Oran Blend No. 1 Scotch Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

The Perfect Fifth is an American negotiant firm, otherwise known in the US as an Non-Distiller Producer (NDP) or independent bottler. Started by Karl J. Schoen in 2019, the company operates in familiar territory for such an enterprise, as it might operate in Scotland or Ireland: most of their offerings are their own single cask bottlings of quite mature or even ultra-aged single malts and American whiskeys. These are a familiar site on select New York City whiskey bars, with their expressions on limited retail distribution around the US.

Most such companies, even in the US, also delve into making their own blends and The Perfect Fifth is not one of the exceptions. Fashioned by noted whisky author Jim Murray, Oran Blend No. 1 and No. 2 is billed as 50% malt, 50% grain and 50% ABV. However, in this instance the creation of the Blend No. 1 and Blend No. 2 were not intended to expand sales beyond the reach of discrete batches of single cask offerings: each blend had a production run of just 465 bottles, about as much as a typical middle-aged single cask offering would yield.

Blend No. 1 is built on a backbone of two ultra-aged grain whiskies, one 21 years old and the other 34 years old. The other half is a mix of small dollops of malts from Ardmore, Glen Grant, Miltonduff, an unnamed Orkney malt, Old Pulteney and Tamnavulin, ranging from 12 to 24 years old. That range of stock was aged wholly in ex-bourbon barrels. Setting the strength at 50% ABV should only enlarge its appeal to American palates, that being the 100 proof mark mandated for popular bottled in bond whiskeys.

The Scotch
The whisky has a bright, light gold coloring, which is suggestive of just how the ultra-aged components of the blend lean so heavily on ex-bourbon barrel aged grain whiskies. The nose lets the fruity aspect, coming across as apples, lead, with an accent of malty honey. Behind that are traces of green pine needles and burnt gunpowder.

The palate carries somewhat more weight than the light scent, but not so much that the fruity side fails to retain the lead. The flavor is forward with its pears, honey and caramel, with hints of ash, cake spices and oak coming along behind. The finish is a short one, combining a touch of butterscotch with a sliver of wood.

The Price
The Perfect Fifth has set the price on this blended whisky at $189.