Old Pulteney New Make Spirit 63.3%
Tasted: Apr 2014
A pungent and lightly oiled nose which displays plenty of very sweet cereal. Lightly toasted but exceptionally clean. Hints green fruit and citrus emerge along with a touch of peat smoke and some earthy/ woody/ manurey notes. Very complex for new make spirit.
The palate is very alcoholic! Again showing some sweet cereal along with a biscuity/ toasty note. Very clean with a touch of citrus and a lightly, slight bitter spice finish and a sweet, earthy after-taste.
With water (Highland Usige Source) the nose become a little oiler and lightly fragrant with the citrus joined by some crisp white fruit. The barley is not quite as sweet now. The palate is softer and oilier with more emphasis on the toasted cereal. It has a lovely, nascent, fleshy fruit character and a dry spice finish.
Old Pulteney WK499 Isabella Fortuna ‘2nd Release’ 46%
Tasted: Mar 2012
The palate opens with some cream-coffee, fleshy apricot along with a touch of earthy-peat and gentle maritime notes. It’s pleasant enough although the aromas are very unfocused and sort of hint at something tropical but never quite get there. Given this is a travel retail bottling I get the feeling that this is a vatting of some young and old spirit that isn’t good enough for the standard distillery bottlings.
A straightforward, unchallenging palate showing more than a touch of caramel. Some gentle fruit and spice mingles with some creamy oak, but the oak has a tired demeanour. Rather lacking in depth with some confected moments. The finish is very maritime but it again it reinforces the belief that there is some tired old spirit here
Old Pulteney ‘Row to the Pole’ 46%
Tasted: Mar 2012
Aromas of old, burnished wood and clean sherried dried fruit are killed stone dead by caramel. This is not a guess as it states that caramel has been used on the label. If you have a bottle, give it a shake and you will see a layer of caramel appear on the surface like an oil slick. Maybe there’s a touch of something tropical underneath, but maybe I’m just imagining it!
The palate is flat, artificially sweet with some dried fruit, buckets of caramel, a bit of alcohol and some bitter oak. Flat and very, very disappointing.
Old Pulteney Navigator 46%
Bourbon/ Sherry
Tasted: Apr 2014
Fresh and fruity aromas of apricot, lemon and sweet American oak. Quite maritime with hints of rich sherried dried fruit and malt. The American oak is quite prominent and becomes quite creamy and with time the fruit develops a perfumed character. Very fragrant and very well balanced.
The palate is fresh, opening with a little natural caramel, followed by fleshy apricot, apple and hints of dried fruit. Gently spiced and malty on the middle with the sherried dried fruit developing. Good salty finish with some late perfumed and spice note. The saltiness really lingers!
Old Pulteney Navigator 46%
Re-Tasted: Dec 2014
The nose is lightly herbal with sweet-ish barley and orange with hints of cumin, nutmeg, earth and with time a touch of toffee.
A soft and relatively simple palate with oily barley, citrus and hints of herbs. Good depth and roundness though. Long, crisp and citric with a light botanical spirit note coming through. In conclusion: Relatively simple but pleasant enough.
Old Pulteney Huddart 46%
Second Fill Bourbon, finished in ex-peated Bourbon casks.
Tasted: Jan 2019
The nose is young and a little raw with nascent barley, vanilla, silky apricot and a touch of rose petal/ strawberry mousse and toffee apple. Behind is a subtle sweet, heathery peat note.
The palate is raw and young, like the nose suggests with sweeter barley and again that strawberry mousse character. Edgy and salty with more noticeable peat, but it’s still relatively subtle. Hints of fleshy apricot and salt on the middle. Good length, if a little drying (alcohol not tannins) and a youthful cereal and rose petal marc finish.
Old Pulteney Pineau des Charentes 46%
6 years in ex-Bourbon, 6 years finishing in ex-Pineau des Charentes casks
Tasted: Oct 2022
A very unusual nose. Opens with distinct, slightly sweet winey grapiness followed by barley and a lot of malt. Subtle wheat flakes, salt, vanilla and warm peat.
