Old Pulteney 12 Year

$79.95 in Ontario

5.5/10. not bad in any way. but not very interesting

So here is the review for the 12 your old in the correct place. Stop number 40 on the SDT is Old Pulteney. This Highland distillery is the northernmost distillery on the Scottish mainland, any further and you'd be on Orkney. This 12 year old is bottled at 43% ABV and from what I can gather it is chill filtered and has colorant added making it a sort of orange gold. The nose starts off nice and fruity. Apricots and oranges with plenty of honey. There is some under brewed tea, light oak and light vanilla. Fairly salty with a gentle earthiness and dry grass. More fruit appears, melon and citrus, lemon and lime. Dried banana, and quite a bit of it. The barest hint of smoke appears after a while but fades fast. Some toffee and something like nuts but not quite. I can't quite identify it but it's good. The palate is citrusy, lemon/lime. Honey and dried banana. Fairly salty and a light pepper. Apricots and nectarines. A little chocolate, like dark chocolate salted caramels. A very nice sipper at no mistake. A medium bodied mouthfeel. Oily, viscous, luxurious. Turns dry though. A medium long finish that is mostly honey and banana. After hearing so many good things about Old Pulteney I was scared I had built it up too high, but this 12 year old is quite good. It started out a little simple but evolved into a great dram. A fair amount of complexity, a wonderful mouthfeel and a surprising amount of banana that I found most welcome. At $45 it is also a great value. I'd love to try the 17 year old if I can still find it. A big thanks to Scott for supplying this sample, it was well received. 4.25 Cheers 🥃