tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33485933023969704142024-02-02T08:16:43.206-08:00LiquoristsReviews, and everything else about liquorEngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-45974223247751821792011-05-31T15:41:00.000-07:002011-05-31T15:42:53.485-07:00Demotivational*Tumbleweed*<br />
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Yes, months have passed *again* without a update. And i think it's time to write down the reason for the lack of them.<br />
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And it's quite simple actually.<br />
Once in a while, i get a comment or a mail asking for specific details about different spirits. If i know the answer, i'll answer right away, but usually i don't.<br />
In that case i'll have to resort to emailing the company behind the spirit, and that's where things have been going wrong.<br />
While i did make a mistake in the beginning by requesting a sample or two when the blog didn't get any visitors at all, in those cases a lack of respons is quite normal. Personally i would give at least a respons and just deny the request due lack of blog visitors, but hey, thats me.<br />
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Unfortunally tho, almost all my emails requesting for information about spirits, or even more often: how and/or where to get certain spirits aren't getting answered either.<br />
Free advertising in most cases, but yet i don't get any sort of reaction back. And then i'm stuck with telling the people i've told to do my best, that i didn't have any succes. That the company behind the spirit they seek doesn't seem to care, and they will just have to try something else.<br />
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And that gets quite demotivating after a while.<br />
People read my posts, actually email me for answers, yet the companies do not seem to be interrested in a non profit generating email. <br />
And i'm sure this will be totally different if the blog/website the email is comming from has tons and tons of visitors and generates far more interest and therefor money, the actual non-profitable people trying to just write honest reviews are left standing in the dark. Maybe they get overloaded with questions? Let's just hope that's the case and they actually do care about the customers that have a few questions.<br />
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On the bright side though, i still have quite a collection to review. Most bought by myself, some leftovers from a friend. Due the lack of motivation to actually write those down, they have been piling up. But the site has far from beeing abandoned, and when motivation returns........<br />
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Untill the next update!, <br />
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EngeHenk.EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-88402530818221284182011-01-16T15:14:00.000-08:002011-01-16T16:50:23.988-08:00Parrot Bay Coconut<a href="http://www.captainmorgan.com/en-us/products/parrotbay.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.captainmorgan.com/en-us/img/products/drink-parrotbay-detail.png" width="105" /></a>Captain Morgan Parrot Bay coconut flavoured liqueur. Quite a mouthful.<br />
While the bottle in front of me looks a bit different then the one the left (see bottem picture), the caribbean rum based spirit inside should be about the same.<br />
Where the bottle in the left is 24% alcohol (48 proof) the one in front is me is 20% (40 proof). And it has to be said, i do like the bottle design, especially with the beach concept printed on the inside of the sticker on the back. <br />
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The spirit itself smells mostly like sweet coconut, and has a tiny little bit of a rum smell mixed in there aswel. On the taste side, about the same. It begins with a sweet coconut taste on the tip of the tongue, adds a tiny little hint of rum again when it goes to the back of the tongue, to finish with a slighty warming sensation down the throat. Mixed the rumlike features will disappear and you will get a mellow coconut result.<br />
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All in all, i have nothing bad to say about this spirit, no offensive tastes, smells or other attributes, but a rather nice smooth spirit in a fancy bottle (found for about €11,- for the 70cl bottle). <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFps8dXtJAHVVtrtyOu7qZuaAnp4WFFSY8gQHJzJ6hklAxxl15phuhRFF94MO5bojfyZrEHbjDZJ8frwJyJfpLmAlVq9RJ4dY3DEZIV1jkyIvuXxGhN0tdDqdWfT_WH5k6vZw3N3e_eSc/s1600/2011-01-16+23.46.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFps8dXtJAHVVtrtyOu7qZuaAnp4WFFSY8gQHJzJ6hklAxxl15phuhRFF94MO5bojfyZrEHbjDZJ8frwJyJfpLmAlVq9RJ4dY3DEZIV1jkyIvuXxGhN0tdDqdWfT_WH5k6vZw3N3e_eSc/s200/2011-01-16+23.46.51.jpg" width="150" /></a> It is quite drinkable on its own, but, it is sweet, so for most people this will probably end up getting used as a coconut addition to rumbased cocktails, which works absolutely fine.<br />
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Captain Morgan website right under this <a href="http://www.captainmorgan.com/en-us/products/parrotbay.html" target="blank">link</a>, yawr!EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-41823785268462423042011-01-01T06:11:00.000-08:002011-01-01T06:11:55.546-08:00Happy New Year!Have a great one!<br />
