Old Pulteney 12 Year

Rating: 14/23 I tried something older from this line (the 21 I think?) and didn't like it much. I keep hearing raving about this line and it wasn't even $40 (while the tariffs were in place!), so I figured I had to give it a chance. Also, I'm digging the bottle's shape. N: Light with some nice sweet citrus or citrus-adjacent fruit, but also quite a bit of oil. There's some vegetal grassiness in here too. The fruit might be some tangerine mixed with white peaches. I get a bit of smoke here, but it's less than Highland Park, so it's not a ton by any reasonable measure. Some mineral as well, but not so much that sea-spray character. P: I get sweetness with that white peach and lesser bit of tangerine. There's some clean creek water sweetness. A thin layer of smoke and some light salinity enhance the complexity substantially. There's more of a burn to this than I'd expected. I do get some oiliness for sure, but the low proof diminishes it. There's a bit of grassiness that sometimes looks in the direction of a barnyard, but never makes it there. This is quite nice and it really tastes like it wants to take on Springbank, but the complexity isn't all there and the low proof holds it back too. F: Clean water with some smoke that builds out with the grassiness into a bit more of that barnyard that lasts for quite a while. White peaches and tangerine dance in and out. - Conclusion - Despite its low proof, this is an exemplar of what a 12 year old can be. They didn't throw in the funky distillate that needs more time to age, but they did get some nice funk in there from the distillery itself, making me curious and excited about other Old Pulteney bottlings. If you tried Highland Park 12 and thought that it was too out there with its peat and sulfur, this might be a good alternative. On a dirty palate, I'd take the Highland Park for sure, but showing up with a clean palate that sulfur really is a bit much, so I'd go for the Old Pulteney. It's a really tough call between these two. Westland Peated is also in the vicinity of these two. This is decidedly more complex than Westland Peated, but it lacks that opinionated character and fullness of flavor. That said, "opinionated character" in this case may mean lack of complexity, or maybe even lack of balance. This certainly does not struggle in the balance department (aside from being too low of proof) and its complexity is solid. If you told me that one of these was going to be my daily drinker and I had to pick, I'd go for the Old Pulteney. Nikka Whisky From The Barrel is punchier and also more complex than this. That actually has me a bit concerned because From The Barrel is usually very subtle in its complexity, suggesting that the flavors I'm getting here are only present because my palate is in an unusually good state. From The Barrel (17-18) absolutely crushes this. Another reasonable comparison in this score range is Johnnie Walker Green (17). Which is also more complex than this. And Johnnie Walker Green is already one of the most impeccably balanced whiskies out there. And I don't normally consider it to be very complex either. Johnnie Walker's sophistication walks all over this. Even if I underrated the Johnnie Walker and it should be an 18, there's no way that this could be above a high 15. For a final side by side, I put this against Loch Lomond 12. This was the smoother of the two, but otherwise Loch Lomond crushed it. Considering everything I've pitted this against, I don't think that it manages to pull off a 15. I think that the complexity here is really nice on a very clean palate, but it quickly gets overwhelmed by the more intense flavors that other drams have. Because of that, I think I need to go with a 14 here. A high 14, but still a 14. How I would love to up that a point or two if this were just bottled at 46% though. This would totally be a shelf staple if it weren't for the fact that Johnnie Walker Green is available for just a few bucks more. Oh, and the lesser known Loch Lomond 12.

Nose: Brine and sea salt, with some toffee sweetness. Palate. Malty and buttery, with a hint of vanilla. It finished with soft dried fruit.

Nose - Fruity, cherry and grapefruit. Taste- Smooth, fruity. Orange.

Beautiful, smooth, buttery, light. A nice sipper when you don’t want anything heavy or complex.