Rolf Devinci

I know I usually focus upon middle shelf rums that make decent working class sippers but circumstances of late have given me the opportunity to try some rums above my weight class. Thanks to the Bills and Browns I managed to win the football pool this past week so figured a specialty/top shelf rum was in my future. While browsing the NSLC specialty rum table it just happened that the product specialist was doing some stock rotation and asked if I had tried the Bumbu. I had not so I was told to stay put while a sample was retrieved from the office. The nose radiating from the plastic sampling cup was sweet.....something familiar but tantalizing elusive. "Caramelized banana" was the response to my hesitancy and was the a-ha moment. Take a ripe banana and saute with a generous scoop of real butter. Add a little bit of cinnamon and you have Bumbu. It was familiar as the tasting notes remind me of a sweeter version of Plantation's Original Dark, itself a blend of ...

A few years ago I had purchased a medieval chaperon hood with an extended liripipe. Made from 100% wool it was well constructed but didn't quite fit me comfortably or the way I would have preferred it to wear. What is a Liripipe? A Liripipe was an early Middle Ages chaperon hood and cloak combination that included a long tail off the back of the hood. The length of the tail varied and there is some debate as to the purpose; simply a fashion statement or, as I am inclined to believe, a built in scarf depending upon the length of material. Seems logical and when the cloak across the upper torso needs to be snugged tighter in cold or wet conditions using the tail to wrap around one's neck is effective at keeping out the weather. Any period show or movie worth it's salt usually has characters in some type of hood and is usually one of the few things they get right in terms of historical accuracy. One of the benefits of being between jobs is having time on my ha...

Finally got around to purchasing an archer specific helmet to add to my medieval kit. I prefer the bascinet which better fits the historical time frame of my gear but opted to purchase the celesta simply due to availability and price. Known as the archer's helmet it was a simpler variant of the sallet that was preva!ent in the15th century and used through out Europe. Archer's were typically the poor cousins of the medieval battlefield in terms of pay and armor but their lot had improved by the 1400's. By the 15th century veteran archers and crossbowmen often had basic armor usually a mix of gambesons, mailes, coats of plate, jacks, brigadines, helmets and some plate. It could be a mixed bag of protection either inherited, scrounged from the battlefield, purchased or granted by the Lord's armouries. It was always a matter of balance between protection and mobility. Archers and crossbowmen were expected to join in melees during a battle but also needed to be ...

Had my eye on this locally produced black rum for awhile and made the buy this afternoon when I noticed only a single bottle left on the NSLC specialty table. Produced by Barrelling Tide distillery out of Port Williams Nova Scotia the rum presents well in a corked tall clear bottle with an attractive parchment like label. The rum possesses a nose of molasses and in natural light shows amber in the glass or bottle despite the coal black facade presented on the shelf. Neat in the glass it is delicious in a dessert kind of way with a pleasant mouth feel, subtle burn and easy finish. It is sweet but in a dangerous way that encourages more with no need of ice nor mix. Over ice the flavor of the rum changes from pleasant molasses to more of a hard candy impression. I like my rums over ice but in the case of 5 Fathom I think I prefer it neat. Subsequently I am not sure one would want to mix anything with the rum, especially anything overtly sweet as the rum provides enough on it...

 On a lovely October Saturday I got out under the green, red and oranges of the autumn woods. Been dealing with a head cold this week so the morning spent in the fresh air with the bow was definitely what Dr. Fred Bear would have recommended. Sinuses opened up in the crisp morning temperatures though it became surprisingly warm as the day advanced toward noon. Started the day by repairing my wiki shelter which has been neglected of late. A tee pee style shelter I built it a few years ago primarily to store my animal feed bag archery targets and was in desperate need of winterizing before the first snowfall. Gave me an opportunity to use my newest hatchet, a CRKT tomahawk I picked up on Amazon. An excellent addition to my bush crafting kit. Using my 55# Hungarian composite bow with bamboo arrows. Speaking of awesome kit this bow is a great shooter with a surprising amount of pop for a 55# draw. Had to double up my target bags to be an effective arrow stop. Au...

The Plantation old fashioned traditional dark is an overproofed monster for sure.At 69% by volume it shows a brilliant mahogany red in the glass and straight up packs a mouth tingling, eyes watering bite with a very flavorable yet intense finish. Designed to mimic the rum rations of the Royal Navy, which were cut with water, the "grog" needed a well muscled rum that packed the recoil punch of an 18 pounder. On ice the intensity begins to subside as the melt water naturally smooths out the burn and, after a few minutes, reminds me of it's less bold sibling Original Dark - which I personally enjoy as a sipper. The thing I like is as an over proof this rum is surprisingly smooth....even neat the mouth feel is pleasant, albeit with a definite burn. If you want to make grog this is the rum to use. If you want a rum and cola where the spirit doesn't get lost in the soda this is the rum to use. If you want a rum punch worth remembering this is the rum to use. ...

Made my first bike purchase in over a decade when I picked up a 2011 Specialized Tri Cross from Kijiji. My venerable Norco hardtail is showing its age and I was reluctant to sink any monies into a bike that is on the small size and is not the most comfortable fit. The stars kinda aligned for this purchase considering the window of opportunity was closing as my (forced) semi retirement after 32 years of service was fast approaching. With my role going offshore I doubt I will see October as an employed individual. If I was buying it had to be soon. I could not justify a new bike so used it would be. I was looking for a better commuter considering my next job could be farther from home and also something in a gravel/cross bike genre. Spotted the Tri Cross on Kijiji from a seller close to home and it was both my exact size(56) and within my budget. Unfortunately there was another buyer ahead of me so I figured it was gone. To my surprise the deal collapsed so I did not hesitat...