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And i'm back from a vacation, so there should be updates again soon....altho i've said that before, but this time it should be true, good intentions for the new year!EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-60101916702977682312010-11-04T18:21:00.000-07:002010-11-04T18:21:30.069-07:00Liquorists.comYes, it finally happend, i have now linked the liquorists.com domain to this blog. So you can directly go to <a href="http://www.liquorists.com/">www.liquorists.com</a> aswel, besides the .blogspot.com adress(it will only redirect so you won't actually notice much). One step in the right direction, now to get started with reviewing again.EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-77684740637137053512010-09-16T11:33:00.000-07:002010-09-16T11:35:31.943-07:00*Drum rolls*Yes, updates will be incomming soon again. "Things" are getting back on track, so be warned for new posts!EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-44531139764169156272010-05-31T13:33:00.000-07:002010-06-03T15:57:06.612-07:00Carolan's Irish Cream<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.carolans.ie/" target="blank"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 350px;" src="http://www.1-877-spirits.com/store/images/large/Carolans-IrishCream-lg.jpg.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A luscious blend of Irish Cream, honey and mellow irish spirits, is what this 17% alcohol (34 proof) containing bottle is telling me.<br /><br />And this seems rather true. The typical coloured irish cream smells like one would expect from a irish cream, but with a sweet hint of honey.<br /><br />Tastewise, it's basicly the same story. It's nice and creamy, and leaves just a slight hint of a alcohol burn on the tongue, and almost no burn down the throat.<br />Besides that, the overall taste is like a mix between very creamy and milky coffee, and a more darker chocolate. With honey in the mix.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />At first i was afraid the honey would overwhelm the drink, but it seems to be balanced out pretty good. You still get a good honey impact on the overall taste, so if you're not into that, that might be a problem.<br /><br />Overall, nothing spectacular to say, but, nothing bad either. For a price of around €14,- or €15,-, this delivers a rather smooth honey tinted irish cream, and has not much "burn" to it like for example Bailey's. A good competitor, that hints more towards the sweet spectrum.<br /><br />Carolans website <a href="http://www.carolans.ie/" target="blank">here!</a>EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-64741928954630079272010-03-26T16:50:00.001-07:002010-03-26T17:14:55.071-07:00Gorter Estaro Dark Rum<a style="" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.estarorum.nl/" target="blank"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 90px; height: 201px;" src="http://www.estarorum.nl/assets/images/EstaroBlack.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>To clear some confusion, the bottle i have in my hands is the Gorter Estaro White Label Dark rum.<br />Label looks different then the picture shown, but i've seen both in the shop. Something with new designes etc.<br /><br />But on topic: a dark rum that hints towards the golden colours.<br />The sense is rather light, and if i didn't know this was a dark rum, i would have guessed a light/blanco rum. Just because it has a more light and fresh feel to it. Maybe even a tiny hint of citrus, but no woody or smokey factors.<br />You do get a bit of alcohol, but nothing strange. The alcohol content is standard, 37.5% (75 proof).<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />When drinking, you do get a feel for the alcoholcontent. Not taste wise, but more because you can taste/smell it when it evaporates inside your mouth. It leaves a little but of a numbing sensation on the tongue, and a soft warm burn further down the throat.<br />The taste itself is rather mild, and has a hint of sweet wood. No strong oaky things, but a sweet and subtile wood.<br /><br />But with a price just above the €10,- mark, don't expect allot of subtile taste profiles. But for this price it does deliver a nice smooth "dark"rum, that doesn't have the sugary sweet taste allot of golden rums with these colours have.<br />Best in his element while mixed, and it does right what you would expect. Adds some round softer dark rum properties to the drink.<br /><br />Website: <a href="http://www.estarorum.nl/" target="blank">here!</a>EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-22244417851807786202010-03-16T18:40:00.001-07:002010-03-16T19:15:06.954-07:00Absenthe 55%<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.distilleries-provence.com" target="blank"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 123px; height: 428px;" src="http://www.distilleries-provence.com/images/produits/absente_big.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A 55% (110 proof) absinthe from France. And that is where my struggle starts.