Old Perth – Original 46%

Those who know their history will know that Perth was the whisky blending capital of the world. But as times changed, many companies that were embedded in Perth started to move away, and before long the once hustling epicenter became the forgotten whisky city. In 2013 the now Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers purchased the Old Perth brand from Whyte & Mackay and launched a number of expressions. The Old Perth brand is effectively all about sherry, and the ‘Original’ is the entry level bottle. It is a blended malt whisky made from a selection of distilleries in the Glenlivet Region of Speyside, and all of them matured in sherry casks – full term. There are no finishes. Sounding good so far?

They’ve also made a point of bottling at a higher ABV to release the flavour and profile nicely. And as you’d hope, they’re of natural colour and non-chill filtered. They’ve also made the brave decision to keep the price lower than their competitors to push the message home about quality vs rrp– an example being that the Original retails at around £30 and the Cask Strength edition retails at around £40. That’s quite incredible.

I’d say that these are blends that want to change peoples’ perceptions about blends.

Appearance: Medium amber/honey with thin, fast-paced legs

Nose: Lots of malt and cereal are the first aromas to come out of the glass and fill the nose. Digestive biscuits, dried barley husks and cereal grains. There is a fair hit of spirit that tells me it’s quite a youthful whisky. The longer it sits in the glass, however, the more the sherry appears from the background. Now there’s brown sugar, spices and a faint note of aromatic cedar wood.

Palate: Well, the flavour is not what I was expecting from the nose. They’re like 2 different whiskies. It’s bigger, sweeter and more rounded than I expected it to be. Richer, thicker, and warming. The sherry influence from the casks definitely shines through and the extra ABV really moves that flavour around the mouth. There is a lovely biscuity element to it as well.

Finish: Medium-long with an oily rich-sweet gently warming spiciness.

Conclusion: This definitely falls into the “keep one open in the collection” bracket. And once the air has got to it, it’s really moreish. A really tasty sherried whisky indeed.

And at around £30 a bottle it’s an absolute steal!