Five from Old Pulteney

I was invited to a Twitter Tasting of the recently launched 1990 Vintage. The 1990 Vintage was the finale dram of the evening, and a sample of their Navigator and 12 Year Old started the tasting. Whilst I downloaded all the tweets at the time, I never got around to posting anything on the blog. 

Then while I was polishing off the last of the Old Pulteney 17 and 21 Year Old, two earlier whisky discoveries, I thought I would pull them all together in one post, running through the three core expressions and finishing with the newer releases

Old Pulteney

Founded in 1826 by James Henderson at the height of Wick's celebrated herring boom, the Pulteney Distillery is one of the most northerly on the British mainland.

At a time when road links to the town were yet to be established, the distillery was dependent on the sea for its supply of barley and for the shipping out of its malt whisky. Wick became known for the barrels of silver (herring) and gold (whisky) which left the port in vast numbers.

The distillery itself has an absorbing history, with its unique stills defying convention to this day. The wash still, in particular, is a source of fascination to visitors due to the absence of a 'swan neck'. Legend has it that when the still was delivered it was too tall for the still house and the manager simply decided to cut the top off! The Old Pulteney bottle now incorporates a bulbous neck to reflect the shape of the stills.

Over time, the distillery has passed through the hands of various owners, and even closed during times of trouble for the industry in 1930. Luckily, the repeal of an often forgotten period of prohibition in 1947 saw the welcome resumption of whisky production, with the distillery changing ownership a number of times, before its purchase by Inver House Distillers in 1995. Throughout this history what has endured is the quality of the whisky. Traditional craftsmanship and the distillery's windswept location continue to contribute to the award-winning whisky that is Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Whisky Discovery #25

Old Pulteney 12 Year Old (40% abv)
Highland Single Malt

circa £30.00 70 cl

The Old Pulteney 12 Year Old was one of my early purchases, bought in the first year of my whisky journey (in fact it was my official November 2011 purchase) I had been recommended to try it and the 21 Year Old had just been named as Jim Murray's whisky of the year in his 2012 bible.

Matured wholly in air-dried, hand-selected ex-bourbon casks, and is said to be a classic Northern Highland coastal single malt, and is one of the best sellers in the United Kingdom. I have recommended this to a number of non-whisky drinking friends over the past couple of years and it has always been well received.

Part of Old Pulteney's complexity comes from traditional worm tub condensation which leaves the spirit heavy and flavoursome, but the unusual shape of the stills has a tremendous impact on the style too. In this tweet tasting the 12 Year Old was the second dram of the evening, following the Navigator, so notes reflect thoughts after tasting that.

So What Did I Think?
After the Navigator this immediately felt richer and more mature. Apples were the dominant fruit note, but softer, browning chopped apples as opposed to fresh, along with some green banana. and grassy notes. Soft sweetness of brown sugar and a hint of the sea with some brine.

On the palate opens with a citrus note initially which this quickly turns malty with those rich soft apples with a honeyed sweetness, a hint of aniseed and a zesty peppery tang towards the end. An easy-drinking malt that offers a complex array of flavours, and features in many whisky enthusiasts top 'bang-for-your-buck lists.

What did the others think?

@chrismiles303: The 12 is such a dependable dram. It is a very easy sipper and it mixes well with soda water! Very versatile.
@TheWhiskyKiwi: Definitely honey on the nose. Manuka honey from NZ in fact. Slight grassy notes in the background as well
@Jamie_Rowley: This has a lovely, dare I say it, winter warming nose. Rich fruits and a hint of dark chocolate.
@BarryMBradford: Nose, toffee, salted caramel, honey, faint apples and fresh oranges little yeasty dough mmmm....
@ZacHFX : Wow that's a lot of honey. Powerful on the nose, even for 40% ABV. Only barely kept in check by seagrass.
@rodbodtoo: An easy, sweet, honey and apple whisky (specifically, apples which were cut an hour ago - a little brown)
@SCOTTDOGG11: Like the first whiff of coastal air in spring, get your face in the fruit bowl and enjoy
@bumpythechemist: Sweet pear drops, pepper spice and salt on the palate

@JohnnieStumbler: This needs no water at all. Big, bold flavours but not overpowering. Honey, brine and a hint of apple strudel.

