Review by: dustbunna
I had a bit of a falling out with Pulteney when their owner, Inver House, decided to re-vamp their core range back in 2018-19. The old 17yr and 21yr disappeared and were replaced at the same price points, respectively, by this 15yr and an 18yr. The stalwart 12yr entry bottling, which had been exported at 43% ABV in the US, came in line with the UK market at 40%. All in all, at the time this felt like a cynical move on their part, and I swore off the distillery’s own releases for a while.
Fast-forward to 2022, though, and my feelings about the younger age statements have shifted a bit. With new distilleries showing again and again that age can be just a number, and their prices keeping in line with similar ages from other Scottish distilleries (and occasionally besting them), I felt it was worth re-evaluating Pulteney, and when my local store took $10 off the price, I decided to test the waters again.
Distillery: Pulteney.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Highlands.
ABV: 46%.
Age: 15 years. Bottled in 2022.
Cask type: Vatting of American oak ex-bourbon and Spanish oak sherry seasoned casks.
Price: $80 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 6 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: peanut brittle and chocolate, red fruits, faint matchsticks, flinty minerals, earth, applesauce.
Palate: medium body ~ candied orange rind, dead leaves, salt, toffee, apples, gentle wood spice.
Finish: medium length ~ more dead leaves, sweetens over time, barley sugar, more minerals, cloves, a hint of chocolate Necco wafers, turns somewhat more floral, more malt and earth.
Conclusion: This reads to me as an improved version of the 12yr, with a pretty direct connection flavor-wise between the sweets, fruits and dead leaves. The Spanish oak is imparting some welcome spice and chocolatey notes into the mix, as well. Comparing to my notes for the old 17yr, I would say this has preserved the chocolate qualities but swapped some of the peaches and pears of the older bottling for more austere minerals and spices. I was wrong to judge this prematurely simply because of sour grapes for the range shake-up— though I still prefer the old 17yr, this is quite lovely and worthy in its own right.
Final Score: 85.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 