Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Pulteney.
Bottler: Decadent Drinks (aka Whisky Sponge).
Region: Highland.
ABV: 48.5%.
Age: 13 years. Distilled in 2008. Bottled in 2022.
Cask type: Vatting of 1st-fill and refill bourbon barrels.
Price: $100 USD for 700mL.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 8 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: canned pineapple chunks, minerals, sea air, water brings out dried stone fruits (apricots, plums), honey, clay, starts to go a bit more vegetal and green.
Palate: medium-light body ~ icing sugar, salt, earthy loam, linseed oil, herbs poke through in the background.
Finish: medium length ~ more salt, pepper, minerals, malt.
Conclusion: Very light and fresh, with all the saline and mineralic edges I expect from younger Pulteney. Equinox and Solstice is Decadent Drinks’s seasonally-themed series, meant to be a more affordable line than their premium bottlings. This one was the Spring release in 2022, and it feels like a very spring-worthy whisky to me. It’s been interesting having this open and breathing alongside the slightly younger Pulteney from Good Spirits Co., which was so much more vegetal despite sharing a lot of the same DNA. Although the notes I took for both were similar, I think this one was a much more balanced affair; the spirit and cask mingled nicely and foregrounded the minerals and ripe/dried fruit. Those greener notes from the spirit did start to filter through towards the very end of the bottle, but didn’t take away from the overall experience for me. Relatively straightforward, tasty, and very well-suited to the warmer months of the year.
Final Score: 83.
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 