<br />There seem to be two versions that look very very similar, and i have a little sample bottle, written in French. And i don't speak a word French.<br /><br />But, seeing as the two versions are a American version, and a European version. Seeing as this thing is written in French and i clearly bought it in Europe, i am going to assume i have that version...<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />Colour wise it is a pale light green, nothing strange.<br />The smell is a mostly anise. Pure this hints towards a minty anise / black liquorice mix, nothing too strong.<br />But, drinking this pure isn't my recommendation. The alcohol will simply hide too much taste. Not that there is much ethanol taste, but the 55% does make the tongue a little numb and the kick will hide some flavour.<br /><br />Louched it turns into a pale white green, as usual.<br />Initially there is anise, followed by a little bit of black liquorice, and then turns into a aftertaste that is dominated by bitterness.<br />Everything is a bit of this, a bit of that. No real complex flavours, but compaired to the 77.7 absinthe i listed earlier, the taste is more nuanced. Leaves more room to actually taste, rather then get overwhelmed. And due the absenthe beeing a bit thicker, and due the lower alcohol content so it will louche quicker, the drink itself is far less watery.<br /><br />This is, without adding sugar. This drink isn't that bitter, only the aftertaste has bitterness. So adding additional sugar makes the drink sweeter, and there by it actually kills some of the flavour. Making it more candy like.<br /><br />The fact that the sample bottle is French, and there beeing more versions, creates a bit of a confusion. Not beeing able to find a price in euro's doesn't help either. A 70 CL bottle is around £ 37.0 on the drinkshop, so i'll take that as a reference.<br /><br />Final conclusion: not bad, but not outstanding either. There simply isn't much room for complexity, there by making this better suited for people who are looking for a sweeter absinthe, without dept, but also without too much sweet candy like influences.<br /><br />Find more info on: <a href="http://www.distilleries-provence.com" target="blank">Their website.</a>EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-48510958506378410362010-03-08T16:55:00.000-08:002010-03-08T17:17:51.025-08:00Bacardi Gold<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bacardi.com" target="blank"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 459px;" src="http://watersecretsblog.com/archives/Bacardi.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>Everyone knows Bacardi, and everyone can get Bacardi, making it one of the biggest rum brands around.<br /><br />This particular gold (can be called oro aswel) is priced a little above the average rum i usually encounter, with around €17,- for a 70CL bottle. As usual, this rum sports a 37.5% alcohol (75 proof).<br /><br />The colour, is obviously, a amber or rich gold.<br />When taking the first *sniff*, you will get some ethanol properties, but that soon makes place for a pleasant vanilla with some hints of sweet oak.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />The taste itself is less refined. In fact it hints rather strongly towards the bitter rather then the sweet smell you get from smelling the drink.<br />The taste itself is rather mild, where especially the aftertaste reveals some oaky characteristics. The rum taste itself hangs, just like the colour, a bit between a blanco and a dark rum.<br />A bit more refined and mild then a blanco, but a bit less taste then a dark rum.<br /><br />When mixed this rum is more in it's element. The more harsh flavours when drinking pure disappear, and you will actually get more flavours out of it. Even the vanilla from the smells pops up once in a while. Not much, but it's there. Same goes for the oaky flavours that are balanced more towards the sweet this way.<br /><br />Overall, i'd say this is just for mixing your average drink, that requires a coloured rum. It will give a bit more complexity then cheaper brands, but the main taste hints really towards the sweet. Like if they dropped some caramel in the bottle to acquire the colour and taste.<br />Outstanding? No, but certainly not bad either.<br /><br />Bacardi website <a href="http://www.bacardi.com" target="blank">here!</a>EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-18037413815429004102010-03-03T03:22:00.000-08:002010-03-03T03:26:16.315-08:00DelaySlight delay in my reviewing plans, it got ruined by a simple....cold.<br />However there is allot more to write about then just reviews, i'm far from done!EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-72870857693946206132010-02-26T15:33:00.000-08:002010-02-26T16:08:05.367-08:00Van Perlstein Oranje Bitter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://tippinthescales.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/perlstein-oranjebitter-new_h.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 110px; height: 404px;" src="http://tippinthescales.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/perlstein-oranjebitter-new_h.