1981 North Port-Brechin 24 years Connoisseur’s Choice is a fun tasty little malt from a dead distillery. This particular bottle was distilled just 2 years before North Port-Brechin was shut down and 9 years before it was demolished to make way for a Safeway supermarket. Though the equipment inside didn’t go the way of the building that housed it. In the 1980’s it was all sold off to other distilleries. While we don’t know who bought the equipment there is something nice about knowing that it could still be out there making whisky today.
North Port-Brechin Timeline (via Malt Madness)
- 1820 – Built and named Townhead
- 1823 – Renamed to Brechin
- 1825 – Name of the company who owned Brechin became Guthrie, Martin & Co.
- 1839 – Name changed to North Port
- 1914 – Closed due to WW1
- 1922 – Bought by DCL (Distillers Company Ltd / Diageo) and W. H. Holt & Co and reopened
- ? – Bought by SMD (Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd.) – operated under license by Mitchell Brothers of Glasgow.
- 1928 – Closed again
- 1937 – Reopened
- 1939 – Closed due to WW2
- ? – During it’s WW2 closure it was use dot house Polish soldiers
- 1948 – Reopened as North Port / Brechin
- 1983 – Closed for good and slowly sold off piece by piece
- 1990 – Demolished
1981 North Port-Brechin 24 years Connoisseur’s Choice Info
Region: Highland, Scotland
Distiller: North Port-Brechin (1820 – 1983)
Mashbill: 100% malted barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon
Age: 24 years
ABV: 43%
Distilled: 1981
Bottled: 2005
Price: NA -> Auction / private sale only
1981 North Port-Brechin 24 years Connoisseur’s Choice Review
EYE
Pear juice
NOSE
Tropical fruit and grassy malt start things off with notes of wood and spice keeping things interesting and a hint of orchard fruit adding another dimension to this whisky. The overall nose is fresh and light and comes together nicely even if it’s not overly complex.
PALATE
Basically just copy the notes above and paste them here. The nose translates almost identically to the palate with some heavier malty notes showing up somewhere in the middle.
FINISH
Short with notes of spice, wood, malt and mint.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Has a decent balance that sits on a medium body and carries a velvety texture.
OVERALL
The 1981 North Port-Brechin 24 years Connoisseur’s Choice was a bit divisive at the tasting. Some folks liked it and others seemed to feel non-plussed about it – no one seemed to have loved it though. I was in the camp of liking it (obviously) and even though it was a rather simplistic whisky is was done well with nice crisp flavors and I found myself enjoying the sample I had. A tasty little treat from the ghost of distilling’s past.
SCORE: 83-86/100 (range given due to not tasting at home)
