Old Pulteney 18yo
Official bottling | 46% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Very well put together, if a bit out of touch on price these days
Unfulfilled potential?
It seems obligatory, nowadays in a review of a bottle of Old Pulteney, to mention somewhat wistfully that the distillery has never quite managed to re-capture many whisky botherers’ attention following the 2018 rebrand.
2018. Not far off of a decade now. It just so happened that I was slowly dipping my toes into whisky in a serious way around that time. I remember purchasing a bottle of Old Pulteney 12 in my local shop, on offer, and enjoying its differences alongside the other bottles I was accumulating: Glenmorangie, Glenlivet, Glen Moray, and others in the normal entry line-up.
As my curiosity increased, I had also started to wonder if there was any whisky content online – indeed there was, I quickly discovered. I also discovered that the 12 year old malt I was drinking was the rebranded one, and that the Huddart, 15, and 18 year olds had replaced the 17 and 21 year olds. Online chatter suggested that the 17 year old in particular would be sorely missed. That seems to still be the case today in discussions about the distillery.
Yet it’s not that Old Pulteney is now bad whisky, it seems. Far from it, in fact. We’ve reviewed a fair bit of Pulteney at Dramface HQ, and a common score is 6, and sometimes 7; good scores around here. Many of our reviews discuss and describe solid, well-made, tasty whisky (even if the beloved 12 year old has sadly slipped in quality). So, where’s the love?
Maybe that’s a bit unfair. After all, we’ve also reviewed a fair number of indie bottlings of Pulteney, and in our view, they can be very good indeed. I’ve recently tried some other indie expressions at the fantastic Independent Spirits Festival earlier this year from Bartel’s and Adelphi, which were great - and very decent value. The distillery has long had a devoted following, and continues to have some residual love from its long reputation as a solid and unique malt whisky.
In recent years, though, while the “new” core range is generally regarded as solid, if lacking a certain “wow” factor, some of owner Inver house Distillers recent efforts with the brand haven’t done it any favours. For example, there’s not a single official cask strength expression. In the humble opinion of yours truly, in this day and age, this is a significant gap and oversight. Imagine a cask strength version of the 12 year old: un-chillfiltered, natural colour, bourbon maturation. If the price was fair, I, and I suspect many of you, would likely jump at this. I wish Inver House paid attention to the reception of other distilleries that have made similar moves – such as the well-received Ardbeg 10 cask strength, the Bunnahabhain 12 year old cask strength series, and many others – which have been very successful. What’s stopping Inver house from following suit and doing something that makes me everyone happy?
Some of you might stop me there to point out that they’ve now done something like this, with their new 200th anniversary special edition. 10 years old, 48% (not cask strength, but ok - a bit higher than the 46% range)… good so far. Cask maturation? Oloroso and Manzanilla. Not the bourbon casks I was looking for (and that I think Pulteney probably does best in), but ok. Now the kicker: £99. Ninety-nine. I would be potentially interested in this, but not for that.
I was similarly disappointed in the Coastal Series cask finishes that were released over the last few years. Both NAS, one Pineau des Charentes cask, and a port cask. Both were nearly £80 when released. Again, in a parallel universe where these were priced more sensibly, That Other Drummond probably enjoyed these. I tried both at festivals (admittedly, far from the optimal space for analytical and aesthetic exploration), but neither hooked my interest nearly enough to pursue them further.
You get the picture. A beloved distillery that went through a change nearly a decade ago, which many of us still enjoy well enough, but hasn’t managed to really wow us since. With a spirit as unique as Pulteney’s, it simply feels like a lot of potential is being left on the table. As is the case with so many other distilleries, of course.
Review
Old Pulteney 18yo, Official bottling, ex-bourbon American oak and Spanish oak casks, 46% ABV
£95 paid and wide availability
All that said, I was curious enough to buy this bottle of the 18 year old a couple of years ago, on a bit of an offer that brought it just under £100, which was just within range for me, and which I finally opened earlier this year. The distillery website informs us that the spirit is matured first in bourbon casks, and afterwards in Spanish oak sherry casks, but no more detailed information on how long in each type. There’s unfortunately no indication on the box, bottle, or distillery website about whether this is un-chillfiltered or natural colour. Other sources online say that it is, but make of that what you will.
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Very well put together, if a bit out of touch on price these days
Nose
Boiled peaches, sea-salt encrusted wooden fencepost, lemon cookies/biscuits, waft of warm coastal air, a kind of faint bready minerality, slightly dried out vanilla pods, boiled peppermint hard candy.
Palate
Much of the nose carries through to the palate: lemon shortcake, salty biscuits while sitting on a breezy beach, boiled tinned peaches, vanilla pods, old oak bench. Good texture and mouthfeel for 46%. Hint of sherry casks with an ever-so-slight tannic overtone, and bringing a bit richer texture. A drop of water foregrounds a more tannic sea-salt dark chocolate note, but weakens the overall texture. Probably best without water. A warm, sea air, mineralic finish.
The Dregs
This is really very good stuff, which I’m thoroughly enjoying. It has an admirable level of complexity going on – after it opens up – and is tasty, unique, and offers a slightly sherry-influenced take on the spirit.
I do wonder what this would be like without the addition of sherry casks. There’s not a lot of sherry here, mind you, and in this sense it’s been done quite well, bringing just enough extra richness and depth which complement the bourbon cask sweetness and roundness. If you like this profile – coastal, savoury/sweet, biscuity – you’ll probably enjoy this, as I am.
The distillery website sells this for a cool £150, and on no planet would I ever pay that (but then, there’s not many whiskies I would pay that for). But if I could ever find it again under £100, I’d even consider buying another bottle when this one’s finished.
As I sip and appreciate this I’m still left wondering what else the core range could be doing, and how Inver House could be doing more to show us what this spirit can do. In the meantime, we’re left with the indies to show us the full potential of Pulteney.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DD
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Other opinions on this:
Two Whisky Bros
Sippers’ Social Club
GWhisky
Whiskybase
Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.