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="">This orange liqueur from Van Perlstein is about average priced, around €6,- for a 35CL bottle, and contains 30% alcohol (60 proof).<br /><br />As shown the bottle has nothing special going on, just a normal regular bottle. The orange fluid inside has surprisingly little alcohol in it's smell, it's mostly smelling like a orange based soda (like fanta, etc).<br />It's a very light crisp smell, with no bitterness.<br /><br />That bitterness does come out in the aftertaste thought. The front end remains a bit light, but the orangy/citrus is not as prominent as in the smell.<br />After that initial orangy taste, the bitterness starts to hit on the back of the tongue. Yet again not much alcohol taste, but you will get some hints of it when the alcohol starts to evaporate inside the mouth, and by that time the lips and edges of the tongue will start to tingle a bit from the alcohol.<br />There isn't a real burning or warming sensation in the throat though.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />Mixed, it's actually the same old story just like most liqueurs in this price range. It works just fine.<br />Overall, you will notice this is not a higher end orange liqueur, the taste is in general rather flat, but not worse then it's competition. What it does have though, is that the taste hints more towards the crisp candy-ish/fake orange soda, rather then hinting towards bitter orange. But only at the start, after that the usual bitter orange takes over again.<br /><br />Website: No info available, if someone knows more, feel free to comment.<br /><br /><br /></span>EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-50094724495980386692010-02-23T17:19:00.000-08:002010-02-26T16:07:50.766-08:00Bailey's Irish Cream Coffee<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.baileys.com/" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 371px;" src="http://www.dfnionline.com/images/533/BaileysCoffee%281%29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Right from the start i'll have to say, there isn't much to say here that i didn't already tell in the <a href="http://liquorists.blogspot.com/2009/06/baileys-original.html" target="blank">Bailey's</a> and <a href="http://liquorists.blogspot.com/2009/11/baileys-irish-cream-mint-chocolate.html" target="blank">Bailey's Mint Chocolate</a> posts.<br /><br />Since it really is, Regular Bailey's, with a hint of Coffee. Not a fake cheap coffee, but a nice and smooth one with a darker hint to the coffee bit.<br />Ofcourse because of the Bailey's itself the drink is creamy, therefor mellowing out every sharp edges there might be. But the coffee taste itself does have a little bit of a sharpness to it, but that is probably the combination of a little bit of mint that is working together with the coffee to create that effect.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />It still has the typical Bailey's *burn*, a slight warming feeling higher up the throat that seems to be a Bailey's trademark.<br /><br />Nothing offensive, and the bottle gives exactly what it tells you. Bailey's with a hint of coffee.<br />So this still remains a well balanced liqueur, and one of few that is actually really nice on it's own. Awesomeness in a bottle, this time with a hint of coffee.<br /><br />Find the Bailey's site <a href="http://www.baileys.com/" target="blank">rrrright here!</a>EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-6899881057981749562010-02-17T09:04:00.000-08:002010-02-17T10:12:19.961-08:00How to write a liquor review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://liquorists.blogspot.com/search/label/review" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 148px;" src="http://images.askmen.com/fine_living/wine_dine_archive_250/276_set-up-your-own-whisky-tasting.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Just to clarify things, i thought it might be handy to write a post about how i actually write my reviews.<br /><br />For starters all my spirits are in the same room, where the temperature usually doesn't change too much. Usually i grab a shotglass and fill it about half way, and then ad a drop of water to unleash some of the aroma's that are trapped in the alcohol.<br /><br />After spending some time sniffing the drink, quick, long, just above the glass or almost diving in, i get to the tasting part. Usually the first sip tends to be a bit alcoholic, if it's your first drink of the day, so when ignoring that, i take a few sips. Some bigger ones, some smaller ones. Some i swallow right away, some i swirl around inside the mouth for a while.<br />And then comes the hard part of discribing what you actually taste. Try grabbing a regular drink (doesn't have to be alcoholic) and discribe what it taste and smells like. It can be quite tricky.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />Then comes the part where i add a filler, like coke, juice, etc. To see how well the spirit works out when mixed, since some tones tend to disappear, while others might appear a sudden. The way how the alcohol affects the taste and smell might drasticly differ aswel.<br />After looking at the price of the spirit, i'll just judge if i find the drink ok or not.<br /><br />And there comes the part i don't always get from random reviews i find. Personally, i tend to discribe spirits more then judge them.