Potters Special Old Rye Whisky

Potters Special Old Rye Whisky   90.5/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted on December 28, 2010

Potter’s Special Old Rye Whisky was originally produced by Potter’s Distilleries (founded by Ernie Potter in 1958). When Highwood Distillers finalized the purchase of Potter’s Distilleries in 2005, they brought all of the aging whisky stocks from the Potter’s warehouse facilities in Kelowna, British Colombia to their new warehouse facility in High River, Alberta and continued to let them age at their site in the foothills just east of the Rocky Mountains. From these aging whisky stocks Highwood has kept the Potter’s Whisky brands alive, incorporating them into their portfolio of whisky products.

Potter’s Special Old Rye Whisky is primarily a corn-based whisky which has been aged in charred American White Oak barrels for 4 – 5 years.  As per Canadian tradition, the whisky is labeled as a “Rye Whisky” because of the rye flavour profile which has been imparted by adding a percentage of aged rye grain whisky to the blend.  The bottle I am reviewing was given to me by Allan Owen, the Highwood Distillers Sales Rep in my area.

In the Bottle 4/5

Overall I like the presentation of the Potters Special Old Rye Whisky. We have the typical style whisky bottle that sits easily on my shelf with the other whisky bottles. For bartenders, the bottle is easy to store, easy to hold and easy to pour. The labeling is simple but not unattractive.

My only real quibble is with the word ‘old’ in the name of the whisky. Potter’s Whisky is aged for only 4 to 5 years, and yet it carries the moniker of ‘special old’.  In Canadian whisky terms 4 to five years of aging is not particularly long and I feel this whisky cannot convincingly be termed as an  ‘Old’ Canadian Whisky. A ‘Special’ whisky perhaps, but not ‘Old’. Although it is technically legal for a Canadian Whisky to carry the word ‘old’ as part of its name when aged for this length of time, I believe, that the term is perhaps a little misleading. So I deducted 1/2 point from on otherwise good presentation score.

In the Glass  9/10

The whisky displays a nice light copper and mahogany colouration and imparts a little oil onto the sides of my glass when swirled.   The rye is front and center on the nose with light vanilla following and hints of corn fields waving in the background. This smells like a good old-fashioned Canadian Whisky and in fact reminds me of the whisky I drank 25 years ago.

In the Mouth  55/60

The initial delivery of the Potter’s Whisky belies its young age. I could easily believe that this is an 8 or a 10-year-old whisky, as it has none of the harshness which I associate with young whisky. A clean spicy rye is out in front carried by light oak and the combination delivers a nice wonderful mouth-feel full of what I can only term as old-time traditional Canadian Whisky flavour. In fact this might just be the closest that I have come to recapturing the Canadian Whisky flavour that I remember from my younger days.  The rye livens the mouth with a light spice, and a nice soft punch of vanilla with a light accent of corn completes this nicely.

In the Throat 13.5/15

This old-fashioned whisky kicks lightly at the tonsils with a finish that is all rye spice with ghostly trails of vanilla. A touch of caramel arrives at the end, and I have the impulse to sip again.

The Afterburn 9/10

Potter’s Special Old is a really nice traditional Canadian Rye Whisky. Whether you want to enjoy it in a traditional rye cocktail, or if you want to slowly sip on a nice tonsil licking whisky, this one fits the bill. I have been impressed and delighted by what I have found.

Suggested Recipes:

I have always believed that Rye Whisky and Ginger-ale are a perfect match. So when I began to think about a cocktail for the Potter’s Special old Rye Whisky that is naturally where I started. What I came up with was a recipe I decide to call the Riverside Cooler. Try it, I think you will be surprised by how nice it is.

Riverside Cooler
(an Arctic Wolf Recipe)

1 1/2 oz Potter’s Special Old Rye
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp simple syrup
ice
Ginger-ale

Pour the whisky, the lemon juice, and the simple syrup into a metal shaker
Shake until the sides frost.
Strain into an ice-filled glass.
Top with Ginger-ale
Garnish with a slice of lemon