The palate also opens with the slightly sweet Pineau notes, barley, malt and plenty of spice. Very intense, tongue tingling salty and peaty middle. Has the cask finish emphasised the peat or has the spirit been peated to a higher PPM? Underneath lies a lovely depth of apricot, barley and vanilla. Long, wheaty, grapey, winey finish with a touch of black pepper, sweet Pineau and plenty of coastal notes.
Old Pulteney 12 year old 40%
Tasted: June 2004
A pleasant, clean, honeyed, malty nose. Quite rounded, full and fruity with fleshy apricot, mango, tropical fruits, vanilla oak, spice and maritime notes.
Again clean and fruity on the palate, nice and soft with plenty of apricot and creamy, sweet oak. It opens into a lovely coastal middle – all tangy and windswept! Good length with a malty/ salty finish. Excellent value for money I’d say!
Old Pulteney 12 year old 40%
Re-Tasted Feb 2012
A superbly deep and herbal honey accented nose with barley, gristy spices and layers of soft, fleshy sub-tropical fruit, malt and a deft coastal note. Like a number of malts this seems to have put on weight and become fuller since I lasted tasted if. Wonderfully complex with a light coffee/ cocoa note and a distinct citrus twang.
Full and honeyed on the palate with plenty of malty goodness! Very clean barley arrives with a lovely sugar dusting. Quite a zesty, coastaly, tangy middle leading to a lovely long finish with hints of mocha and bitter dark chocolate notes. Again fuller than I remember it but still extremely good!
Old Pulteney 12 year old 40%
Re-Tasted June 2013
A lovely, soft and marine influenced nose with bold, creamy American oak, barley and summer meadow flowers. There is a touch of sherry cask richness present along with some spice notes too. Less tropical than the last time I tasted it but there’s a lovely balancing citrus brininess and a late white liquorice note.
Soft, succulent and poised on the palate, opening with the sweet barley and creamy oak. Gentle coastal notes mingle with the dusty/ earthy sherry spices and dried fruit. Lovely length with hints of liquorice and coffee, finishing with a spice and citrus laden saltiness.
Old Pulteney 12 year old 40%
Re-Tasted: Jan 2019
The nose is edgy and salty with taught barley to start, followed by vanilla, apricot, gooseberry, melon, lime and fragrant barley. A subtle note of dried fruit appears with time.
The palate is richer and fuller with more noticeable creamy oak, fat barley and dried fruit. Gently salty on the middle with a touch of lime and gooseberry. Long and salty with a tart but refreshing, slightly austere finish, but the juicy fruit and subtle honey notes underpin.
Old Pulteney 15 year old 46%
Second Fill Bourbon, finished in First Fill Spanish Oak
Tasted: Jan 2019
Obvious but not overpowering aromas of sherried dried fruit, charred wood, taught barley and hints of slightly dusty American oak. The sherried fruit notes become slightly grainy and mingle well with the subtle saltiness. Well balanced with apricot and barley underpinning. With time a touch of wood smoke appears along with some green fruit and rye-like herbal notes.
Dense and weighty on the palate with the treacly sherry up front with some rye-like herbal notes. Malty on the middle with hints of wood smoke, subtle American oak and building salt, which explodes on the finish, to be joined by barley and citrus. The herbal sherry returns on the after-taste. Lovely progression and building intensity.
Old Pulteney 17 year old 46%
Tasted: May 2005
A very candied-sweet nose of sweet orange, pineapple with hints of toffee and coffee. It has an appealing Sauvignon Blanc freshness to it with hints of dried grass along with a building gentle salinity.
The palate begins with the gentle saline notes and candied fruit. It seems quite younger. My god the tannins kick in quickly. There are splinters on my tongue! However some delightful Sauvignon-esque white fruit and dry grass rescues the palate. The finish is reasonable (especially after all that tannin) with a sherberty finish.
One question – what has happened to its windswept character? Where are these casks stored? Although the distillery has five warehouses which have a total capacity of 24,000 casks, it is possible that some of the older casks maybe stored maybe stored in Aidrie where Inver House Distillers have their main ‘central’ warehouses. This is definitely the case with some of their other distilleries output from Speyburn and Knockdhu. This may well be the reason for the lack of ‘coastal’ character, if you believe that the environment surrounding the casks influences the spirit.
