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: 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: 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!

Review: New Zealand’s 1987 Single Malt Whisky (24 years Old)

My reviews of the New Zealand Whisky Collection continue with the New Zealand’s 1987 Single Malt Whisky (40 % ABV). The now closed distillery at Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand once produced both Single Malt and blended whisky. After the distillery’s closure, about 600 barrels of single malt and blended grain whisky remained and were left to mature. Two years ago (in 2011), Mr Greg Ramsey, an Australian whisky enthusiast from Tasmania, bought those barrels and set about bottling the whisky as part of a plan to revive the New Zealand whisky industry. As part of that plan, he created the New Zealand Whisky Collection.

New Zealand’s 1987 Single Malt Whisky was produced from Single Malt stocks which were distilled in 1987  at the Dunedin Distillery and then left to age for 24 years. The Whisky was bottled in two formats; 750 ml bottles were captured at Cask Strength, with the alcohol by volume varying depending upon the casks selected (anywhere from 49-60%), and smaller 150 ml flasks were bottled at 40% alcohol by volume. Both formats of this whisky are currently available in Ontario, Canada through the LCBO (and may soon be available here in Alberta as well).

You may click on the excerpt to read my review:

” …I taste a light but firm herbal character running through the whisky with indications of heather, sawgrass, timothy, and willow. The whisky also carries a sweet maltiness which is persistent throughout the taste experience, and a mild fruitiness which reminds me of lightly tart green apples and ripening pears …”

Please enjoy my review!

A Reivew for Cinco de Mayo

It is commonly believed that May, 5th or Cinco de Mayo is a well celebrated holiday in Mexico roughly equivalent to the US Holiday of Independence on July, 4rth. The truth of the matter is that Cinco de Mayo is not really a major holiday in Mexico and is more widely celebrated in the United states than it ever has been south of their border. It is not even a holiday related to Mexico’s actual Independence Day known as El Grito de la Independencia (“Cry of Independence”). That phrase was first spoken on September 16th, 1810 by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Roman Catholic priest in the small town of Delores. That moment is said to have marked the beginning of  Mexico’s War of Independence against Spain.

Cinco de May commemorates an entirely different event, the 1862 Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexican Army met and drove back an invasion force of the French. This battle ended in a victory for the Mexican Army over a much stronger and better equipped occupying French force. Although the French continued their push towards Mexico City, the Battle of Puebla provided the Mexican people a much need morale boost which eventually led to their ultimate victory over the French. (History it seems is full of remarkable parallels.)

Thus in recognition of the Battle of Puebla for which Cinco de Mayo is celebrated, we may raise a glass of Tequila today. The glass I am going to raise is one of PaQuí Tequila (Silvera).

Here is an excerpt from my review:

Review: PaQuí Silvera Tequila

” … The aroma from the glass is laid back.  An earthy agave scent is present, but it does not jump from the glass, rather it seeps out slowly. Very light citrus tones follow, but they do not try to assault the nostrils, rather they lie very gently in the breezes …”

Of course I am going to enjoy a few cocktails today, most probably a Metro Mexico Cocktail, and perhaps as the sun gets warmer, a Royal Alexander Margarita.

Review: Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge

I have been given a few Orange liqueurs to review from a few different sources over the past few months, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao, from Cognac Ferrand; and Citrónge, from Patron Spirits just to name two. Rather than reviewing those spirits in isolation, I have decided to grab a few of my orange flavoured spirits from my shelf, and review them as well. Hence today, I am publishing my review for Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge, a popular orange-flavored, brandy based liqueur created by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle in 1880.

It is apparently produced from Cognac, neutral spirit, distilled essence of bitter orange, and sugar. The Cognac in particular is important as fully 51 % of the final volume of the spirit is blended Cognac. This aged spirit is blended with water and a neutral spirit which contains the distilled essence of bitter orange. The final liqueur is bottled at 40% alcohol by volume, and is meant to be served neat as an aperitif or used as an ingredient in fine cocktail recipes.

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

“… The overall structure of the liqueur seems to be always at the edge. The orange is almost too bitter; the sugar is almost too sweet; and the wood spiciness is almost too biting, yet never do these flavours build to the point where the spirit becomes cloying. It is a well constructed spirit which walks a path along the precipice, but which never tumbles over …”

Please enjoy my review and the suggested recipe Maximiliano Tequila, which mixes Grand Marnier to great effect with aged tequila.

Cheers!

Review: Patrón Citrónge

Patrón Citrónge is a relatively new orange liqueur from Patron Spirits produced in Jalisco, Mexico at the same distillery which makes Patron Tequila (although in a separate building, as per CRT regulations). The orange based liqueur is produced from an agave based neutral spirit, and of course natural orange flavours. There may be other ingredients in the mix; but if there is, Patron is not telling me. The spirit is bottled at a full 40 % alcohol by volume, and I was provided with a sample bottle by Select Wines & Spirits who are the distributors of Citrónge here in Alberta.

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

“… Alongside the aroma of fresh-cut navels oranges is the unmistakable aroma of herbaceous agave. It is not as firm as what one would notice when snooting a glass of blanco tequila; but it is unmistakable. Hints of white pepper, fruity aromas of garden squash and grilled pineapple are all represented in the air above the glass. The normally clear orange scents are somewhat masked by this herbaceous aroma …”

Please enjoy my review of this interesting orange Liqueur, and of course, enjoy my new cocktail recipe included in the review, April Showers.

Cheers everyone!

Review: Gibson’s Finest Rare 18 Years Old Canadian Whisky

In 1856, John Gibson purchased 40 acres and built a distillery along the shore of the Monongahela River in Pennsylvania. By the turn of the century, the Gibson’s Distilling Company was the largest producer of rye whisky in North America. Unfortunately, early in the new century, fate dealt the company a tragic blow, in the name of Prohibition. Consumption of legal whisky all but dried up, and Gibson’s Distilling Company went bankrupt. In 1923, the entire contents of the distillery including the stills, the aging barrels, all of the remaining spirit, (and even the grain which was on site) was sold via Sherriff’s auction to Schenley Industries of New York. Fifty years later this whisky brand, which was born on the US side of the border in Pennsylvania, was resurrected by the brand owner at the Schenley Distillery in Valleyfield, Quebec. Now, of course, it has become one of the iconic brands of Canadian Whisky.

Of course the story continued and Shenley Distillers underwent re-organization at the end of the 20th century. As part of that reorganization, the Gibson’s Finest Whisky brand was purchased by William Grant & Sons in 2002. Some time after the acquisition, William Grant & Sons moved the production of Gibson’s Whisky from the Schenley plant in Valleyfield, Quebec to the Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, Ontario.

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

“… The initial aroma is spicy with a firm oak presence. The breezes above the glass are filled with tobacco, rye, and (what I am going to term) clean firm oak spices. These dominant scents are accented by caramel, butterscotch and vanilla. Some dusty dry notes of freshly harvested grain, autumn cornstalks, and dry straw rise into those initial breezes as well …”

Please enjoy my review, and my suggested bar drink, The Old Fashioned Cocktail.