Old Perth 21 year old 1996 Blended Malt (54.9%abv)

One more sherried blended malt and then we can call it a week. Almost six years ago, I bought a bottle of Old Perth 21yo 1996 blindly. I'm not sure why I did that, but luckily the whisky was really good! A few years later, my friends, the Doctors Springbank, bought a 22yo 1996 Old Perth. Like the 21yo, it was a deeply hued sherry cask thing. The sample they provided has been sitting in my sample stash for nearly three years. Sorry, Doctors, for the delay!

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Company: Morrison and Mackay
Brand: Old Perth

Type: Blended (or Vatted) Malt

Distilleries: ???

Age: 22 years (1996-2018)
Maturation: single sherry cask, maybe a hogshead?
Outturn: 283 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 54.9%

NEAT

A big nose on this one, with orange marmalade, honey, oregano, leather, and something metallic right up front. Walnuts and dried currants in the back. There's an industrial side to the palate, with coal smoke and that metallic note. Black walnuts and tart citrus fill the middle, heat and a subtle woodiness stay in the background. It finishes with sweeter citrus, dried cherries, a little bit of smoke, and a lot of heat.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or >1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose calms down and focuses on oranges, walnuts, applesauce, and canned peaches. Meanwhile the palate intensifies, now much oakier, pepperier, and sourer. And, curiously, hotter. It finishes with oranges, lemons, and tannins.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

My palate really prefers this one neat, thought it smells great either way. The whisky's lack of generic sherry cask notes, and the emphasis on citrus and walnuts, makes me think the vatting's ingredients were from bourbon casks, and the finishing vessel was seasoned with a particularly dry Oloroso. It's good, hearty stuff without water added, then gets consumed by the cask(s) once it's diluted. Keep it neat, and enjoy it during mild winter evenings!

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - was probably below £100 five years ago
Rating - 85 (neat only)