2 December 2011 Ruben * Blends

Chivas Century of Malts

Name: Chivas Century of Malts
Brand: * Blends
Rating: 2.5 (2 reviews)

Scotland’s hundred finest malts ~~vatted~~ blended together, that’s Chivas Century of Malts. It was released in 1995 and contains some of the rarest malts like Craigduff / Glenisla (peated Glen Keith). A little booklet describes all of the 100 distilleries.

Chivas Century of Malts
(43%, OB 1995)

Nose: sweet and biscuity. Citrus. Honey. Vanilla. Hints of nougat and cake. Disappointingly similar to regular (cheaper) blends.

Mouth: sweet and biscuity again with big vanilla. White grapes. Orange cake. Then it moves to heather, with very soft hints of peat and a nice toffee coating.

Finish: sweet, showing subtle spices and faint hints of smoke. Quite lovely with nice roasted nuts and moccha.

It may sound crazy to blend 100 malts, you’d never be able to detect them all. It’s true that the result lacks some uniqueness, but it shows decent depth and it’s not a bad vatting.

Score: 80/100

5Comments

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1

MARS on 2 December 2011 at 10:13

I am a little bit surprised by your description as I tryed this one(I have an opened bottle for a while) in face to face to the 12 years old chivas and it’s much much better. Of course, it is always a matter of tastte but I find this one very complex, easy to drink with an incredible balance.
With aeration, some fruity notes appear also.
My main problem is a little woody touch in the finale(probably some old woody cask in the batch)
2

Ruben on 2 December 2011 at 10:25

To be honest I tried it almost a year ago but I still have some left so I might try it again, maybe head-to-head to another Chivas. It didn’t have a big impact anyway.
3

MARS on 2 December 2011 at 11:47

I am asking myself, did they made only one batch or more? (as I buy my bottle in 2004)
4

Ruben on 2 December 2011 at 16:04

I’m not sure if there have been multiple batches.
Anyway I’ve just tried it again, head-to-head with a Chivas Regal Royal Salute 21yo (rotation 1990). The nose of the Royal Salute is slightly darker with more vanilla and more sherry. The Century of Malts is more grainy / grassy. In the mouth, RS21 is again more sherried and more full-bodied, with the COM being a little sharper, peatier and indeed oakier. Century of Malts has a more Highlands-style profile, while the Royal Salute is smoother and more balanced. In short, I see no reason to be more positive about this Century of Malts if the Royal Salute (same price category) beats it hands down.
5

MARS on 2 December 2011 at 17:55

If you compare with the royal salute, I agree.
It’s just taht I paid my bottle less than 50€. So, I never think to compare the 2.
Will try it again today to be sure.
And if you are interested, I can send you a sample from my bottle with the glendronach 1972! 😉

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