
September 8, 2020

Special Releases Special, today Pittyvaich

Not a name we’re seeing very often these days, I would say the breed is almost extinct, after the distillery was closed for good in 1993, and demolished in 2002. I couldn’t tell you much more, I’ve only ever tried, what, twenty-two different Pittyvaichs? I’ve got another sample of a Cooper’s Choice that I had found terrible the first time I tried it in 2018 (WF 60!) so let’s take this opportunity to see if we revise our judgement, and then try the new Special Release…

Pittyvaich 28 yo 1988/2016 (51.5%, The Cooper’s Choice, bourbon, cask #35105, 295 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: petrol, flints, lamp oil, pinot grigio, grapeseed oil, grist, wholegrain bread, engine oil… Well this is certainly old-school. Hints of swiss cheese too, cranberry jelly, a little balsamico, pils beer… It’s very intriguing, some kind of late 1980s Springbank made with different specs. With water: back to normality, this has almost become Glenfiddich 12, honest. Which, by the way, I think is pretty good these days, but we’re digressing. Mouth (neat): I can see why another sample would have gone awry, whilst this one did not but remains on the verge of wackiness. Sour fruits (rotting bananas), beers, yeast extracts, old mead, mutton suet… A funny drop for sure, but not a disaster. With water: same funny development, it becomes gentler, but would never totally lose its heavy-ish beery side. Some thicker sweet ale. Finish: rather long, a tad leafier and with more plasticine and paraffin. Something of old-style Mortlach here and there, perhaps. A meaty/sulphury side. Comments: absolutely not in 60-territories indeed, it’s good that a friend could set us straight on the right path. Thank you.
SGP:462 - 86 points.

Pittyvaich 30 yo 1989/2020 (50.8%, OB, Special Releases 2020)

Pittyvaich 30 yo 1989/2020 (50.8%, OB, Special Releases 2020, first-fill ex-bourbon casks)
Shall we find mutton suet? Lamb fat? Bone marrow? Paraffin? Sulphur candles? Castor oil?... Colour: light gold. Nose: we’re very close to the 1988, which makes sense, just a tad leafier and perhaps more austere. More oils (rapeseed, perhaps sesame, grapeseed) and with whiffs of concrete dust, scoria, then rather green bananas and avocado juice. Not a very common profile for sure, but there’s some elegance and self-restraint to this one. Old school again (yet I don’t think the distillery was very old). With water: lovely yeasty sourness, ale, broken branches, beets, perhaps even a little cabbage (but no sulphur!) Mouth (neat): this is very good, no quibbling at all this time, and certainly fruitier. Various bananas, probably guava, then apples of all sorts. Beyond that, the expected mineral and chalky combo, paraffin, some Sancerre-y flavours (chalk, fruit peel) and some grapefruit. With water: oh perfect, mint chiming in, together with fennel seeds, ouzo, cider, chlorophyll… Finish: medium, rounder and a little fruitier, citrusy, with a little ginger and perhaps palm heart. Not too sure about the palm hearts. Comments: vive la difference! That’s something I’ve learnt over the years, you could find stunners at strictly all Distilleries, it’s just that some issued more of them and you have to hunt some down. The thrill of the chase, sir.
SGP:451 - 90 points.

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