Monthly Archives: August 2009

Review: Ord River Rum 40%

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Posted by Carlos on August 31, 2009 – 11:08 pm
Filed under Liquor Review, Reviews, Rum
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Ord River Rum

This rum is distilled at The Hoochery (WA’s oldest continuously operating distillery) in Kununurra, Western Australia and is the only rum distilled entirely in Western Australia. Everything in this rum screams small batch, distilled on Spike Dessert’s farm using local sugar cane and wet season rain water, pot distilled, hand bottled and hand labelled. Over 50,000 bottles of Ord River rum are bottled each year. There are 4 variants of Ord River rum, 37%, 40%, Over-Proof 57.7% and Barrel Strength 70.2%. This bottle just happens to be the most popular, the standard 40%.

The Hoochery’s motto “With the Hoochery you get no gimmicks, no fancy labels,  just bloody-good-dinky-di Kimberley spirit!” and this is the case, A dark green bottle, almost like an large, old port bottle, a simple label that has “Ord River Rum” in big letters and a wax sealed cork enclosure. There is nothing fancy about the bottle, no gimmicks here.

Wondering if the rum on the inside was going to be as ‘Un-fancy’ as the bottle, I was eager to pop the cork. As I did I was confronted by a warm, smooth, slightly smoky aroma that just smells amazing, this rum has a sweet nose to it, much like a Single Malt Whisky, however it has sweet cane aroma, and hints of oak. Unlike the Angostura, this run doesnt have the intense vanilla, it has more of a honey/caramel, with a hint of vanilla. The overall aroma is dry, with a slight alcohol presence.

When served neat, Ord River is warm and spicy on the tongue, its smooth and sweet until it hits your mid palette where it explodes leaving tingles and a faint burn, however over ice, this rum becomes amazing, the alcohol in the aroma disappears, leaving a sweet vanilla note with hints of spice. Ice cold, this rum is smooth with no burn on the tongue, however I feel that it loses some of its flavour, it turns to a spirit which I would associate with the sweeter honey/caramel flavours of a whisky.

Ord River Rum has a slightly viscous mouth feel, its not thin, yet not thick or creamy, it sits comfortably in the middle.

At $55.00 AUD a bottle (750mL) Ord River Rum makes a nice addition to any bar, for both sipping and its use in bold, simple cocktails that wont take away from the taste of the rum.

For more info or purchasing options please visit The Hoochery!

Cocktails

Cuba Libre

1.5oz Ord River Rum
Coke
Ice

This is a cocktail that I have made in the past and did not get much enjoyment from, why? I suspect that it was due to the Bacardi that I used; Ord River gives the drink a richer flavour, with a much nicer finish.

Review: Lark Distillery Pepperberry Gin

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Posted by Carlos on August 30, 2009 – 11:57 am
Filed under Gin, Liquor Review, Reviews
Tagged as , , ,

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Lark Distillery Pepperberry Gin

Up until today I thought that all gin was clear, a white spirit. However a bottle of Cadenhead’s Old Raj turned up, and with its straw-like colour (like a white wine or vermouth) completely caught me off guard. So to clarify, Pepperberry Gin is a white spirit, completely clear, no colour to it!

The Gin is filled with sweet, yet dry aromas including the zest of lemon, limes and oranges, and spicy pepper, there is no real floral bouquet, well not the kind of potent, overpowering fragrance that you get from most gins, it is subtle and very pleasant.

The gin smells sweet and refreshing, fruity at some points, reminding me of spearmint, mandarins, and lemon zest. The gin possesses an almost perfume like aroma.

Pepperberry gin brings a uniqueness to gin, its fruity flavours of citrus juices, herbal and spice notes including juniper and cracked pepper. The pepperberries give the spirit a slight herbal spice that I have not experienced in other gins (apart from the spicy burn in low grade spirits, which is a different spice!).

In the mouth its very smooth, and rounded, I would consider this a trait of the malted barley spirit that this gin is made with,  a slight tickle of the throat is all that comes about as you swallow the spirit, no nasty nasal burn nor harshness on the throat. Pepperberry Gin leaves your mouth feeling both moist and dry, which I havnt really found before, or only to a small degree, this uniqueness eventually fades to an almost dry finish with slight sweetness and floral notes.