@mynameisgone: The palate is nice and full, fruits apple (pie filling), creamy toffee, light gingery spiciness and creamy

@Jamie_Rowley: Starting to get a slight peppery and smokey finish to this, lovely taste

@HMcnee: Fruity sweet, maybe some dried fruit in there as well and that bit of salt

@ben_cops: Body - rich malt and toffee arrival, replaced sharply with wood bitterness and a bit more orchard fruit

Whisky Discovery #57

Old Pulteney 17 Year Old (46% abv)
Highland Single Malt
circa £60.00 70 cl

The 17-year-old predominantly features ex-bourbon maturation, with the addition of spirit that has been wholly matured in Spanish wood ex-sherry casks, predominantly Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso. This adds a subtle depth and complexity to the whisky, making for an outstanding after-dinner drink.

I first tasted this at Whisky Live London 2012 but have returned to it many times since. This was not part of the Tweet Tasting this time but checking back through the blog realised that whilst it had been clearly registered on the liquid log, no notes had ever been posted, so just my notes for this expression

So What Did I Think?

This has a rich rounded and very inviting nose; Fruity, spicy and with a hint of sea salt. There's beach dried seaweed and just a whiff of a fragrant smoke in the background. After a little while the glass is filled with the aroma of vanilla with malty citrus notes and toffee apples.

In the mouth it's deliciously smooth and oily. While sweet initially a peppery spice builds before caramelised apples and a grapefruit pith dryness follows. There is just a touch of that fragrant smoke coming through too. The finish is quite spicy with ginger and a chilli heat.

The empty glass the following morning (I cover the glasses up before heading to bed, usually with a business card weighted down with a pebble, to retain the aromas for a pre-breakfast treat) smells malty and woody, young green wood.

Whisky Discovery #58

Old Pulteney 21 Year Old (46% abv)
Highland Single Malt
circa £80.00 70 cl

As with the 17-year-old, with this expression is a marriage of spirit matured in ex-bourbon wood with spirit from ex-sherry wood casks. The crucial difference, however, is that the ex-sherry wood in this case is made from American Oak (mostly Fino sherries). This adds yet another layer of complexity, depth and character to this truly superb malt whisky.

Again, first tasted this at Whisky Live London 2012 and have returned to it many times since.This was the Old Pulteney I so wanted to taste after reading about it in Jim Murray's 2012 bible. This was not part of the Tweet Tasting this time but checking back through the blog realised that whilst it had been clearly registered on the liquid log, no notes had ever been posted, so just my notes for this expression

So What Did I Think?

A fabulous nose and much richer and more rounded than the 17 Year Old, the sherry casks adding depth and sophistication. The extra maturing years show to giving that 'old wood' smell with linseed and a slight floral fragrance too. Again lots of fruity notes here

Another beautifully smooth mouth feel, richer well seasoned wood, waxy honeycomb, caramelised pineapple, with a touch of liquorice at the very end.

The following morning the empty glass is again malty and woody as the 17 but the wood is now well seasoned and there is a nice touch of rich dark chocolate.

Whisky Discovery #637

Old Pulteney Navigator NAS (46% abv)
Highland Single Malt
circa £47.00 70 cl

The Navigator is a maritime malt aged in a mix of ex-sherry and bourbon casks in celebration of the distillery's history with the ocean and the old sea dogs that sail it. Bottled at a respectable 46% abv. it's quite young spirit matured in American oak. There is also a small number of sherry casks that have been used to mature Navigator but the influence shouldn't be too strong.

So What Did I Think?

The nose opens with sweet malted grains. It's a little chalky/slate-like, dry. Fruit notes come in the form of of green apples and white grapes. Spice follows with black pepper and after a little while in the glass, sweetening with vanilla creams while remaining fresh and a little zesty. Returning to it after nosing and tasting the 12 Year Old it came across much younger with 'new make' notes picked out.

The palate is quite rich and creamy and feels full bodied, but you can taste some younger spirit in here. There's sweet herbal green woody notes with spicy pepper towards the end leaving some citrus pith dryness, a touch of salt and a little more zest at the end.

What did the others think?

