Old Rarity is a blend made by Bulloch Lade & Co., a Glasgow company which also owned Caol Ila from 1863 to 1920 when it went into liquidation. I don’t have much information but it’s probably a safe guess that this blend holds some Caol Ila? I’ve never tried any pre-war Caol Ila and we’ll probably never know.

Old Rarity (86.8 proof, Bulloch Lade & Co. ca. 1940, 4/5 quart)

Nose: very buttery with hints of coal smoke and peat (don’t expect modern Coal Ila peat though). Quite some beefy notes, raisins and not-so-clean hints of organics and distant sulphur. Don’t let this put you off, the roughness really works well here. It’s clear that this is old-fashioned, manually crafted spirit. A few fruity notes shine through (peaches).

Mouth: starts rather weak. Sherried notes. Some nuts. A lot of caramel. Metallic notes (OBE?). Again faint hints of peat and smoke.

Finish: dark sugar and kind of a funny salt & pepper edge.

On the nose this Old Rarity blend has a lovely dirtiness mixed with sherry notes. On the palate it is slightly weak (compared to modern standards) and a little high on caramel. A true rarity but certainly worth looking out for. Thanks a lot Dirk!

Score: 84/100

ps/ Don’t forget the Lindores Whisky Fest in Oostende, where this kind of old whisky can be found. It’s less than two weeks from now!

3Comments

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1

Geert on 14 October 2010 at 12:08

I had an even older version open of this one than Dirk’s bottle,they were very similar.
What struck me in this whisky,is the taste and smell of black coal ,the stills we’re coal fired at that time,so the smell of that must have floated around the distillery and warehouses .

PS I have some prewar Longmorn and Teachers open at the Lindores fest
2

Johan on 15 October 2010 at 13:20

I’m counting the days… CU in Ostend!
3

Henry on 10 January 2015 at 22:49

I was just given a 1934??? bottle of Old Rarity from my brother in law’s estate. I was planning on opening it on my 60 B Day in March, I am not interested in selling it but would like to know the value. Not quit the same label as above, no label under the crest, just 25 year U.R. need help!!

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