Old Perth Whisky
Perth was once a hub for the blending of Scotch whisky with Dewar’s, Bell’s and Highland Distillers calling the city home. When the latter became Edrington, it relocated to Glasgow and left the city bereft of any trace of the whisky industry.
In recent times, the family-owned Morrison & MacKay has sought to address the issue by celebrating the city’s legacy, especially 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 grain whisky from the North British distillery in Edinburgh. Over the years, the blend became a successful brand and by the 1960s, Old Perth was known for its quality and renowned for its high malt content. By 1973, however, the brand was being overshadowed by the company’s other big name, Beneagles. The owners decided it would be better to focus on one brand, so Old Perth was shelved, indefinitely.
Later, when Whyte & MacKay acquired Invergordon distillery in 1993, they simultaneously gained the Old Perth brand but the famous Glasgow blender saw no reason to bring it back and the next two decades saw it all but forgotten. A name condemned, like the rest of Perth’s whisky industry, to the history books.
That all changed in 2023, when independent bottler and blender Morrison & MacKay acquired the rights and relaunched the brand as a blended malt. There are now three core expressions ‘Original’, ‘Peaty’ and ‘Sherry Cask’ with each bottled at 43% and on the market in the UK for a reasonable price.
The Whisky
Smell: Chocolate raisins with orange zest, heather honey, vanilla and caramel.
Taste: The sherry is a little more subtle than on the nose but still has a presence. There’s caramel, orange, ginger and cinnamon with baked apples and even a touch of red grapes.
Thoughts: The Old Perth series offers good quality across the board and the Sherry Cask expression is widely available at £30. It may not be the kind of dram that blows your mind and the lower strength of 43% means it isn’t as intense as it could be but there’s still a very enjoyable whisky here that ticks a lot of boxes without breaking the bank.
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