@alembic_tweets: Nose: sweet cereal, fresh vanilla, cotton candy, lemon zest.
@steveprentice: Nose: Malt, slight coastalness, and a kind of burnt slightly mucky rich fruit note, sweet, toffee, kinda yummy!
@BarryMBradford: Nose, Sweet vanilla, toffee apples, a little sandalwood & cereal malt
@Stu_Mackenzie: Lovely sweet toffee and vanilla coming through on the nose
@Jamie_Rowley: Light and fresh to start with but becoming warmer with a lot of toffee flavours coming through on the nose.
@TheWhiskyKiwi: Dare I say the nose is a bit spirity and malty due to it'd youth. Slight citrus notes in the background too
@chrismiles303: Very florally to me as well - like a garden in bloom - that perfumey element someone mentioned there.
@mynameisgone: Palate, a cream toffee sweetness but edged with a lovely warming spiciness, some lovely citrus notes as well.
@JohnnieStumbler: On the palate it's young and a little hot. It doesn't quite live up to the nose. Tasted blind, I'd never guess Old Pulteney
@dvdbloke: Watered - Nose Some sweet shop floral coming through, Icing Sugar, Liquorice, More fruit, apple going on citrus.
@bumpythechemist: Shortish finish, the spice fades but is still salty and lemony
@Saunders_AFC: Short finish, spice disappears quickly and the citrus stick around for a few more seconds

Whisky Discovery #638

Old Pulteney 1990 Vintage (46% abv)
Highland Single Malt
circa £120.00 70 cl

The whisky used for this limited edition 1990 Vintage Old Pulteney was matured in American ex-bourbon casks and Spanish ex-sherry casks which previously held heavily peated whisky. This maturation has given the single malt Scotch whisky an extra dimension to its flavour profile, with a buoyant smokiness that is seen in lightly peated whiskies. The phenolic influence isn't too strong but there is just enough of it to make it a little bit different

The 1990 Vintage is bottled at 46%, non chill-filtered and at its natural colour Just 900 cases (that's 5,400 bottles) are being made available in key markets around the world.

So What Did I Think?
A fabulous nose and the first thing that grabbed me was some fragrant pipe smoke in the background, it's not overpowering or even in forefront of the nose, but it was the note that lured me in. It's rich and very interesting, giving rich over-ripe fruits, spiced apple, soft plums and a 'figgy' rich fruit cake mix, raisins, a malty bread dough and vanilla essence. There's those 'well aged' whisky notes too with some linseed putty, and then there's that fragrant smoke and a little earthiness

Palate; Leathery over-ripe fruits and a gentle fragrant tobacco note Lovely sipping whisky and a great long leathery smoky finish, the peated cask making it's presence known with the earthy peat notes right at the every end.

What did the others think?
@steveprentice: Nose is great, old notes that do it well, some nuttiness, pinch of salt & dollop of malt with some red toffee apple
@WindsorBeerFest: On the nose: A waft of smoke, cinder toffee
@dvdbloke: Nose - big nose - smoke, leafy bonfires, honey, orange, vanilla, raisin, chocolate, nice perfumed elements, some fruitcake mix going on, a little eucalyptus maybe?
@BarryMBradford: Nose; Orange, peach, toffee, salt, smoke, sour dough - like Herman cake
@chrismiles303: Getting some rose notes - mix that up with the chocolate to get fry's turkish delight.
@mynameisgone: Nose smoke, chocolate, something earthy/herbal i can't quite identify, again the sweetness and fruit notes
@TheWhiskyKiwi: Needing to let it breathe some more. Nose is developing. getting a slight hint of smoke now. Very subtle
@ZacHFX A: A light nuttiness, too. Freshly cracked walnuts in an old wooden bowl. 

@dvdbloke: Palate - very sweet peat influences, citrus tartness, soft fruits, vanilla, earthiness coming through late development
@rodbodtoo: This is super sweet and a little smoky. Reminds me of lentil soup with a ham hough (the savoury note, y'see)
@Macdeffe: A real sipper. Slow drink. Drop by drop. Juicy. Honey. Sweet fruits. Good mix of sherry and bourbon. Sweet red fruits, Sugared raspberry and vanilla
@bumpythechemist: This has a thick palate - sweet subtle peat and sherry flavours 

@HMcnee: Palate is very salty, peat smoke but not peaty as in the Islay sense very smooth and no water needed
@BarryMBradford: Oooh! a drop of water and smoke comes rolling out, very mellow and toffee & honey too, yum!
@Saunders_AFC: Very nice smokey finish. Very nice. This is not like me, liking smokey whisky
@SCOTTDOGG11: This stuff is dancing on my tongue, sweet smoke warm relax.

And Finally..