<br />The reason for that is, if someone is bashing a spirit because *it's horrible*, and nothing more, i still don't have a clue what this spirit is like. I know the reviewer doesn't like it, but that doesn't give me any information about the spirit whatsoever. Imagen a whiskey has intense smoke, the reviewer tells it's horribe, tastes like a ashtray etc, but nothing more.<br />Someone who likes whiskey with a smoke factor is left out.<br /><br />And besides that, someone did put allot of effort in making that spirit. Yes some marketing machines go for the big money rather then quality if that is more profitable.<br />But usually, someone does care for the spirit, has years of experience, or it's a family recipe.<br />Even if a spirit isn't too good, it would be just disrespectfull to just bash it. It is the internet afterall and people can be as rude or nice as they want, but i question myself if you would grab allot of longtime readers that way, unless the bashing has a comedy factor.<br /><br />All in all this last part is more a personal rant, and is more about me as a person then how to actually review a spirit. Everyones palette is different, and everyone will get and like a different taste.<br />But that is for the good, else blogs like mine would be totally useless.EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-53579352135718988472010-02-16T16:57:00.000-08:002010-02-16T17:26:04.461-08:00Kingston White Rum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cooymans.nl/english/index.html" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 129px; height: 517px;" src="http://www.delcave.nl/images/product/kingston-rum-wit-70cl-2008_h.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This white rum is named after the Jamaican capital Kingston, contains 37.5% alcohol (75 proof) and is around the middle/lower budget range of rums. Costing around €13/14,- for a 100CL bottle.<br /><br />While some white rums are a little bit coloured, this one is as clear as it can get. As the picture shows the bottle is just a average looking bottle, nothing to write home about.<br /><br />The scent is a sharp one, that hints towards ethanol, but isn't strong. Not much rum in the nose, but what you do get is really light.<br /><br />When drinking this spirit, you will notice a little numbing on the sides of the tongue and quite allot of alcohol. Not that it burns, the alcohol taste is more from the nose department as it vaporises in your mouth.<br />A typical sharp but light rum that doesn't have allot of forced sweetness.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />When mixed, what the real purpose of most light rums is anyway, the balance changes allot.<br />The alcohol scent disappears, and in place comes a light citrus like smell. That also manages to find it's way into the actual taste. No strong rum accents at all, but no heavy alcohol punch either. But it brings a sweet lime like taste in addition to the default rum properties, a pleasant surprise if you ask me.<br /><br />Final conclusion; a mid/low budget priced light rum, that has some citrus/lime accents when mixed, and tends to be really mild inside a mixed drink. Pure this rum isn't really in it's element, but mixed it does it's job just right, and balances more towards the fruity sweetness, but just a little tiny bit.<br />But just enough to make it right.<br /><br />Website to the Dutch importer right <a href="http://www.cooymans.nl/english/index.html" target="blank">here!</a>EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-75628681818249692882010-02-15T17:54:00.000-08:002010-02-15T18:32:11.998-08:00Pisang Ambon Mellow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.pisangambon.com/" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 92px; height: 237px;" src="http://www.sparolierook.nl/thumbnail.php?id=5699304" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Pisang Ambon Mellow is a banana flavoured liqueur from <a href="http://www.lucasbols.com/index.asp" target="blank">Lucas Bols</a>, contains 14.5% alcohol ( 29 proof ) and around €12,- for a 70CL bottle. The Mellow version has a bit less alcohol then the normal version, and is therefor allowed to be sold in more places.<br /><br />There isn't allot to tell about the colour and bottle that you can't see in the picture, so i'll just leave it at that.<br /><br />The bottle tells me it is a exotic fruit drink with a hint of banana taste. Well when smelling it, i do get banana. No subtile fruity banana tho, but candy like. In fact the aroma reminds me of the round chewing gum you can grab from a machine.<br />You don't really have to drown your nose in the drink to smell it, it's a strong scent that grabs you, even when just opening the bottle. But not offensive at all.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />And the taste is almost the same. The taste is a bit *darker* and thicker then the smell suggests, but that complements each other well. And surprisingly the candy sweetness doesn't turn into a bitter sweet. Overall it's just overwhelmingly sweet banana, that hides the alcohol really well, in smell and taste.