Juan Santos 21 Year

Review: Juan Santos 21 Yr Antigua Reserva Rum 93.5/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted January 10, 2010

This is the last review I am doing on a series of new Colombian rums that are entering the North American marketplace via my home province of Alberta. Allow me to introduce Juan Santos Twenty One Year Old Rum. I found this to be a tremendous rum with unmatched smoothness, and a wonderful soft clean finish.

In the Bottle 3.5/5

The rum deserves a better presentation. While the labeling and flagon style bottle was fine for the younger presentations of Juan Santos Rum. This is a 21 year old rum which deserves to be placed upon more of a pedestal to create the proper ambiance.

In the Glass 9.5/10

As with the younger Juan Santos rums, in the glass one definitely gets the impression that there is a strong whisky influence to this rum both in looks and aroma. Rising into the air, with the smell light toffee and brown sugar, is a light touch of Canadian rye whisky. The aroma of whisky and rum have in fact melted together such that it is difficult to discern whether we have a bottle of rum or a bottle of Canadian whisky. Notes of light balsa wood , and dried currants are somewhere in the mix.

In the Mouth 56.5/60

Wonderfully delicious! So very soft and smooth on the tongue. That whiskey character I noted in all younger versions of the Juan Santos rums has in fact melted with the rum into a buttery praline cream. Soft caramel notes are mingled with light spices, and the result is wonderfully balanced and remarkably deep in flavour. Just the vaguest hints of almonds and cinnamon arrive on the tongue with ghostlike vestiges of caramel, nutmeg, allspice, and rye. As with the nose I swear I taste hints of light balsa wood rather than heavy oaky flavours one would expect from a 21 year old spirit.

In the Throat 14.5/15

This is soft and smooth with just a dab of gentle oil giving the rum a tremendous finish. Absolutely no harsh backbite, and no bitterness at all. The flavour evaporates in the throat leaving a crisp clean palate with just phantoms of the experience lingering.

The Afterburn 9.5/10

Juan Santos 21 Year Old Rum is perhaps the smoothest rum I have ever encountered. The balance is staggering, as I was completely unable to discern anything but fleeting mirages of individual flavours. When one tastes the rum next to the 5 yr, 9 yr and 12 year a remarkable progression occurs on the palate. Each rum is smoother than the last, and with each rum the melting of the flavours together is a treat to the palate. By the time we reach the 21 year old the progression is complete. A total mixing of flavours into a truly wonderful rum. Just about perfect!

Suggested Cocktail:

Where to go in my search for a nice cocktail for a 21 year old rum?  I guess I could  perhaps start with the  Manhattan (click on the link for my Manhattan recipe). This is a tried and true cocktail for any good rye whisky.  The rye like flavour I found in the Juan Santos rums is sure to work well here. Now a Perfect Manhattan (recipe on the same page as the Manhattan), is just a Manhattan with both  sweet and dry vermouth, and a Cuban Manhattan(recipe on the same page as the Manhattan),  is a Perfect Manhattan with Dark Cuban Rum instead of Rye. This finally brings me to the cocktail I have created. The Sloe Colombian Cocktail. It’s a variation of the Cuban Manhattan with sloe gin used instead of Sweet Vermouth, and the ratio of sweetness tipped away from the dry vermouth towards the sloe gin.  Finally I use a Lime garnish instead of an orange.    So I guess it is not really a Manhattan at all at this point (but that was how I thought it through).

The  Sloe Colombian Cocktail
a cocktail by Arctic Wolf

2 oz of Juan Santos 21 yr old Rum
1/2 oz of Sloe Gin
Dash Angostura Bitters (optional)
2 Large Ice cubes
1/8 oz Dry Vermouth
Slice of Lime
Maraschino cherry

Add the Juan Santos Rum, the Sloe Gin, and Angostura bitters with 2 Large ice cubes in a mixing glass and stir lightly. Pour the Dry Vermouth into a small chilled cocktail glass.  Swirl the vermouth to coat  all parts of the glass. Then pour the vermouth out and discard it.  Spear a fresh maraschino cherry with a long toothpick and place it in the chilled cocktail glass and strain the mixed ingredients over the cherry (do not add the ice). Squeeze the lime slice over the glass to release a few drops of juice into the drink.

Enjoy!

———————————————————————————————————————————————

My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret the score as follows:

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing rum or whisky.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)

——————————————————————————————————————————————–