whiskey Sour Cocktail.

Arctic Wolf’s Juan Santos Sloe and Sour:

2 oz of Juan Santos Rum

1/2 oz Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Lime Juice

Dash of simple syrup or Grenadine

Crushed ice

1 Tablespoon of Sloe Gin

Add the Juan Santos Rum, the lemon and lime Juice, and the syrup or grenadine with the crushed ice in a Martini Shaker.  Shake gently to chill the mixture. Pour the mixed ingredients into a glen cairn glass adding the ice.

Float the sloe gin on top and serve.

Enjoy!

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To read more of Chip’s reviews, check out The Rum Howler Blog.

Copyright 2009