<br /><br />For the ones who are into really sweet drinks, this would be perfect. Candy sweetness, that doesn't turn towards the bitter, but more towards the fruity. Just like the bottle suggested. A Mellow liqueur that hints towards fruity/banana sweetness.<br /><br />Only warning: due high amounts of sugar, and artificial flavours/colouring, this might be perfect hangover material when overdoing it. And maybe not so good for candy disliking macho men. But then i would guess they wouldn't bother to buy this product in the first place.<br /><br />Pisang Ambon website <a href="http://www.pisangambon.com/" target="blank">here!</a>EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-85751049545524051162010-02-10T17:11:00.000-08:002010-02-12T14:18:31.415-08:00Gold Strike<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.goldstrike.nl/" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 269px;" src="http://www.goldstrike.nl/images/editorial/id=331.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A cinnamon schnapps from <a href="http://www.lucasbols.com/index.asp" target="blank">Lucas Bols</a>, with actual gold(flakes) in it. Altho allot of cinnamon schnapps seem to handle the gold theme.<br /><br />Facts are; 23.5 karat gold flakes that float around(no, they do not cause harm and are digested just fine), costs around €15,- for a 50CL bottle, and contains 50% alcohol (100 proof).<br /><br />Now to start off, yes, the goldflakes do look awesome, and since the *servingtip* is to drink the liqueur chilled as shots, you can enjoy them in all their glory.<br />Besides the gold, the liquid crystalclear.<br /><br />Diving in nosefirst results in a little alcoholsmell, but just a tiny amount. With less drastic smelling tactics the drink has a very strong cinnamon smell to it.<br />And in fact, the same goes for the taste. At first, it will start to tingle on the tip of the tongue, give you a cinnamon explosion in your mouth, and end in a warm little burn in the upper throat.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />This liqueur really manages to hide the rather high percentage of alcohol well. But that does mean, it contains quite allot of sugar, so this can result in hangover material when consumed allot. Besides a strong cinnamon taste, and alcohol burning sensation, there isn't much left taste wise.<br /><br />So my verdict: A nice liqueur that has it's use in cocktails by adding allot of *hidden* alcohol and a strong cinnamon flavor, and a nice liqueur that is tolerable as chilled shot ,pure (not overly sweet or overpowering like some other liqueurs). With the added effect of the goldflakes that make the look complete. Great for the *ooh* factor, and not bad at all on it's own.<br /><br />Gold Strike website behind <a href="http://www.goldstrike.nl/" target="blank">this link</a>!EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-46207970643300111262010-02-09T17:40:00.000-08:002010-02-12T14:19:04.079-08:00Old Captain Well Matured<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.boomsma.net/image.asp?ProductId=26&Height=350"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 350px;" src="http://www.boomsma.net/image.asp?ProductId=26&Height=350" alt="" border="0" /></a>Another product from <a href="http://www.boomsma.net/" target="blank">Boomsma Distillery</a>, a gold/dark rum. 37.5% (75 proof) alcohol, and blended from a few different Caribbean rums.<br />With a price around €9,- for a 70CL bottle, priced more towards the lower budget range.<br /><br />That reveals itself in the smell a little bit. You do get quite some ethanol if you dive in deep. But also a darker rum smell that isn't overwelming strong, but smells a bit warm. With a very tiny hint of spice (caramel) once in a while. Since the label tells me well matured, no surprise there.<br /><br />The taste pure is not for the weak hearted, from almost nothing initially on the tongue, to a dark heavy rum near the back of the tongue. With a little tickling on the sides of the tongue from the alcohol, that turns into a warm feeling further down the throat. The alcohol evaporating right away in the mouth causes a strong taste/smell sensation at first, but dims out quite a bit after you are used to it.<br />Then it takes place for a more bitter, i almost want to say woody taste. But not as in whiskey, not sweet, no smoke.<br /><br />When mixed into other drinks all alcohol related smell and taste issues disappear right away, as usual. What remains is a dark/bitter rum taste, in a more mellow way. Exactly as the well matured on the bottle suggested.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />So the bottle deliveres what it promises, a mature and older tasting rum that tends to be a bit rough when drinking pure. But in this pricerange almost every rum is, and when mixed it delivers just fine. No amazing complexities for sipping, but a darker aged rum experience for in your simple cocktails, for the person who doesn't want to *waste* a expensive smooth sipping rum for his cocktails, but does like a aged rum touch to his drink.<br /><br />Their website can be found <a href="http://www.boomsma.net/product_detail.asp?ProductId=26&Lang=EN" target="blank">here!