November 12, 2015

A retro-verticale of Pittyvaich

We’re going on with our exploration of Diageo’s Special Releases, and today it’s going to be the most ‘obscure’ of them all the Pittyvaich. Another distillery we don’t know a lot about, having only tasted… wait, only 15 of them! Pittyvaich was closed in 1993, and demolished in 2002. Apéritif please…

Pittyvaich 28 yo 1979/2007 (54%, Duncan Taylor, Rarest of the Rare, cask #5636, 175 bottles)

We’ve had sister casks, they’ve been a little bizarre, perhaps. Colour: gold. Nose: do you like fresh paint and ink? And burnt grass? Paraffin? Leatherette? Mineral sulphur? Cooked beer? With water: dust, chalk, wet clothes, and a faint meatiness. Grisons meat, perhaps (dried beef). Mouth (neat): very unlikely indeed. Burnt cake, orange squash, raw eau-de-vie (tutti frutti), a curious feeling of lemon powder… Perhaps more malt whisky ‘for research’? With water: a little more to my liking, a little fruitier and fresher, on oranges. Saves it. Finish: quite long, bitterish. Bitter oranges, cardboard. Comments: really, more for researchers. A style, as they say. SGP:362 - 78 points.

Pittyvaich 25 yo 1989/2015 (49.9%, OB, Special Release)

Like the minimalistic design. Let’s hope the whisky won’t be in keeping with this style. Colour: straw. Nose: the style is there again, with some ink and chalk, but this time it’s cleaner, without any feinty/yeasty or bitter notes. Leather and porridge, candle wax, then something very ‘funny’, Provence herbs. Rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, even pine needles. And a little ham in the background. Mouth: really funny indeed, quite pungent, grassy, waxy, with a fizzy side (lemonade) and then pine needles again. Basil liqueur. Yes, that exists. Finish: medium, always ‘funny’, between lemon and fresh mentholated herbs, as well as a little dill or fennel. Comments: did I tell you I found this baby funny? A forgotten style, I don’t know of any other distillery that still makes it like this. I even find it really good, but its ‘unlikeliness’ may be part of that judgement. SGP:361 - 85 points.

Pittyvaich 14 yo (54.5%, James MacArthur, Fine Malt Selection, 75cl, +/-1990)

No vintage on this older bottling, but it’s probably mid-1970s. Colour: straw. Nose: well in the style of the SR, only tighter, and rather smokier. That would be coal smoke. Other than that, same whiffs of a forest in Provence, pinesap, thyme… All that. And ink. With water: it’s the chalk that comes out. Mouth (neat): a bit extreme, very grassy, herbal, lemony, and chalky, always with this bitter background. Very oily mouth feel, some very characterful malt whisky. With water: orange drops! But also a discreet chemical/sulphury touch. Very old school, I can see why some blenders would choose this to add body and texture to some otherwise dullish blend. Finish: quite long. Waxes, oranges, chalk, a drop of turpentine. Comments: it’s Bell’s that used to operate Pittyvaich, not sure if it was ‘top dressing’, though. A whisky worth trying, for sure, and I really enjoyed some parts of it, hence my good score. SGP:371 - 82 points.

Check the index of all Pittyvaich I've tasted so far