Rolf Devinci

Quite by surprise during a hot summer bike commute home I discovered the NSLC had added a new Plantation rum selection to the shelves. Stopped enroute planning on picking up a couple cold beers but instead placed a bottle of the Xaymaca rum in the backpack instead. Marketed as a traditional 100% Jamaican pot still rum exhibiting the classic "funk" of the island with the associated Hogo flavors of banana and burnt pineapple I was looking forward to getting home and sampling the rum. I am a big fan of the Plantation rums and, after having a few glasses of the Xaymaca special dry, can say this did not disappoint despite the flavor profile not quite being in my ball park. Packaged in the familiar Plantation 5 year rum style of bottle the Xaymaca looks very familiar to it's cousin with the exception of some green highlights upon the label - no doubt paying homage to Jamaica's lush environment. The nose is intriguing with memories of th...

Purchased a primitive Scottish dirk to compliment my basket hilt broadsword. Forged by Windlass Steelcrafts of India this blade is far from primitive considering the fit and finish of the dagger. Initial impressions suggest a very stout and functional blade and only primitive in the sense it predates the more ornate dirks of the 19th century. The Scottish dirk evolved from the medieval rondell and bollocks daggers of the 14th and 15th century and became the favored sidearm and utility knife of the Scottish highlander.By the 17th century the dagger had became a cultural symbol of the Highlands and personal oaths were often made upon the steel of the blade. "The dirk occupies an unique niche in Highland culture and history....virtually every Male carried a dirk everywhere. If in Japan the katana was the soul of the Samurai, in Scotland the dirk was the heart of the Highlander". This particular style of dirk with simplistic design of blad...