Catto's Rare Old Blended Whisky Review

The Miniature I bought is exactly like the one on the right! 


“At 15 US Dollars this is No Catto in the Bag”

Country: Scotland 
Brand: Catto's (Rare Old Scottish Highland)
Produced by: James Catto & Co Ltd, Airdrie
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky 
Age: NAS (Probably 3-5 Years)
ABV: 40 %

Colour: Light Amber

Nose: Sharp Young Grain Alcohol, Toast and Margarine, Refill Oak, Nut Shells, Toasted Coconut, Straw, Cooked Vegetables, Lemon Juice, Orange Zest and a hint of Vanilla. At this price level I've encountered far worse stuff!


Palate: Mainly Sweet. The Alcohol stings a bit but within reason. I find lots of Grain Alcohol, some Malt, Nuts, light Honey, light Vanilla, Grass, Lemon and Spices.

Finish: Short, Sweet, Sharp and slightly Bitter towards the end with Sugar, light Vanilla, Pepper and Refill Oak.

Catto's becomes quite Thin when you add some Water but it also mellows down and you even get some light Fruity tones on the Palate. You can carefully experiment with a few drops. 

Rating: 70.5

Nose: 18.5 - Taste: 17.5 - Finish: 17 - Overall: 17.5

This is how Catto's looks today!

General Remarks: The Brand can be traced back to 1861 when James Catto started blending Highland Malt - and Lowland Grain Whiskies in Aberdeen. It's still around and is nicknamed "The Artisan Blend". Today the Blend is created by Catto's Master Blender Stuart Harvey. The heart of this Blend is formed by Single Malt Whisky from Balblair, Balmenach, Knockdhu, Pulteney & Speyburn.
In all this Blend is said to contain 18 Single Malt - and 3 Grain Whiskies. Catto also produces a 12 Years DeLuxe and a 25 Years. The Rare Old Blend that is produced today costs as little as 15 US Dollars, depending on where you live. The average price is 30 US Dollars. But bottles that were produced in the early 1970's are offered at prices of up to 170 US Dollars on the Internet. In 1990, Inver House Distillers bought the Brand Name but were not given the Recipe. This might explain the huge price difference between older - and more recent Catto's. I'm not sure when my Miniature was bottled but I must assume it was after 1990.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay given its low price.

Conclusion: Catto's Rare Old isn't Rare and isn't Old of course. It's a lot of cheap young Grain Whisky with a bit of Malt thrown in for old time's sake. Still, at 15 US Dollars, this is an acceptable Bottom Shelf Blend. It has all the main characteristics of a cheap Blend but shows just enough personality to justify its existence. And, and that's rare in this league, it accepts a few drops of added Water. Unlike many other cheap Blends, you can actually sip Catto's neat. You wont smell and taste Paradise of course but that can't be expected at this price level.

Jan van den Ende                                                             August 7, 2014

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