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Old Parr Grand De Luxe

peaty fresh
€140Scotland, Blended

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Facts

Greenlees Brothers of London and Glasgow put this blend on the market in 1909. They named it after Old Tom Parr, reputed to be the oldest man Britain ever produced. The joke was about maturity, and it stuck. Cragganmore forms the base of the blend, so Speyside fruit leads the way. Dried fruit and raisins on the nose, then grass, vanilla and caramel across the palate. Clove and cinnamon see it out. Britain no longer gets the stuff. Japan, Mexico and Colombia drink it by the case, out of that squat dimpled bottle.

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About the distillery

Distillery

Old Parr

Thomas Parr, an Englishman nicknamed Old Tom Parr, was reputed to have lived 152 years before his death in 1635. James and Samuel Greenlees named a blend of aged malts from Scotland after him, launching Old Parr in 1909. The label was renamed Grand Old Parr in 1941, styled after his own venerable age. The blend is built around Cragganmore malt, with Glendullan added as a major component since the Second World War. Diageo owns the brand today, part of the DCL lineage that dates back to 1925. Old Parr disappeared from British shelves decades ago, kept alive instead by drinkers abroad. Its real home became Latin America, especially Colombia, where costeños on the north coast still treat it as their whisky of choice. The bond runs deep enough that Colombian musicians have written folk songs about the brand. Even the label endures unchanged, still showing Rubens's portrait of old Tom Parr himself.

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9Whiskies on Distilld

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About the Old Parr Grand De Luxe

Old Parr Grand De Luxe is a blended Scotch whisky made in Scotland. Greenlees Brothers launched the brand in 1909, working from London and Glasgow. They named it after Old Tom Parr, reputed to be the oldest man in Britain. That claim of extreme age was the whole sales pitch. Diageo owns the label now, and sells it mainly in Japan, Mexico, Colombia and the United States. The blend leans on Speyside. Cragganmore forms its backbone, and that distillery brings a grassy, floral lift to the mix. Glendullan has been a major component since the Second World War. So the character traces back to two named malts, not a long anonymous list. Grain whisky rounds out the rest. The bottle matches: a dimpled, rounded square that sits low in the hand. Drinkers spot it across a bar from the shape alone. Pour it and the nose goes straight to dried fruit. Raisins and sultanas sit underneath, with a smoky thread behind them. The palate turns lighter and greener. Grassy and floral notes arrive first, then vanilla and caramel fill the middle. A medicinal, licorice edge keeps it from turning sweet. Spice closes things out, mostly clove and cinnamon, warm rather than sharp. The finish is dry and lasts a decent while. Old Parr Grand De Luxe belongs to a range built around age. Beside it stand a 12 Year Old, an 18 Year Old, Silver and Superior. Each plays the maturity theme a different way. This bottling gives you the house style with the flavour turned up. The Cragganmore fruit stays clear, and the Speyside grass still shows through. Anyone working out why Old Parr shifted over a million cases in 2011 finds the answer here.