Old Pulteney 17 year old 46%
Tasted: Oct 2006
A clean but lean nose with earthy apricot, delicate sherry influences and buttery vanilla top notes. Hiunts of burnt toast, smoke and a vague salinity.
Soft and smooth on the palate with a good clean sherry influence. There is more salinity on the middle than the last time I tasted this, but to be honest it’s ultimately rather straightforward and lacking the personality of the 12 year old. Although in saying that the use of sherry casks does give it a more fuller body.
Old Pulteney 17 year old 46%
Tasted: Feb 2012
Rich, deep and luscious aromas of sweet refill Oloroso seeped fruit along with a touch of pear, citrus, light toffee, peat and dusty spices. Enveloping and multi-layered with some beautiful sweet barley mingling with some fishy/ briny notes. A stunning nose! Majestic and complex.
A faultlessly clean palate which starts quite subtly with the toffee’d rich fruit showing first along with hints of toasted barley, dried, zesty citrus and a wonderful, building coastal intensity which breaks on the tongue like waves on a rocky shoreline. A majestic depth with shards of honey, cocoa and lightly sweetened soft fruit. Very long with some dried spices, oak and salt. Wonderfully balanced with a slight oily finish.
Old Pulteney 17 Years Old 46%
Tasted: Feb 2012
Generous and fruity with a delightfully exuberant tropical character, it’s all apricot, kumquat, guava and banana all wrapped in moist, mature honey and oak. Gentle spice notes accent and some sumptuous dried fruit arrives with time as does a touch of botanical spirit.
The palate is a lot less generous in the fruit department with a greater emphasis on the granity, herbal honey and hard, mouth-watering barley fruit. Gentle oak underpins and supports adding a gentle spice note. Quite juicy now, still mouth-watering with the herbal, spirit notes returning. The nose is stunning, but the palate doesn’t quite have the exuberance of the nose. However it is still wonderfully deep and subtle.
Old Pulteney 18 year old 46%
Second Fill Bourbon, finished in First Fill Spanish Oak
Tasted: Jan 2019
The nose is quite briny and earthy with taught barley, pepper, vanilla, herbal sherry and a salty twang. Compared to the 15 year old it’s rather tightly wound with late developing green citrus, gooseberry and juniper-like botanical notes.
The palate is rich and oaky, opening with the creamy vanilla and subtle sherry wood tannins and bitter chocolate. Hints of apricot, salt, fruitcake and treacle come through on the middle. Long and salty with finally the juicy apricot, melon apple and citrus notes punching through the oak.
Normally I wouldn’t put water with a 46% bottling but I wondered if it would open the nose up a bit and it now shows more fragrant vanilla and fleshier fruit. The American is more noticeable and shows a more mature character. The palate is silkier and probably shows a better balance between the dried sherry fruit, bitter tannins, mature American oak and malt. Hints of wood smoke, salt, bitter chocolate on the finish and a pleasant dusty American oak after-taste.
Old Pulteney 18 year old 46%
Code: 18/206R1875264
Tasted: Mar 2022
A dense, mature and barley’d nose with hints of chocolaty sherry and sawdusty American oak. Hints of earth, salt and honey. A superbly balanced nose with just a subtle sherry influence. Late citrus notes.
The palate is fresh and barley’d, opening with mature American oak, toffee and honey before moving into salt, sherried dried fruit, spice and coffee. Lovely intensity and length with returning mature oak and fruit. Seriously impressive.
Old Pulteney 21 year old 46%
Tasted: Dec 2011
A deep, mellow and mature nose. Seriously rounded with a multitude of aromas – Camphor tinged; salty-malty-makula honey mingles with fresh green, cucumber, lime rind and seeped exotic fruit. Seriously deep with hints of old wood/ hickory and surprisingly, given it’s age some gristy barley. With time more of the coastal character asserts itself.
Full and wonderfully gentle on the palate, wave after wave of lightly honeyed, mature, tropical fruit breaks over the tongue. There is a beautifully delicate line of smoke and coastal notes which weaves its way through followed by some demerara flecked malt. Stunningly deep and full, yet light on its feet, with the alcohol adding a piquancy. Very, very long and gristy with delightful hints of oak and spices. For a malt this light it lingers impressively and signs of with a breath taking herbaceous finish.