</a>EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-9283761953511032832010-02-02T17:28:00.000-08:002010-02-02T17:40:25.652-08:00The White Jamaican<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ehow.com/video_4980705_make-white-jamaican-mixed-drink.html" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 110px;" src="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/flags/large/jm-lgflag.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Like most cocktails, another one with different recipes out *there*. I will just be using the most common one i found.<br /><br /><br />--------<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- </span>1 ½ part Coconut rum<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- </span>¾ part Dark rum<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- </span>¾ part Creme de cacao<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- </span>4 parts of milk<br />--------<br /><br />Shake the drink, and serve in a highball glass, over ice. And enjoy your tropical variation on the <a href="http://liquorists.blogspot.com/2009/08/white-russian.html" target="blank">white russian</a>.EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-26623622900129399892010-01-31T17:08:00.000-08:002010-02-12T14:18:20.331-08:0077.7 Absinthe<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.destillerie-dr-rauch.de/images/absinth_gruppe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 227px;" src="http://www.destillerie-dr-rauch.de/images/absinth_gruppe.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A brand without allot of info, my favorite.<br />This is one of the 2 absinthe products this brand has. One beeing the 55.5, and the other, the one i am dealing with today, 77.7.<br /><br />Like the name maybe already suggested, this version is rocking a 77.7% alcohol ( 155.4 proof). And while the bottle has a serving tip of drinking it pure on the rocks, that might be a little potent for some of us.<br />Because this is a rather low end absinthe, it isn't as *real* as the more expensive brands, and therefor made with artificial flavors, and colors.<br /><br />The fluid itself isn't as bright green as the picture might suggest, more a mix between green yellow and gold. The odor if this absinthe is a really strong one. Black liq<em></em>uorice and a little bit of anise almost punch you in the face. A really strong smell that leaves no room for anything else, including alcohol. Diving in the glass nosedeep will reveal some ethanol, but not much.<br /><br />This absinthe does in fact louche when mixed with water (<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://liquorists.blogspot.com/2009/06/absinthe.html" target="blank">see this article</a>, <a href="http://liquorists.blogspot.com/2009/06/absinthe-part-2.html" target="blank">and this follow up for more info</a></span>) and becomes cloudy white.<br />When drinking pure, the massive amount of alcohol will immediately attack your tongue, and it will begin to tickle and numb right away. At first you will get the minty anis on the tip of your tongue, and that will go into a heavy black liquorice aftertase on the back end of the tongue. And a rather bitter aftertase.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />When drinking it the *casual* way, louched, the drink itself feels very watery unfortunally, but theres nothing we can do about that. The flavors are allot less intense that way, and you get a more balanced mix between anis, black liquorice, and bitterness (like the wormwood would be). Although the bitternis might win, especially in the aftertaste. Where the taste becomes the strongest.<br /><br />When mixing this into a cocktail, it will overpower the cocktail really fast, so use low amounts, unless you want to drink absinthe with a different color. When used, this 77.7 will bring some black liquorice and anise to the cocktail, in that order. While louched it seems the other way around.<br /><br />Final verdict, due the prize (around €15,- for this 50CL bottle) and more simplistic tasteprofile, i would think this is more suitable for the shock and awe-factor it can bring. Beeing a absinthe(altho fake, we will just keep calling it this way), having that much alcohol, and the cool louche effect, this can be a nice partytrick to bring.<br />But for more subtile and complex tasteprofiles, this isn't the thing to get. Seeing the tricks it has, makes me think it was made for the shock and awe factor and not so much for the drinking experience itself, therefor, nice for a partytrick, skip if you're after more serious flavorprofiling.<br /><br />Link to the destilling company: <a href="http://www.destillerie-dr-rauch.de/index.html" target="blank">here</a>! (note, it's German)EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-41649721204553208362010-01-27T14:51:00.000-08:002010-01-27T14:58:44.334-08:00Alcohols by VolumeFor all the people interested, <a href="http://alcoholsbyvolume.com/" target="blank">Alcohols by Volume</a> is now officially started with a coconut rum tasting. (And for the ones that have no clue what this new site is, it's the new spin-off from <a href="http://everydaydrinkers.com/" target="blank">Everydaydrinkers</a>/<a href="http://everydaydrinkers.tv/" target="blank">Common man cocktails</a>.)<br /><br />Go visit it now!