Review: Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage 2006 Port Wine

Dow’s is one of the Port Houses belonging to the Symington Family whose ancestry in the Port trade spans a period of over three and a half centuries. This family’s association with Dow’s began in the early 1900′s when Andrew James Symington, became a partner in Warre & Co, the first and oldest British Port company established in Portugal. The Warre Family at the time owned Dow’s; but apparently had little interest in managing the company and invited Symington to manage the vineyards and lodges of Dow’s as well those of Warre & Co.. In 1912, Andrew Symington, acquired 30 % ownership of Dow’s, and later, in 1961 the Symington Family gained full control and sole ownership of the entire company.

Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port wines are produced from grapes grown in a single year from Dow’s best vineyards. The wine has been matured for between four and six years and is filtered prior to bottling. Because it has been matured and then filtered, this style of Port wine is ready for immediate consumption and will not require decanting or filtering of sediment before serving.

(Note: I was provided a sample bottle of Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2006 by The Bacchus Group, who are responsible for its importation here in Alberta.)

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

“… As you let the wine breathe the fruity smells begin to grow slowly seeping into the air with smells of blackberries, plums and dark red cherries. There are hints of dry fruit, as well as grape skins and stems adding to that earthy quality underneath …”

I hope you enjoy this review of what I consider to be an outstanding Late Bottled Vintage port.

Review: Bacardi Black

Bacardi Black is a traditional dark rum. As such it achieves a major portion of its flavour, aroma, and colour from the special ingredients (caramel colour for sure) which are added to the final blend prior to bottling. The Black is apparently blended from rums which have been aged up to four years; but, it would be a mistake to believe that the maturation of the rums in the blend have anything but a small role in the rich dark colour we see or the strong collection of aromas that we sense above the glass.

Bacardi Black appears to be disappearing from the shelves of the liquor stores in my locale, and even Bacardi has dropped any mention of the product on its US-based website. It appears to have been replaced by Bacardi Select, which is a similar style of rum although I do not know if it is actually the same blend as the Bacardi Black.

Although this review is perhaps a little belated, if you click on the following excerpt you can read my full opinion of Bacardi Black:

“… The initial aroma above the glass is full of butterscotch, molasses, vanilla, and candied caramels. There are hints of licorice, some noticeable maple, and sweet sticky canned fruit (apricots and peaches).

If I strain my senses, I also sense some dried fruit in the form of currants and dates and perhaps even a touch of cocoa. The aroma is not unpleasant, although there is very little evidence of oak aging in the breezes …”

Included in the review is a nice summertime deck drink, the Lemon Cola Cooler.

Enjoy the review!

Screech Rum Adds Two Members to the Family

Famous Newfoundland Screech can trace its ancestry back over 300 years to a time when fishing fleets from Newfoundland, with their cargo of Northern Cod and North Atlantic tuna, traveled south and established a tradition of trade with Jamaica for that elixir of the Caribbean, known as rum. This trade established Newfoundland as one of the major portals for the legal import (and of course a little illegal smuggling) of rum into Canada. There have always been a good variety of rum brands on the shelves of my local liquor store which began their journey westward across Canada from the easternmost Province of Newfoundland and Labrador; the most famous of these brands is certainly the Screech Rum.

Recently Screech has added two new members to it family, Famous Newfoundland Screech Spiced Rum (100 proof) and, Famous Newfoundland Screech Honey Flavoured Rum. Theses rums are produced by the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) from the same 4 marques of Jamaican Rum which are used to produce their Famous Screech Rum, although the treatment of these marques will not necessarily be exactly the same (Screech Spiced Rum is bottled at a full 50 % alcohol by volume, and Screech Honey Flavoured Rum at 35 % alcohol by volume).

The new family members are just now hitting the store shelves in Newfoundland and Labrador, and will soon be making their way across Canada and into parts of the USA. My own samples arrived just this morning, and you can expect my reviews in the next few weeks.

Review: Bison Ridge Special Reserve (8 Year Old) Canadian Whisky

My friends Connie & Lukasz were over the other day, and even though they know my cupboard is well stocked with Canadian whisky, they always try to find something that I haven’t tasted yet. On this occasion, they brought along a bottle of Bison Ridge Special Reserve Canadian Whisky to share a few drams with me. The whisky is produced (by this I mean bottled) by the Crosby Lake Spirits Company who are located in Minnesota, USA. All Canadian whisky must (by law) be distilled and aged in Canada; however, I could not locate any information as to which Canadian Distillery was the source for this brand.

