February 12, 2016

Young Old Pulteney

Well, with NAS, you’re never 100% sure the whisky’s young, but it should be.

Old Pulteney 'Duncansby Head Lighthouse' (46%, OB, 1l, +/-2014)

So sadly only a NAS, but maybe not quite an Untermalt? Let’s see… Colour: straw. Nose: sour sawdust, vanilla, lemon juice, tinned peaches, green apples, and whiffs of sea air (perhaps). Pretty simple, not unpleasant, but smells a bit immature. Mouth: sweet orangey and vanilla-ed arrival, then more sweet barley and apples, with a salty touch. Not bad at all, but very simple. Perhaps a few sultanas. Finish: medium, sweet, rather on barley syrup, with some sawdust in the background. Comments: drinkable, but simple and pretty boring. I love Pulteney, but this is to the distillery what the 924 was to Porsche. Not an essential bottling, in my opinion. SGP:451 - 74 points.

Old Pulteney 'Noss Head Lighthouse' (46%, OB, 1l, +/-2015)

Apparently, this humble NAS has no sherry, while the first one had some. Colour: white wine. Nose: less sour, crisper, purer than the Duncansby, all on barley and apples. Very minimal, in truth, but this purity might be an asset, provided it doesn’t collapse on your palate, let’s see… Mouth: nah, it’s very young, raw, immature, just sweet, porridgy, and oaky. Oak spices, vanilla, coconut, apple juice. Finish: medium, perhaps a notch grassier, which is good news in this context. The oak feels a lot. Comments: same level in my opinion, rather a poor little thing. It’s drinkable, it’s even kind of good, but I find it highly boring, and the oak’s too obvious and not sufficiently integrated. Probably way too young, oak = time is a wrong formula. SGP:451 - 74 points.

Help!... Pulteney’s great whisky!... Let’s try to find proof…

Old Pulteney 1997/2015 ‘Ambassador’s Cask’ (53.4%, OB, selected by Frida Birkehede and David Tjeder for Allt Om Whisky, cask #1085, 260 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: ‘what a difference an age makes…’ Of course it’s not the number that’ll make any whisky better, but age will, and this is proof indeed. It’s not that this baby’s bursting with aromas, but it’s much more complex, more subtle than the humble Lighthouses. For example, I find aniseed and fennel, some iodine, fresh apricots, delicate whiffs of eucalyptus, a vanilla that’s vanilla (not simply vanillin), a touch of crème de menthe… I’m really fond of this freshness. With water: doesn’t change much. Perhaps does the barley come more to the front. Also fresh almonds. Mouth (neat): indeed, this is another planet. Burst with citrus and other tropical fruits, while some bitter herbs keep it kind of earthy. Fernet Branca? Salt and limejuice, you could do a nice kind of margarita out of this. Creamy mouth feel. With water: fresh barley goodness, squeezed oranges, and always a touch of salt. Finish: medium, very fresh, fruity, with the usual touch of salt. Comments: more of this and less of that, please. I know, easy to say ;-)… SGP:651 - 88 points.

Well, I’m feeling a bit bad now. Have I been to harsh on the two NAS? Shouldn’t we give them another chance?...

Old Pulteney ‘Navigator’ (46%, OB, +/-2014)

Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s a little more porridgy than the Lighthouses, and less oaky, so rather more spirit-driven, I’d say. Nice freshness, what we should call ‘maritime’, I guess, with even oysters. This, I rather enjoy. A little patchouli, some apples. Mouth: same feeling, this is more complex, fresher, with less sawdust and rather more salt and lemon. Some oranges, and perhaps a little new make. This should be young as well, but at least it’s not ridden with sawdust. Finish: medium, fresh, more on lemonade and spicy coconut sauce. More oak and white pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: feels young, but it’s rather very honest, I’d say. SGP:451 - 79 points.

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