Old Pulteney 21 year old 40%
Re-Tasted: Jan 2017
The nose opens with perfumed white fruit and barley before developing some rye-like herbal notes. Subtly nutty with a touch of fern, camphor, dried fruit and honey.
The palate is fresh and honeyed with hints of dried fruit, vanilla and taught but spicy tannins. Great depth and balance with dried apricot, citrus, nuts and coffee on the middle. Long and spicy with lingering fruit. In conclusion: Wonderfully vibrant and fresh with a lovely woody/ spicy character.
Old Pulteney 1990 (24 year old) 46%
Bourbon/ Sherry
Dist: 1990 Btl: 2014/ Tasted: Apr 2014
A lovely, full and malty nose, displaying plenty of mature sawdusty American oak along with hints of sweet sheried fruit at the edges. Dense and deep with castor sugar and crumbly spice sprinkled apricots and apple. A light maritime note balances beautifully.
The palate opens with the soft, sultana and sweet sherried fruit. The dusty American oak sits beneath. Like the nose it is full, robust and malty with treacle and baked dark fruit. The salinity and citrus combine to add freshness on the middle and the finish is where the mature American oak comes through. The finish is exceptionally long with a chocolaty, sweetly spiced and maritime finish.
Old Pulteney 1990 (24 year old) 46%
Re-Tasted: Dec 2014
A deep and dense nose with apricot, apple, barley and hints of herbs. Great depth and youthful intensity. With time the herbal notes come through really strongly but then some sweet-ish oak appears and the nose has become a giant honey, oak and herbs fest!
The palate is surprisingly subtle after the nose but pleasantly juicy with barley and light honey. Hints of orange and toffee. Some classic Highland, granity notes comes through on the middle. Good fresh and mouth-watering finish with lingering herbal honey. In conclusion: A lovely, complex, classic Highland malt.
Old Pulteney Lightly Peated 1989 (25 year old) 46%
Matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels which previously held peated malt
Tasted: Oct 2015
Youthful and crisp nose with barley, light honey and a touch of subtly toasted vanilla oak. With time perfumed white fruit, white liquorice and ginger root appears.
Deep and barley’d on the palate with vanilla oak, fleshy apricot, herbs and crisp, granity citrus. Not hugely complex but it has a lovely freshness and intensity. The finish is a continuation of the palate. Long, fresh and granity with some gently bitter tannins. In conclusion: A lovely, crisp and fresh young Highland malt. Just the dram to revive a tired palate.
Old Pulteney Lightly Peated 1989 (25 year old) 46%
Re-Tasted: Feb 2016
Oily, almost Alsacian white fruits on the nose with hints of grass and minerals. Beautifully fresh and deep with hints of mature apricot, honey and musty, almost peated floral notes.
The palate opens with oily barley and again that Alsace-like white fruit and grass. Hints of toasty oak and a very light smokiness. Stunningly deep. A generous, fruity finish balanced by its freshness and minerality. In conclusion: Gorgeous [tasted blind]
Old Pulteney Lightly Peated 1989 (25 year old) 46%
Re-Tasted: Apr 2016
Lovely, rich barley aromas with hints of dusty, mature oak, buttery oak, apricot, white fruit and a blink and you miss it light peat note. Wonderfully elegant with a robust fruit character, along with a touch of salt and violets.
The palate is crisp and gently mineral with hints of barley and dusty American oak. Lovely intensity of classy apricot, white fruit and honey. The oak becomes a little creamy on the middle accented by some subtle coastal notes and peat. Very long with a salty, mineral finish and lingering orange conserve and dusty oak.
Old Pulteney 30 year old 44%
Ex-Bourbon American White oak
Tasted: Mar 2012
The nose is crisper, harder and a touch lighter than the 21 year old, but there it is showing a tad more of the maritime characteristics. Still stunningly complex, the aromas gently unwind to show salt encrusted barley, white fruits and macula honey along with some superbly mature, sawdusty oak and a brief meandering smokiness. Yes the oak does grip a bit more given its extra time in the cask, thus the aromas are not quite as voluptuously tropical as the 21 year old, but definitely a bit more spicier though.