Pepperberry Gin can be bought HERE for $19.50/200ml or $41.00/500ml  or $54.50/700ml

Cocktails:

Central Park Cocktail

2oz Gin
4oz tomato juice
1oz lime juice
3 drops of vanilla extract
pinch of cayenne pepper
vanilla bean
cherry tomato

Review: Margret’s Distilled Dry Gin

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Posted by Carlos on August 27, 2009 – 10:26 pm
Filed under Gin, Liquor Review, Reviews
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Margret’s Distilled Dry Gin

Another fantastic product from my home state. Visually the gin is how you would expect it to be, clear and water like. The bottle is a simple round bottle with a wax covered cork enclosure, nothing really stands out about the packaging of this little bottle.

As with most of the spirits distilled by Great Southern, this Gin is made from high quality grapes from Australia’s South-West; This really shows in this gin, leaving you with an almost wine style aroma. Juniper and citrus notes are the most prominent with hints of coriander and cardamom, it reminds me a lot of Indian cooking.

I was eager to taste this gin, so much so that I had a swig of it the moment I got hold of the bottle, and to be honest, it was a little harsh, there was some tingling going on.. The subtle flavours that you expect in a gin were swept away.

Luckily for me, the second time around it was much better! this time I sipped it on the rocks, and its much, much nicer. There is still a small amount of burn however this is something that you come to expect in a gin, and quite frankly it wasn’t off putting so its not an issue.

Margret’s is interesting in the way that its flavours move around your mouth, from floral hints of Juniper and herbs, anise and to a dry white wine style . The after taste is that of dry white wine, and dried herbal notes.

This is an interesting gin, it has a fantastic bouquet, and has a unique taste when compared to other gins due to the fact that it is distilled from grapes.

Margret’s Gin retails for around $70, which in my opinion may be getting a little expensive, however it is well worth a try for its flavour if you can get your hands on a bottle.

Singapore Sling Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on August 25, 2009 – 8:39 pm
Filed under Angostura, Cherry Herring/Cherry Liqueur, Cointreau, Dom Benedictine, Gin, Grenadine
Tagged as , , , , , ,

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Singapore Sling Cocktail

The Mash Bill:

1/2oz Cherry Herring
1oz Gin
1/4oz Cointreau
1/4oz Dom Benedictine
1/3oz Grenadine
1/2oz Lime Juice
4oz Pineapple Juice
Dash Angostura Bitters

The Work Order:

  1. Fill shaker with Ice
  2. Pour all ingredients
  3. Shake
  4. Strain into Collins Glass
  5. Serve

My Thoughts:

It’s not as artificially red as many Singapore Slings I have seen, maybe just due to the type of grenadine that I used. The sling gives of an aromatic aroma, due to the bitters, which makes it smell similar to a Lemon, Lime and bitters. There is a sweet, yet sour flavour that accompanies the pineapple in the drink, this is the dominant flavour. Hints of cherry are noticeable in the after taste, there is no real alcohol flavour to the drink, the gin, while strong and aromatic is well hidden.

A refreshingly fruity cocktail and one I will definitely make again in the future.

Review: Leblon Cachaca

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Posted by Carlos on August 23, 2009 – 2:08 pm
Filed under Cachaca, Liquor Review, Reviews
Tagged as , ,

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Leblon Cachaca Review

This is something new for me, I have never had Cachaca before, so I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I opened the bottle. Talking about the bottle is very simple, and very cool; It is a plain round bottle with a heavy/thick base on it, much like a Rocks Glass, The label is printed directly onto the bottle which I think is pretty neat, especially if you like to put your bottles in the freezer to keep cold! (They always get ruined when they are paper labels, due to the water) To top it off (excuse the pun) there is a cork enclosure. I’m usually a huge fan of cork stoppers, however this design irritated me. Why? because the cap is small and smooth, and therefore when my hands were wet, it was a bugger to get open. But as I type this now, maybe I should just suck it up and dry my hands before I open it!

The aroma that rose from this Cachaca is awesome, it is simply amazing. The first thing that I noticed was the intense sweetness of the spirit and how fragrant the fruity notes are. Its a rather complex aroma, it has fruity notes that scream sweet grilled pineapple and pear, however it also has a slight fermented sourness in the rear end that I usually associate with a dry white wine. The sugar cane juice (yes only the juice, no molasses are used in the distillation of Cachaca, the sugar cane is pressed and the juice squeezed out) is also present in the final stages of the aroma, bringing out a smoky rum style aroma.

The taste of Leblon is complex and intriguing , thanks to the 3 month aging process that occurs in XO Cognac (French Oak) Barrels (Leblon is shipped to France for again!) the Cachaca takes on many of the flavour profiles found in a single malt whisky, mostly in its initial attack and in the after taste. Between the start and finish of the drink there are hints of grilled fruit, and sugar cane, leaving a sweet, yet slightly smoky flavour that dominates the upper palette.

