Despite the best efforts of The White Fedora, Old Pulteney never fully graduated into the big time. Yes, the 21 year old was popular for several years after its award, and the 17 year old was adored by some of us, but Young Pulteney's style isn't the sexiest thing, and the distillery hasn't issued very many dark sherried beasts, so it continues to keep its figurative head down, and not discard its long-time customer base, unlike many other distilleries and brands.
As mentioned in Monday's post, Old Pulteney released a number of single casks back in 2018-2020, most of which were from ex-bourbon vessels, and a few actually made it to The States, including today's Warehouse Liquors Chicago exclusive.
Distillery: Pulteney
Ownership: Inver House (via Thai Beverages plc via International Beverage Holdings Ltd.)
Region: Northern Highlands (Wick)
Age: 13 years (2004-2018)
Maturation: ex-bourbon cask
Cask #: 244
Outturn: 246
Exclusive to: Warehouse Liquors Chicago
Alcohol by Volume: 55.2%
(Thank you to Doctors Springbank for the sample!)
(Thank you to Doctors Springbank for the sample!)
NEAT
The nose reads a bit tight. Some brine here, apples there, a hint of chlorine. It does gain character with time, adding vanilla, brown sugar, and citronella candles after 30 minutes. The palate offers bright sweet notes, like orange candy and Werther's Originals. But it also has some distinctly non-food angles, like burlap, old fabric, and perfume. It finishes sweet and perfumy as well, with a cherry candy note that lingers a bit.
DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Ah, a much better nose. Apricots and peaches meet brine and bark. But the palate......all I get is bitter citrus and Tide detergent. It finishes with Tide and lemon peel.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
Actually, the whisky is fine when neat. It's not complex, and it's not too oaky. Not super, but certainly suitable for sipping. Yet some sort of saponification (Ed. note: Enough alliteration already!) takes place once the whisky is diluted. Doctors Springbank, did my sample go weird? Just to be safe, treat it like a Mogwai, and don't get it wet.
