Old Pulteney 15yo Gordon & MacPhail (2013)
Pulteney and Benromach are my two favourite distilleries. Not just because they make good whisky. Emotional attachment plays a big role. I’ve said it before and will say it again: the Old Pulteney 17yo is the whisky that made me fall in love with single malts.
Today’s Pulteney is a slightly younger one, but at 15 years old it still has a respectable age. It’s part of Gordon & MacPhail’s semi-official Distillery Label-range.
Old Pulteney 15yo (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, +/- 2013)
Nose: Starts big on notes of orange lemonade. Which I did not expect, to be honest. Very orange-y all around, although it does develop more towards vanilla and lemon, which is a fruit I really associate with Pulteney. Some honey, as well as a trace of oak shavings.
Taste: Fairly creamy and pretty full-bodied. Candied oranges, followed by lemon and a hint of earl grey tea. Spices in the form of ginger and some white pepper.
Finish: Lemon-y. Some of that earl gray again. On the shorter side.
Rating: 84
While I find the nose a bit a-typical, the palate is pretty textbook Pulteney. I enjoyed this.
Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.
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