There was unanimous appreciation for the 1990 Vintage, it is a cracking dram. However I wasn't the only one who thought perhaps the price was a little higher than it should have been. Is is worth £40.00 more than the excellent 21 Year Old? I'm sorely tempted but always struggle justifying spending over £100 for a bottle of whisky. if it had been a little closer to the £100 mark I might have gone for it, 

I wasn't overly impressed with the Navigator, there's nothing wrong with it but preferred the richer, fuller 12 Year Old on the day. The 12 Year Old is a great value for money dram, especially as it's available at most supermarkets and has been seen down to just £22.00 a bottle, I cannot walk past it at that! Out of the two older expressions the 21 Year Old wins it for me, and at around £80.00 a bottle is much easier for me to fit in my whisky budget.

Thanks to the team at Old Pulteney for sending me the samples of the Navigator, 1990 Vintage and for reminding me how good the 12 Year Old is. And it's a farewell to my older vintages as the 17 and 21 are no longer with me, but I'll be sure to keep looking our for them at Whisky Shows, and I'm fairly certain I'll be looking for a good deal on a replacement 21 Year Old soon.

Slàinte! Dave

Old Pulteney Tweet Tasting

An August Tweet Tasting with Alembic Tweets for the launch of the Old Pulteney 'Lighthouse Series'. These three new whiskies have been developed for the Travel Retail and will be available exclusively from airport duty free stores and other travel retail outlets from August 2013. 

The three new expressions showcase the Old Pulteney coastal style from three different maturation angles, and are presented in bold packaging (you won't miss these amongst the other whiskies on the shelves!) and highlight Pulteney Distillery's maritime heritage by celebrating prominent local lighthouses – Noss Head, Duncansby Head and Pentland Skerries.

Only Dave on this tweet tasting as Kat was busy with other things although she did pop by just before the start to pick up some ingredients from the kitchen, but didn't stop for a snifter. The tweet tasters were all ready to rock'n'roll at precisely 2000 BST, the designated 'kick-off' time, but our host was nowhere to be seen. With @OldPulteneyMalt new to Twitter sitting on the sidelines, we decided to take matters into our own hands and start the tasting on our own.

Eventually our host Lukasz Dynowiak of @alembic_tweets turned up around the time we were just moving onto our final dram, but he had a very important reason for missing the start, and was quickly forgiven! (Family always comes first,  he  had been held up in A&E with his young son, but fortunately all was well at home) The Tweet Tasters knew the drill and kept everything in line for him to step into comfortably and take over the final session.

Whisky Discovery #495

Old Pulteney Noss Head NAS (46% abv)

Highland Single Malt

circa £40.00 100 cl

We started with the entry level dram which features the distinctive Noss Head lighthouse that is located just four miles north of the distillery. The Lighthouse was built in 1849 by Robert Arnot, and the name comes the Old Norse word ‘Snos’, a nose, relating to the nose-shaped headland where it is situated. 

Noss Head has been matured wholly in ex-bourbon American oak casks. It's bottled at 46% abv with no age statement, non chill-filtered and naturally coloured.

So What Did I Think?

Nose: Light fresh nose, certainly has a citrus edge alongside some coconut - not fresh coconut, but that sweet dried desiccated coconut. Vanilla as one would expect follows, then Barley Sugar along with some malty notes and spices 

Palate: Much richer on the palate than the nose suggested. The citrus note is there but darker, like a caramelised orange (if there is such a thing). Very sweet with only a gentle pepper spice. Barley sugars found on the nose more prominent 

Finish: Quite a long finish to this, malty and sweet with gentle pepper spices with a slight hint of saltiness I was expecting ro find in the maritime highlander.

Verdict: Light and refreshing and would be great on a warm summers afternoon.

What did the others think?

@mynameisgone: The nose is fresh, cereal, with a touch of sweetness, also a citrus edge

@ansgarspeller: Vanilla, fruit, lemon, raisin, sweet, bit rose wine? and funny enough some 7-up on the nose?

@dvdbloke: Nose - lemon sherbert, peel, underage orange, coconut, light honey.

@RLemkin: On the palate I think it's lovely, sweet, fruity with a bitter orange bite to it

@LaCaveDeCobalt: The palate on this is quite spirity. Like a young plum alcohol. It's salty, peppery with a light bitterness on the finish.