<br />But don't look too long, that site might be allot better then mine. So do come back here once in a while!EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-66420642716391452332010-01-26T16:27:00.000-08:002010-02-12T14:19:26.490-08:00Disaronno Originale<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.disaronno.com/" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 237px;" src="http://www.sohowines.hk/images/disaranno.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Now who doesn't know this famous brand, or atleast, recognize the distinctive bottle it's shipped in.<br />The story behind this brand and it's amaretto is one with a long history, according to their website it has been around since 1525. The liqueur itself is a almond tasting liqueur, that actually does not contain almonds, or other nut based ingredients.<br />But it contains apricot kernel oil, alcohol (28% or 56 proof), sugar, and a few herbs.<br /><br />The fluid itself is obviously a classy amber colour as you can see in the picture. The smell is a really sweet almond, almost almond spice odor, wich masks the alcohol really well. You have to dig really deep to actually smell the alcohol.<br /><br />The same thing goes for the taste. It is yet again really sweet, a little bit bitter sweet, and hints at the almond spice again. But with a little bit of added alcohol. Nothing extreme, and in the taste, you won't really notice it that much, especially when chilled. The most notable about the alcohol is a small burn it leaves in the throat and to the sides of the tip of the tongue.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />Like most liqueurs it's actually very good used as a mix for cocktails, and gives the drink a warm almond, nutty feeling.<br />So all in all a well rounded liqueur that has earned it's name in my book.<br /><br />More info about the brand and history on the <a href="http://www.disaronno.com/" target="blank">Disaronno website</a>.EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-24576461265405963232009-12-24T15:06:00.000-08:002009-12-24T15:39:06.235-08:00Merry Christmas!For the people that happen to wander onto my blog, have a merry christmas!EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-12333695220794509322009-12-21T15:34:00.000-08:002009-12-21T15:40:36.565-08:00Bellini #2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ehow.com/video_4993828_make-bellini-mixed-drink.html" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 162px;" src="http://www.kennislink.nl/upload/125621_962_1104331834783-Champagne_POP_KL.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> Because people always tend to have spare Champagne, here yet another simple cocktail to give it a little twist.<br /><br /><br />--------<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-</span> 1 Ounce of Peach Schnapps<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-</span> Fill with Champagne or sparkling wine<br />--------<br /><br /><br />Nothing hard about this cocktail, besides controlling yourself not to drink too many. Serve in a Champagne glass, and adjust the amount of Schnapps to your own liking.EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-27604676698470662522009-12-21T15:25:00.000-08:002009-12-21T15:34:44.727-08:00Champagne Royal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ehow.com/video_4984533_make-champagne-royal-mixed-drink.html" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 183px;" src="http://www.kennislink.nl/upload/125621_962_1104331834783-Champagne_POP_KL.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />A very easy Champagne drink for the holidays (or whenever you feel like drinking one really).<br /><br /><br />--------<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-</span> 1 Part raspberry liqueur<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-</span> 2 Parts Champagne, or sparkling wine<br />--------<br /><br />Serve in a Champagne glass, and if the carbonation of the Champagne doesn't do the trick, give it a little stir.EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348593302396970414.post-46801332659379337382009-12-17T11:15:00.000-08:002009-12-17T11:23:52.355-08:00Comment ProblemsDue some error in the code, there might have been some issues regarding posting comments. The captcha wouldn't come with a scroll bar so it would be impossible to fill out.<br />I'm working on a fix, but untill then, it seems if people are logged in, in a google account, there is no need to fill in a captcha and all goes well.<br /><br />If there still are issues regarding comments, please leave me a mail using the contact button or direct to liquorists@hotmail.com. Feel free to post a comment under this post just to test if it works.<br /><br />Other news, because some health issues ( nothing problematic, just alcohol and medicine don't mix) there where no updates for a bit. Hopefully this will stay this way so i can get back to work again.<br />So if people have suggestions, cocktails, drinks, holiday related things they would like to see here, just comment, or if that does not work, yet again, mail to liquorists@hotmail.com.<br /><br />Thank you for the possible effort and have fun during the holidays!EngeHenkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01340311402675336440noreply@blogger.com3