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Old Perth Whisky
Perth was once a hub for the blending of Scotch whisky, with the likes of Dewar’s, Bell’s and Highland Distillers calling it home. When Edrington relocated to Glasgow in early 2017, however, it marked the end of an era and left the city completely bereft of the industry.
Morrison & MacKay, a family-owned Perthshire company, have sought to address this issue by celebrating the city’s legacy through the resurrection of an historic brand.
Old Perth blended Scotch was the brainchild of local grocer Peter Thomson, who plied his trade in the early 1900s. Thomson created a unique product for his loyal customers, blending malts from distilleries in Speyside, Islay and the Highlands with spirit from the North British grain distillery. Over the years, his blend grew into a successful brand and his grocer became the Peter Thomson company. By the 1960s Old Perth was a blend known for quality and famed for its high malt content. By 1973, however, the company was achieving far greater success with its Beneagles brand and took the decision to shelve Old Perth indefinitely.
Later, when Whyte & MacKay acquired Invergordon distillery in 1993, they simultaneously gained the Old Perth brand but alas, the famous Glasgow blender harboured no desire to revive it and so the next two decades saw the name all but forgotten, condemned, like the rest of Perth’s whisky story, to the history books.
Then came a rebirth in 2013, when independent bottler and blender Morrison & MacKay purchased the rights and relaunched Old Perth as a blended malt. Today, there are three core expressions ‘Original’, ‘Peaty’ and ‘Sherry Cask’, each bottled at 43% and all on the market in the UK for a reasonable price.
The Whisky
Smell: Chocolate Raisins, Orange Zest, Heather Honey, Vanilla and Caramel.
Taste: The Sherry is less in your face than on the nose but still a presence… Caramel, Orange, Ginger and Cinnamon, Baked Apples and a touch of Grape.
Thoughts: The Old Perth series offers good quality whisky at a very reasonable price. Their Sherry Cask expression is generally available for around £30 a bottle. It isn’t a mind-blower, but it’s a simple, affordable dram that tastes good and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
*If the whisky reviewed in this article has caught your eye, you can buy it from Master of Malt here. Please be aware that as an affiliate I can be paid a small commission on any purchases you make after following links from my page. The whisky is also available from several other excellent retailers.
For more on Old Perth and Morrison & MacKay…