@steveprentice: Very easy drinking at the slightly higher than often found ABV. Reasonably thick oily mouthfeel which if held on the tongue for a little bit turns reasonably spicy. Nice sweet and malty, much more likeable than I was expecting.

@whiskyrepublic: A quality dram for easy drinking or for those who may be wary of some of the harder hitting sherry/peat bombs out there

Whisky Discovery #496

Old Pulteney Duncansby Head NAS (46% abv)

Highland Single Malt

circa £45.00 100 cl

The Duncansby Head lighthouse lies 18 miles north of the Pulteney Distillery and is situated near John O’Groats at the very northern tip of Scotland. The lighthouse protects a dangerous part of the Pentland Firth where the Atlantic waters meet the North Sea. Built just after WW1 it is now equipped with a low-power self operating racon and has been fully automated since 1997. 

Duncansby Head is made in the classic Old Pulteney style matured in a combination of ex-bourbon casks and Spanish ex-sherry casks  Again this has been bottled at 46% ABV, non chill-filtered and naturally coloured

So What Did I Think?

Nose: Slightly richer on the nose that Noss Head, the sherry casks showing their presence, with a very nice balance of bourbon/sherry casks.  With a little air I started to get a strong hint of chocolate alongside sultanas which was followed by some lovely butterscotch flavours. It certainly took some time, but the nose was gently evolving across the senses and finishing with some white pepper.

Palate: Initially very sweet, a stronger more rounded spiciness builds but settles quickly. That slightly burned orange note that I found in Noss Head made an appearance but again it felt richer and more rounded. The butterscotch comes through to the palate after the peppery build up fades.

Finish: Another long finish, must be down to the higher abv. Quite fruity and feels very refreshing at first before turning quite dry.

Verdict: I like the introduction of some sherry cask matured malt to the mix, it give it more body.

What did the others think?

@steveprentice: That unmistakable distillery character of maritime salt, but tempered with hints of autumn fruits intertwined amongst the malty summeryness. Spiced stewed red apples with a drop of caramel. Leave this one to air for a bit

@dsappl: very pleasant stuff in the nose. Honey, apricot, maybe a touch of prune. Much less burn than Noss

@fr1day: Nose: Very appealing! Red fruits - plums & prunes with subtle nuts - pecan maybe

@mattveira: Sweeter, more rounded and fruitier this one. Vanilla & honey with a hint of wood again. More maritime salt too!

@sjoerd972: Feels young again but less so than Noss. Sherry casks give it some more depth, nuttiness (walnut and hazelnut). warmer, gentler.

@MCRWhiskyClub: Interesting palate - cookie dough, the chocolate from the nose, danish smoked salt and green fig

 @HMcnee: Spice, thick, coats the tongue and the taste is there for longer than noss head then becomes very dry

Whisky Discovery #497

Old Pulteney Pentland Skerries NAS (46% abv)

Highland Single Malt

circa £55.00 100 cl

The most premium of the three new releases, Old Pulteney Pentland Skerries celebrates two

lighthouse towers of the same name located at the eastern entrance to the Pentland Firth. Located 18.5 miles from Pulteney Distillery (as crow flies) Pentland Skerries was developed with input from renowned Scottish engineer Robert Stevenson. Built in 1794 on the uninhabited Muckle Skerry island off the far north eastern coast, en route to Orkney. Two towers, 80ft and 60ft high, standing 60ft apart, guard the eastern entrance to the Pentland Firth.

The whisky was matured wholly in Spanish ex-sherry butts. Similarly to the other two, it's bottled at 46% ABV, non chill-filtered, and naturally coloured

So What Did I Think?

I knew I was going to love this the moment I twisted the cap off and poured it into my nosing glass. I've been trying to drink more sherry this year in order to better understand the differences and the effect that these sherry casks have on the whisky that has been matured in them, and because it's damn good - make time for sherry!

Nose: The nose on this is very inviting (to me!) I could pick out Oloroso and the sweetness of Pedro Ximenez. It comes across as sweet and sticky with all the rich sherried fruits you'd expect; sultanas and raisins, dates and figs and that 'signature' caramelised orange note as well. There is a molasses sweetness to it too, dark and slightly musty like well seasoned hardwood on the brink of no return

Palate: Very rich but it wasn't as sweet as the first two. Sherried fruits from the nose all pushing for positioning on the palate with richer chocolate notes than the previous Duncansby Head. Spice are more complex with cinnamon and liqorice.