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

Review: Bison Ridge Special Reserve Canadian Whisky

“… The initial nose reflects sweet butterscotch, some notes of corn mash, with wood spices rising in the background. As the glass breathes I notice an underlying ‘earthiness’ which reminds me of the scent of an old those fashioned damp cellars which were built with wooden floorboards lain directly over the black dirt …”

Please enjoy the review which includes a recipe recommendation, the Buckeroo!

Review: Miguel Torres 20 Hors d’âge

Last month, I was invited to as a guest to attend Pacific Wine and Spirits, 40th Anniversary Portfolio Tasting at the Edmonton Golf and Country Club. At the event I was able to meet many of the people who are responsible for making the great wines and spirits which Pacific Wine and Spirits have as part of their portfolio here in the Province of Alberta. One of the great people I met was Anna Manchon, the Canadian Torres Export Manager who is of course, responsible for the entire line-up of Torres Brandy which is available here in Canada. I spent some time with her discussing her Brandy line-up, and after the event, I was happy to learn that a bottle of the Torres 20 Hors d’âge Brandy was being delivered to me for review upon my website.

Miguel Torres 20 Hors d’âge, is a double distilled brandy made by the Torres family (or bodega) who have been intrinsically linked to the wine making region of Spain known as the Penedès for over three centuries. Their brandy is produced from selected wines of the Parellada (a traditional Catalan white varietal) and Ugni Blanc (also known as Trebbiano in Italy) grape varieties. After distillation of the wine in copper pot stills, a careful selection process is undertaken to choose the most positive aromatic fractions, and these are aged in french Limousin oak barrels.

Click on the following excerpt to read the full review:

“… The spirit possesses a nice dark mahogany colour when poured in the glass, and exhibits an obvious oak character which is interlaced with scents of both fresh fruit (grapes and pears), and dry fruit (raisins, dates and figs), as well as some nice caramel candy and vanilla. Orange peel and oak spices build in the glass as you let it breathe giving me impressions of black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, marmalade and dark rich tobacco …”

Please enjoy my Review!

Review: Triple Sec (Meaghers)

Today, I am completing my series of Orange Liqueurs which has comprised a very representative sampling of category including several of the major Triple Sec and Orange Curacao brands in the marketplace. My final review in the series is a Canadian product produced by Corby called simply Triple Sec (Meaghers).

Meaghers has been producing traditional liqueurs in Canada (in a variety of flavours) since 1873. In fact they were the first domestic distiller to produce a full line of flavoured liqueurs. In 1978, Corby purchased Meaghers Distillery Limited of Montreal absorbing the Meaghers brands into the Corby portfolio. Their Triple Sec (formerly called Grand Curacao), is a traditional orange flavoured liqueur bottled at 35 % alcohol by volume. It is widely available in Canada and has some distribution in the US.

You may click on the link to read the full review:

“… the aroma from the liqueur is quite nice. The orange notes, although readily recognizable, are tainted just a little by a light earthiness. I do not sense any clear differentiation between the sweet orange notes and the more bitter orange peel which is evident in other orange liqueurs. Instead, the sweet and the bitter orange seem to be melded together …”

Please Enjoy the review, and my nice Scotch Whisky cocktail which is included, Soft Touch!

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If you are interested, here is a listing of all the orange flavoured liqueurs and spirits I have reviewed to date:

• Bols Blue (Curacao)
• Bols Triple Sec
• Cointreau
• Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
• Meagher’s Triple Sec
• Patrón Citrónge
• Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
• Magic Moments Remix Orange Flavoured Vodka

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Review: Glenfarclas 15 Year Old Highland Single Malt Whisky

The Glenfarclas Distillery is located in the Glenfarclas valley on the Recherlich Farm at Ballindalloch which is in the heart of Speyside. The Distillery was purchased by the Grant Family in 1865, and it has remained in the control of the Grant Family for six generations up to the present day. In fact, Glenfarclas is one of only a few distilleries remaining in Scotland which is independently family owned and managed. I have had the good fortune to meet George Grant (of that sixth generation of the Grant Family) right here in Edmonton at several tasting events sponsored by Pacific Wine & Spirits Inc, who are the local importer/distributor of Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt Whisky in Alberta. Based upon my tasting notes from those events and from additional samples provided by Pacific Wines, I was able to fashion this review for the Glenfarclas 15 Year Old Whisky.