The palate displays a greater degree of mature, sawdusty oak, but the wonderful sub-tropical lychee, pineapple and white pear fruit is still there. Again maybe not as exuberantly fruity as the 21, but it is still wonderfully clean and maritime led, especially on the middle. Ooh, now the fruit lets go and explodes onto the touch with a serious juiciness! Stunning length. Gentle barley and a touch of herbs shows through the fleshy fruit and the oak adds a controlled white chocolaty bitterness. Stunningly balanced finish, again a tad firmer than the 21 year old but no less impressive.
Old Pulteney ‘Limited Edition’ 35 year old 42.5%
Bourbon/ Sherry
Tasted: Sept 2014
A wonderfully mature nose with waves of sawdusty oak and buckets of dusty vanilla enhanced barley. Brimming with tropical pineapple, peach, melon and kiwi, lubricatively coated with blossom honey and intermingling with pine nuts, pine sap, malt, mocha, milk chocolate shavings, a touch of smoke and a light herbal-peat intimation. Damn that’s a fine nose! It’s a real desert malt but there’s a balancing coastal edge and juicy citrus notes.
Oh! That just glides across the palate! Opening with the lush honeyed tropical fruit before the malt and darker wood spices emerge. A gorgeously juicy burst of citrus keeps the bittering oak at bay and allows the 90% pure cocoa to liberally coat the tongue. Extremely long with a beautiful barley and citrus fade along with hints of pine, green citrus fruit and a light waft of bbq smoke. Finally a little honey glazed meat, liquorice and camphor comes through on the after-taste. That’s mind blowingly good!
Old Pulteney 35 year old 42.5%
Re-Tasted: Jan 2015
A lovely, mature nose of tropical fruit – apricot, pineapple and melon with hints of lemon and sawdusty oak. Beautifully poised and elegant.
The palate is soft and buttery with a considerable amount of oak. The tropical fruit and barley is well buried but just about discernible as is the citrus. With that amount of oak it comes as no surprise that the finish is a little drying and bitter. In conclusion: A pleasant, mature whisky, which has almost succumbed to the oak.
Old Pulteney 40 year old 51.3%
Bourbon/ Sherry
Tasted: Mar 2013
A deep, dark and malty nose showing some lovely nutty (hazelnut and pecan) notes along with briny sherrywood spices, light treacle coated dried fruit and oodles of mature sawdusty American oak. Lightly oiled and stunningly deep with hints of timeworn heather and camphor and a touch of toffee’d honey. Wonderfully fragrant with some light, pulped tropical fruits and beautifully sweet spices emerging. Wow! This is just so complex and evolving!
The palate opens with some light treacle coated dried fruit, dark chocolate and nuts along with hints of moist fruit cake and some gently building brine. The American oak follows bringing a touch of violet, camphor, subtle earthy-peat an generous sherry spices. A beautifully fresh middle leaving the lightly oiled American oak to come through along with a slightly mature tropical fruit note and a coastal citrus twist. Sublimely long with the lemon rind and salty notes joined by a little light tannin, which adds to the crumbly spice finish. The reality is that words cannot adequately describe the magnificence of the whisky!
It’s presented in a substantial box with a book tracing the history of the distillery and the hand blown bottle, capped with a polished stone stopper, is decorated with silver waves, blown across the glass while the metal was molten. Definitely fitting packaging for a truly sublime whisky.
Stroma Liqueur 35%
Tasted: Apr 2014
The youthful and fresh spirit mingles with dark, malty honey, liquorice, treacle along with an almost herbal/ camphor/ rye-like note. It’s actually not too sweet and pleasantly balanced.
The palate is thick and malty with treacle and honey, but like the nose the new make-ish spirit cuts through it. Lightly oily and cereally with a slight herbal demeanour. It becomes more liqueur-like on the middle as the sweet treacle begins to dominate and it finishes quite sugary with a lightly coffee’d after-taste. However as liqueurs go it’s actually rather pleasant
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 