REVIEW: Old Perth PX

Drinks blogger James Robertson reviews Old Perth PX Blended Malt Scotch Whisky.

SOMETIMES it seems we get too caught up with single malt Scotch whisky. That means the age-old tradition of a bottle of blended malt is often overlooked as something inferior. The other day I went to possibly one of the best bars in Edinburgh – The Last Word Saloon – for the launch of Old Perth PX Blended Malt Scotch Whisky.

Old Perth as a blend dates back to 1908 when it was created by Peter Thomson, who was a wine and spirits merchant in Perth. The blend is now owned by Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers, which is based at Aberargie Distillery, a few miles south of Perth. It has brought the blend back to life, maintaining the tradition of maturing the whiskies exclusively in ex-sherry casks. The single malts all come from various distilleries in the Glenlivet region of Speyside, as they did back in Peter Thomson’s day.

The Old Perth PX now joins the other whiskies in the range. The Old Perth PX was selected from a range of whiskies that have been in either Oloroso or Pedro Ximenez hogsheads or butts. They were then married together and then matured further for 15 months in first-fill Pedro Ximenez casks from Bodega José y Miguel Martin.

Before we tasted the Old Perth PX, we had a chance to taste Lustau’s San Emilio Pedro Ximenez. This unctuous sherry has amazing dates, prunes and fruit cake notes, which are immediately apparent when tasting the Old Perth PX. There were only 7,800 bottles produced, with many being sent to export markets, however it is available in the UK and I would highly recommend finding a bottle.

£58; Royal Mile Whiskies, Master of Malt

Read more of James’ reviews on his drinks blog, The Grape & The Grain.

Plus, don’t miss whisky columnist Blair Bowman’s views on alcohol marketing in the March issue of Scottish Field magazine.