Finish: Rich and long, starting sweet before drying tannins take over, the licorice remaining to the bitter end.

Verdict: This was my favourite of the three and will certainly be looking out for this one when I'm next passing through an airport.

What did the others think?

@fr1day: Nose: glorious toffee! With a hint of mint? And milk chocolate.

@dvdbloke: Nose - still young. toffee. some light spicy fruitcake thing going on. Chocolate floating in the background.

@MCRWhiskyClub: Very powerful dry sherry character yet somehow retains that salty profile

@mynameisgone: Nose, slightly savoury, briney, dried fruits, candied orange

@ansgarspeller: The taste is sweet, raisin, chocolate, fruity, honey, mint, fresh, lemon twist and pepper... and so much more

@whiskyrepublic: Seductive sherry notes mingling with hints of the coast. A Muckle Skerry mussel sherry dram.

@dvdbloke: palate skerries -  thick, sweet, toffee malt. Rum and raisin. Dusting of cocoa. Fruitcake filled. Profiteroles.

@RLemkin:  Palate is even better. Sweet raisins, toffee and a much more mellow orange compared to the Noss Head.

And finally....

Pentland Skerries seemed to win the vote from the Tweet Tasters this evening and then the panel was split between the two for second place. I favoured Duncansby Head over Noss Head, but could see that the bourbon cask matured Noss Head would be very refreshing on a warm summer afternoon

As per previous Tweet Tastings there was a great deal of tweeting going on and to see what happened search on the #OldPulteney hashtag on twitter for the full story.

Yet another great experience, with three new discoveries A massive THANK YOU to Lukasz Dynowiak of @alembic_tweets to all the team at @OldPulteneyMalt and of course the tweet tasters.

Your tweet tasters were:

@mynameisgone @ansgarspeller @RLemkin @whiskyrepublic @WhiskyDiscovery @LaCaveDeCobalt @HMcnee @janmccurdy @dvdbloke @MCRWhiskyClub @fr1day @mattveira @bumpythechemist @dsappl @sjoerd972 @steveprentice @thomas_speller @timstasting @wimvlonkhuijsen

Make sure you're following these whisky peeps on Twitter!

So will you be picking up one of these new releases next time your travelling? Would love to hear what you think of them. 

Slàinte! Dave

Whisky Discovery #287

Old Pulteney 40 Year Old

Highland Single Malt Whisky

circa £1,490.00 70cl

Old Pulteney 40 Year Old

Old Pulteney has recently unveiled the oldest and most exclusive official expression of single malt to leave the warehouses of this northernmost distillery on Scottish mainland since its establishment in 1826. 

The spirit of Pulteney is influenced by its environment like no other with the windswept and rugged Caithness Coast and the remote fishing port of Wick provide the background for one of the most intriguing whiskies in the world. This new stunning Old Pulteney was shaped by the land and the sea for over four decades and is the ultimate expression of the Maritime Malt. 

Old Pulteney 40 Year Old came from four casks, three Spanish ex-sherry hogsheads and one American oak ex-bourbon barrel, which yielded 493 bottles at a natural strength of 51.3% abv and has not been chill-filtered or coloured.

Pulteney Distillery Manager, Malcolm Waring, explains: “Old Pulteney begins its life as spirit already full of character. Then we mature it on site, here in Wick, we think its hugely important. With each passing year the whisky takes on a little bit of Caithness, the initial charisma is there but it develops more and more complexity. To see that so clearly in a whisky matured for over four decades is extraordinary; we are overwhelmed by the quality of this liquid and by how firmly it's anchored here. The people, the process, the land and the sea are all in there.” 

The whisky is presented in unusual deep-blue bottles crafted by The Tudor Crystal Design company and its sister company Plowden and Thompson’s Undertaking. Hand blown from melting silica, soda ash and special additions each bottle is then finished with solid silver melted blown across the glass to form a wave pattern. This gives the familiar 'Smuggler's Kettle' Old Pulteney bottle elegance and flair that pay respect to the liquid inside.

Each bottle is then topped with a stone closure whittled, polished, fine-pressure jetted, milled and polished again by the famous local Caithness Stone Industries. The bottles are finished with a Scottish hallmarked silver medallion stating the age of the whisky. The high-gloss lacquered wooden box that encases the bottle has the iconic Old Pulteney herring drifter silver-etched into it to complete the stunning presentation. In addition every bottle of Old Pulteney 40 Year Old comes with a hand-signed book by whisky expert Charles MacLean.