Considering that Cachaca is ‘pretty much’ a rum, I find it hard to understand why there is such an absence of the usual sugar cane/rum defining taste and finish, its more of a whisky finish that fades very, very slowly into sweet rum flavour. The taste reminds me a lot of the Limeburners Single Malt that I reviewed a few weeks ago.

Overall this is a rather interesting spirit, my first Cachaca, but defiantly not the last, it has sparked a new interest into the ‘Spirit of Brazil’

Leblon can be found for around $35USD

Want a free muddler? http://www.lebloncachaca.com/muddler/

Cocktails

The Strawberry Basil Caipirinha

2 oz Leblon Cachaça
3 Strawberries
3 Basil leaves
1/4 Lime
1 oz Simple Syrup

Strawberry Bartida

2 oz Leblon Cachaça
2 oz Condensed Milk
4 Strawberries
1 tsp Superfine Sugar

French Raspberry-Mint Daiquiri

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Posted by Carlos on August 23, 2009 – 12:50 pm
Filed under Chambord, Rum
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French Raspberry Mint Daiquiri

The Mash Bill:

2oz Light Rum
1/2oz Chambord
1/2oz Lime Juice
1/2oz Simple Syrup
Mint Leaves

The Work Order:

  1. Muddle Mint, Lime and Simple Syrup in your Tin
  2. Pour Rum
  3. Fill with Ice
  4. Shake
  5. Double Strain into Cocktail Glass
  6. Garnish with a Mint Sprig
  7. Serve

My Thoughts:

The colour of the drink is fantastic, a translucent purple/pink, the taste is not much different, Mint and berries dominate the front palette while the rum hides until the mid-palette to show itself. The after taste consists of a deep rum flavour, and earthy mint.

Toffee Apple Shooter

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Posted by Carlos on August 21, 2009 – 5:42 pm
Filed under Apple Schnapps/Pucker, Butterscotch Schnapps, Rum
Tagged as , ,

Toffee Apple Shooter

The Mash Bill:

1oz Aged Rum
1/2oz Apple Schnapps
1/2oz Butterscotch Schnapps

The Work Order:

  1. Pour all ingredients into Ice filled shaker
  2. Shake
  3. Strain into Shot Glasses
  4. Serve

My Thoughts:

This shooter smells like a hyper-sweet rum, apart from the names of the spirits that go into the shot, there is pretty much no resemblance to a toffe apple in my opinion.

M&M Shooter

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Posted by Carlos on August 20, 2009 – 9:33 pm
Filed under Amaretto, Kahlua
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M&M Shooter

The Mash Bill:

1/2oz Kahlua
1/2oz Amaretto

The Work Order:

  1. Pour all ingredients into a shooter glass
  2. Serve

My Thoughts:

A very thick, syrupy shot, the initial taste is of Kahula, however after a few seconds the flavour of the Amaretto becomes apparent. The recipe that I followed stated that the shooter had nothing to do with

the chocolate M&M’s, however I think the after taste is that of Peanut M&M’s!

Royal 61

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Posted by Carlos on August 20, 2009 – 5:08 pm
Filed under Champagne, Creme de Cassis, Gin, Watermelon
Tagged as , ,

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Royal 61

The Mash Bill:

1 1/2oz gin
1oz creme de cassis
1 oz watermelon syrup (Click HERE for the Recipe)
Juice of 1/2 lime
Champagne

The Work Order:

  1. Fill shaker with Ice
  2. Pour all ingredients except Champagne
  3. Shake
  4. Strain
  5. Top with Champagne
  6. Garnish with Watermelon
  7. Serve

My Thoughts:

A very sweet, and slightly syrupy cocktail, the watermelon/berry flavour is dominating in this cocktail and it leaves very little gin taste.

Homemade: Watermelon Syrup

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Posted by Carlos on August 20, 2009 – 5:02 pm
Filed under Syrups
Tagged as

Watermelon Syrup

A simple watermelon based syrup for watermelon margaritas and the Royal 61

The Mash Bill:

4 Cups Watermelon Puree
1 Cup Sugar

The Work Order:

  1. Mix ingredients in a Saucepan
  2. Simmer over medium-low heat until the mixture reduces by 50% and becomes thick.
  3. Strain into a Jar or Bottle
  4. Leave to cool

This mix lasts 5 days in the fridge.

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