After enjoying the original Woodford Reserve Bourbon last year, I was looking forward to tasting more of their products. And since I’d previously been recommended Woodford Reserve Double Oaked from a few different people, I made it a priority to try it as soon as possible. Double Oaked refers to another added step in the aging process. After the Woodford Reserve bourbon is fully matured in new charred oak barrels, the spirit is moved to another oak barrel to continue aging. This second barrel is deeply toasted before being lightly charred and added extra flavor. BOTTLE SPECS ❖ Spirit: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey ❖ Distillery: […]
Cane Island Jamaica Rum is produced by Cane Island Rum – a rum brand owned by the Amsterdam-based company Infinity Spirits. As a brand, Cane Island produces a variety of different rum blends, each of which focuses on a specific country or estate of origin. This particular bottle of Jamaica Rum is one of their “single island” blends, meaning that it includes rums from a few different estates located on the island of Jamaica. The rums in the blend are produced from molasses, and are primarily pot still. They are aged for a range of 3-5 years in American white oak bourbon barrels – with the exception of one unaged, high-ester rum. The […]
Although I made an effort to explore rye whiskey last year and there are plenty of other spirits I still want to try, rye is too good in cocktails for me to stop looking for new bottles to check out. And lucky for me, my parents gifted me this bottle of Exclave Rye Whiskey during the holidays. Exclave spirits is a New Orleans, Louisiana based brand that was created to celebrate the contribution of the black community to the history of spirits. This brand, produced and bottled by River basin Spirits, is only a few years old, but was awarded double gold by the American Distilling Institute. BOTTLE SPECS ❖ Spirit: Rye Whiskey ❖ Distillery: […]
Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaica Rum is produced by Smith & Cross – a London-based rum producer with roots dating back to 1788. A blend of pot still “Plummer” and “Wedderburn” style rums, Smith & Cross boasts a flavorful product reminiscent of 19th century Jamaican rums. The different rums used in this blend are each distilled in Jamaica at the Hampden Estate Distillery, before being aged for a range of 6 months to 3 years. They make a point to advertise that this blend is not chill filtered, which results in a high ester product with potentially more character. It also does not include any added sugar before bottling. BOTTLE SPECS […]
One of my personal goals this year is to try more spirits from other countries and cultures. And it seems like Emmeline was on a similar wavelength, since she gifted me this bottle of Hassaku Sake during the holidays. Hassaku Sake is produced in Wakayama, a Southern prefecture in Japan that borders Osaka. Wakayama is famous for the citrus fruit hassaku, a fruit similar in taste to an orange but the size of a grapefruit. While it’s branded as a sake on the bottle, Hassaku Sake might be closer to a liqueur in taste and proof. But the base spirit is high quality sake produced by Sekai Itto Co. and then blended with locally sourced hassaku […]