Century Reserve 21 Year Old

Whisky Review: Century Reserve 21 Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky (90.5/100)
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted on August 15, 2010

In November of 2005, Highwood Distilleries Ltd. finalized the purchase of Potter’s Distilleries (founded by Ernie Potter in 1958). Part of this acquisition, was the purchase of all of the remaining aged barrel stocks of whisky in the Potter’s facility. These barrels of whisky were then transferred from the Potter’s warehouse facilities in Kelowna B.C. to the newly constructed warehouse facility in High River, Alberta, where they were allowed to continue to age at the foot of the Rocky Mountains on the western edge of the Canadian Prairies.

The brands which Potter’s had established, Potter’s Special Old Canadian Whisky, and the Century Reserve Brands were continued and expanded upon. Subtle changes in the taste of these whiskies may be occurring due to the change in location of the aging warehouse; however, these Potter’s brands are still produced  entirely from the aging whisky reserves which were originally distilled and barreled at the Potter’s Distillery.

I was recently provided with a sample of one of these brands, the Century Reserve 21 Year Old Whisky, a corn whisky produced from a single bond, and not blended.  In fact, we are able to call this a 21-year-old single grain whisky, which is a rarity upon the landscape of Canadian Whisky.

In the Bottle 4.5/5

The whisky is presented in a squat rectangular decanter style bottle which stands about 8 inches high. The bottle is very nice and has a masculine design. This is a style of whisky bottle that I can set at the forefront of my whisky shelf or as a display piece in my Liquor cabinet.

I am however, a little disappointed by the label. I realize that this is a personal preference, but I believe the ambiance could be brought up significantly with a stronger design. I guess I want to see some type of illustration,  photo, or even a story which brings the heritage of this unique twenty-one year old single grain whisky to life.  The quibble is minor, but it does prevent a perfect score for presentation.

In the glass 9/10

The Century Reserve 21 whisky displays itself as an amber/gold spirit in the glass with apparent flashes of orange.  When I tilt the glass on its side, the liquid imparts a moderately thick sheen of oil which causes small whisky droplets to form and slowly run back down the inside of the glass. The aroma is of butterscotch bathed in corn with oak tannins which rise gently disguising themselves within a citrus zest. Bourbon vanilla (actually reminiscent of melted vanilla ice-cream) appears, and I find the nose complex, but not necessarily assertive. There is a beguiling gentleness associated with the spirit in the glass.

In the Mouth 54/60

The initial entry in the mouth is mellow with a flavour of soft corn leading the way. Butterscotch, and a honeyed oaky spice quickly follow making the whisky lively in the mouth but not sharp and uncomfortable. Vanilla arrives on the mid palate, and I cannot help but feel I am tasting that melted vanilla ice-cream which I encountered on the nose. I am struck by a certain sweet dank flavour that has crept in from the beginning and then has steadily built up in my mouth throughout the tasting. This flavour has a delightful “rumminess” attached to it, as well as a dank earthy flavour similar to the underlying flavour of a Tennessee Corn Whisky. I feel this must be the flavour of the single grain corn mash continuing to assert itself throughout the palate.

The only drawback I found was that the flavour profile lacked a certain robustness. By this, I mean that the flavours I encountered  tended to be somewhat dependent upon my mood and my palate condition. In particular, the dank sweet corn flavour seemed at times to be more aggressive, whereas at other times it sat back in the profile and allowed the other flavours to find more expression. This led me, on some days, to want to score the whisky higher in this category, while on other days I wanted to score it lower. I chose the midpoint of the two scores and deducted another half point to account for the inconsistency.

In the Throat 14/15

The exit is long and the whisky finishes with a wide swath of corn, sweet honey and vanilla. A rush of spice trails down my throat leaving a nice satisfying, but light burn on my tonsils. This finish is very smooth and satisfying.

The Afterburn 9/10

I sampled the Century Reserve 21 with several friends whom I often have over to my informal tasting sessions. While we do not always agree, on this occasion I was struck by how much more everyone else appeared to enjoy the whisky than I did. In fact the expressions on their faces were of pure delight. Of course, I did not allow their impressions to impact my review and score, but I will admit that I was tempted to. As it was I found the whisky to be an extremely nice sipper well worth plunking down a few dollars for. In fact based upon the extremely fair price I saw at a local store recently, I think it is a real bargain. I guess, I am trying to say that my friends, whose opinion I respect, would feel it was an even better bargain!

Suggested Recipe

One of my favourite ways to enjoy myself is with a premium whisky cocktail. The Century Reserve 21 Year Old Canadian Whisky is the perfect starting point for such a cocktail. The trick when using a premium spirit is to allow it to shine through the cocktail, and to use only other ingredients which are of the same quality. The first recipe I have chosen to showcase this whisky is perhaps the most tried and true whisky cocktail in the world, The Old Fashioned Cocktail.

The Old Fashioned Cocktail

2 oz Century Reserve 21 Canadian Whisky
1 tsp sugar syrup
1 dash bitters
2 large ice cubes
1 Twist of lemon or orange peel

Add the first three ingredients to a rocks glass over the ice cubes
Rub the cut edge of the lemon peel over the rim of the glass and twist it over the drink. (This will release the oil from the lemon zest into the drink)
Discard the peel.

The Old fashioned is a great cocktail for this whisky as the quality of the whisky lends itself in direct proportion to the quality of the cocktail.

Another nice recipe which I constructed is one I call, Autumn Harvest.

Autumn Harvest

2 oz Century Reserve 21 Canadian Whisky
1/8 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
1 tsp sugar syrup
1 dash bitters

Ice
Frozen Blackberry

Chill a small rocks glass until it is very cold.
Aromatise the glass with Triple Sec.
(This can be done by pouring a little in the glass, swooshing it round and expelling any excess. The object is to coat the inside of the glass with a light film of the Triple Sec.)
Pour the Century Reserve 21 Year Old, the dry Vermouth,and Angostura Bitters into a metal shaker with cracked Ice.
Shake until the shaker chills.
Strain into the chilled rocks glass.
Garnish with a Frozen Blackberry.

Of Course we can lengthen the Autumn Harvest with some ice a healthy splash of Ginger ale!  In this case we just add the triple sec to the metal shaker instead of troubling our self with aromatising a glass.  I call this bar drink the Long Autumn.