So What Did We Think?

News of this release came out at the end of October and the Old Pulteney 40 Year Old was available from specialist whisky retailers globally from the beginning of November. So firstly, I must say a massive thanks to Inver House Distillers for considering us to taste this unique expression. It's always nice to come home from work to find that the 'whisky angels' have visited during the day. Whilst our bottle was only the standard clear glass Old Pulteney miniature bottle it was a great surprise! 

The 'whisky angels' visited one morning

I saved opening this until 19th December, the second anniversary of this whisky journey, which I though would be a fitting tribute to it, and sat nosing it for ages before diving in. It has a rich and powerful nose, with polished oak wood, dark fruits, figs and dates, spicy pear, sweet dark toffee, butterscotch, liquorice root and a touch of salty brine. I read somewhere recently that I should take a whisky down to around 20% abv in order to pick out all of the flavours in the whisky, and so thought, with this I will slowly add water while I nosed. With no hydrometer at hand I used the graduations on my nosing glass and gradually took it down to around 34% abv (by calculation)

Water sweetens the nose giving more fruity notes; raisins and oranges at first and pineapple appears with a little more water. This was the first time I had added water, certainly to that level, a drop or two at a time while nosing to see what develops. Whilst the fruity notes get sweeter and more tropical with the water, the spicy wood note remains throughout.

I tasted it at cask strength initially and despite it's age showed remarkable freshness (rather like myself!) Whilst initially sweet, there is a rich liquorice root note, a fiery spicy heat, before the fruit and toffee notes return. The chili pepper heat singes the tongue at the end before settling down to a long rewarding finish balanced with both sweetness and salt.

A fabulous drop of whisky, unfortunately out of my budget at the moment, and with my current lottery form will be for some time. That said, there are some other Old Pulteney expressions that are in my budget range and hope to be adding one or two of them to my shelf very soon.

Whisky Discovery #25

Old Pulteney 12 Year Old (40% abv, OB, Bottled +/- 2011 70cl)

Highland Single Malt Whisky

Circa £22

November's official bottle

I read on the BBC website that the Old Pulteney 21 YO had won the Jim Murray Scotch Whisky of the year, and seeing the 12 YO expression on the shelves at the local supermarket on offer for just £22.00, I thought it would be a prime candidate for the official November addition to my journey.

Established in 1826, The Pulteney Distillery found in the heart of ‘Pulteneytown’, the town created to house fishersmen during Wick’s ‘herring boom’. The most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland, the spirit crafted here is a distillation of this unique location. Matured wholly in air-dried, hand-selected ex-bourbon casks, the Old Pulteney 12 YO is the definitive expression in the Old Pulteney family.

Traditionally crafted using techniques that other distillers have long abandoned, this winner of numerous gold medals at the most prestigious international competitions is a high water-mark of quality spirits.

March 15th 2012

Reading back through some of my earlier postings I thought that I really must revisit some of the whiskys remaining on my shelf and review in a little more detail:

Matured wholly in air-dried, hand-selected ex-bourbon and sherry casks for at least 12 years this Old Pulteney was a Double Gold winner at the 2006 San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Colour: Old Gold, however this is ‘modified’ with caramel.

Body: Quite light as the legs run quickly back into the glass, but a little oily too.

Nose: I find the nose quite light in the glass initially, it definitely needs some time. It is quite crisp and dry but with a hint of briney sea air at first. Once it starts to open up there is an aromatic herbal flowery tone, with even some light grassy notes, and after a little longer the sweet caramel is eventually teased out. It is a quite agreeable nose.

Palate: There seems to be an citrus note initially which this quickly turns malty and then floral honeyed sweetness comes through, but then a twist at the end with a hint of aniseed to the salty tang. It really is quite pleasant

Finish: The finish is quite short with malty oak and spices, before the salty tang is all that remains

So what did I think

I remember being immediately impressed with this whisky when I first opened back in November and even recommended it to a friend of mine who was looking for some Christmas whisky, and he too enjoyed it. Perhaps it might have benefitted from being bottled at 46%, but this is an entry level whisky at a very good price, and it’s definitely a good introduction to Scotland’s most northerly mainland distillery. I’m looking forward to trying their 17 and 21 year olds later.