You may click on the excerpt below to read the full review:

“… The nose is very rich with the scents and smells of the sherry influence upon the whisky. Dried fruit (raisins, dates, and prunes) lead out with a very noticeable accent of dark chocolate. Dark toffee smells enrich the air above the glass, and as the whisky sits, rich baking spiced build and build. I can smell rich brown Demerara sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla in the breezes above the glass…”

Please enjoy the Review!

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Note; Here are links my other Glenfarclas Whisky reviews:

• Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky
• Glenfarclas 12 Year Old Highland Single Malt Whisky
• Glenfarclas 21 Year Old Highland Single Malt Whisky
• Glenfarclas 25 Year Old Highland Single Malt Whisky
• Glenfarclas 30 Year Old Highland Single Malt Whisky
• Glenfarclas 40 year Old Highland Single Malt Whisky

Review: Cointreau

Adolphe and Edouard-Jean Cointreau first established their distillery in 1849. Although their first success was with a wild cherry liqueur called Guignolet (still available in France); they are more famous for the production of their sweet orange liqueur, Cointreau which was first distilled by Edouard-Jean’s son Edouard. The first bottles of Cointreau were sold in 1875, and by the early 1900′s, sales had reached 800,000 bottles per year. The brand is now owned by Rémy Martin, with annual estimated sales of 13 million bottles, world-wide.

According to the Cointreau website, this orange liqueur is produced according to a secret recipe which includes sun-dried orange peels, alcohol, sugar and water. It is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

You may click on the following excerpt to read my review of this iconic orange liqueur.

“… The nose is very nice with a clear orange notes radiating from the glass into the breezes. I catch wiffs of both fresh-cut Valencia oranges, and what smells to me like the peel of both Mandarin and Curacao oranges. I also note a distinct impression of lemon drop candies wandering through those clear orange notes …”

A few years ago, I designed a bar drink for Old Parr Superior Whisky, which uses Cointreau in conjunction with lime juice and  Orange and Mango Soda. The cocktail called, the Scottish Tumbler, has been included at the end of the review for your enjoyment!

Cheers Everyone, and please remember to enjoy your cocktails in a responsible manner!

Review: Admiral Nelson’s Coconut Rum

A few weeks back, I received a bottle of Admiral Nelson’s Coconut Rum from the local importer here in Alberta, Diamond Estates. They were hoping I would taste the spirit, and perhaps write a review (if it was my inclination to do so). In doing my research I was not able to glean much information about how the Admiral Nelson’s Coconut Rum is produced. I understand that it is bottled in the U.S. by the Admiral Nelson Rum Company of Missouri (at 21 % alcohol by volume), and although the brand was previously controlled by Luxco, in 2011 Heaven Hill Distilleries acquired the rights to the entire Admiral Nelson Brand.

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

“… The nose is lightly sweet with a mild coconut aroma. There also seems to be a touch of vanilla sitting in the background. A light alcohol astringency is rising from the glass which surprises me in such a low proof offering; but this astringency is quite mild and is probably just a reflection of a young rum which makes up the base of the spirit …”

Please enjoy my review which includes two nice recipes, A Day at the Beach, and the Chocolate Covered Banana.

Enjoy this fine Monday everyone!

Cheers!

Review: Bols Triple Sec

Lucas Bols advertises itself as the oldest distillation company active in the world today with origins that trace back to 1575. After 438 years, the company has grown to become one of the leading global concerns in the spirits industry. Bols has a presence in over 110 countries selling liqueurs, vodka, gin, and genever. The wide range of  liqueurs is particularly impressive. With 36 naturally flavoured liqueurs, the company can boast the widest range of liqueur flavours in the world.

Bols Triple Sec is a crystal clear liqueur flavoured with sugar, Curaçao orange peel, and hints of citrus. I have met and talked with Bols Flavour expert, Peter Van’t Zelfde, and learned that all of the Bols Liqueurs are made from naturally produced flavours. These flavours have been extracted and/or distilled from base ingredients like fresh fruits and spices. The orange liqueur is bottled at 24 % alcohol by volume.

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

“… According to the information I have been given, Bols Triple Sec is produced from a blend of citrus fruit which includes Valencia oranges, and lemons. However, the main ingredient, (and the one on full display in both the taste and the aroma) is slightly bitter but highly aromatic Curacao orange …”

My review includes a very nice tequila based cocktail, the Dreadful Lemon Sky.

Please enjoy!