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Wednesday 6 February 2019

Old Perth 14, 21, 41 & 46 Blended Malts & Grain Reviews

Hi everyone,

So recently the excellent people at Morrison MacKay have been releasing some excellent whiskies. Following on from the success of their 12, 13 & 21 expressions of their Old Perth series, they decided to do some more.
These are pretty well known to be mostly blends of Macallan and Highland Park, although the older versions (and obviously the blended grain) probably are not.
Anyway, I’ve been very lucky to get to try a whole set of them.
 
Old Perth 14 Blended Malt 43.7%
Colour: Amber
Body: Medium
Nose: A little fresher and more fruity than the 13yo. Sherry, dried apricot, delicate dried flowers/petals, sweet prune, lots of chocolate too with cocoa powder, sweet honey and beeswax.
Taste: Haribo coke bottle arrival, soft, heather, sweet Sherry, a little flat especially for the age then tingling spice and oak. Euro oak, raisin and prune.
Finish: Medium length. Dry, wood and cinnamon spice, a little dried heather.
A blend of Highland Park and Macallan. About double the price of the 13 but quite flat on the palate despite a great nose.
72/100
 
Old Perth 21 Blended Malt 55.2%
Colour: Amber
Body: Full
Nose: If you distilled coffee to 55%... espresso, very dark and earthy, dark chocolate, dry oak, dark chocolate with orange bits, orange peel, some heather.
Taste: Sweet and soft then more bitterness as it develops, some dark chocolate and intense coffee, espresso, tannins, slightly earthy then nice fresher orange into the finish.
Finish: Long length. Dark, more dark chocolate and coffee, some orange peel and tannins.
Reputedly a combo of Glen Grant and Macallan... from a single cask. Wow, in the same vein as the 13yo. But I think I preferred that one. This seems a little overwhelmed.
79/100
 
Old Perth 41 Blended Malt 45.3%
Colour: Amber
Body: Medium
Nose: Wow, complex! What surprises me here is the nice touch of smoke! Strawberry fruit pastilles, fruity Sherry, obvious wood but not overwhelming, leather and tobacco. Very salivating nose, great.
Taste: Soft arrival, strawberry fruit pastilles then the oak comes in balanced by fruity Sherry, developing leather and tobacco and very dark chocolate, great oily mouthfeel too.
Finish: Medium/Long length. Drier, woodier here, dry oak and tobacco. A little out of balance here, just a bit too dry and oaky.
Vintage 1977. Shame the finish throws it off kilter.
86/100
 
Old Perth 46 Blended Grain 49.9%
Colour: Light Amber
Body: Medium
Nose: Retained its freshness remarkably, creamy vanilla, dried raspberry and delicious petrol fumes. Ethereal and complex, old wood and expensive praline chocolates, light raisin from the Sherry.
Taste: Soft and impeccable. Great development with zippy freeze dried raspberry, vanilla, biscuit, dark chocolate, ethereal spirit still intact. The oak is a massive presence and yet also in the background, backing everything up.
Finish: Short/Medium length. Very soft here, whispers away with toffee, dark chocolate and a very light touch of oak.
Vintage 1971. Great old Grain this. Funny that the best Grain whiskies I've had have been blended Grains, almost like the stuff was made to be blended!
82/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #731-#734
Whisky Network Reviews #869-#872

Network Average: 75.1
Best Score: 94
Worst Score: 12
0-49 Terrible
50-59 Bad
60-64 Just About OK
65-69 Ok to Good
70-74 Good
75-79 Very Good
80-84 Excellent
85-89 Superb
90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

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