Whiskey_Hound
Old Pulteney Navigator
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
November 30, 2019 (edited March 30, 2023)
Here we've got an NAS limited edition release from Old Pulteney. Old style packaging; they've recently revamped their entire line-up; this one did not make the cut.
This Navigator release comes from the previous generation of Pulteney products. Let's see if this an NAS release is on par with the (old) 12 year of which I am very fond.
Nose: At 46% ABV this thing really pops out of the glass. There is a big jam note that bears credence to sherry cask-aging. More standard notes of apple, honey, vanilla, and toffee. A little grainy, and obviously young. A sulfuric note that is a bit unpleasant.
Palate: True to its reputation as a coastal malt, there are some distinct salty, maritime notes. A bit of cranberry and fig/date representing the sherry cask, while more of the standard toffee, honey, vanilla, apple, caramel, cereal, and butterscotch fill out the palate. Green apple jolly rancher. At the back end I pick up some milk chocolate and some citrus notes (a bit of lemon and lime juices.) Big improvement over the nose.
Finish: Woody and spicy. There's still some sea salt, but now it's complimented by black pepper and cinnamon. The higher ABV makes itself known here. More green apple Jolly Rancher. There's a bit of jammy, fruity sweetness before this moderate-long finish reaches its conclusion.
Certainly a good one. Definitely not a great one. Outside of the maritime qualities, it's not particularly unique. It's young. If you can get the Oban Distillers Edition for around $75, I would spring for that as your sherry/bourbon cask aged coastal highlander. This was $49 for reference.
Head to head with the (old) 12 year, I'd choose the latter. The 12 is just a better expression of Pulteney's potential. Though I will say, I think 46% was a good choice for this one and would be a good choice for the 12.
As for the Navigator, it's good as is, but I'll admit, you aren't missing much if you don't pick it up before it's all gone. This simply needed more time in the casks, or perhaps just better casks. Either way, I assign this a 3.0 for being perfectly average.
EDIT: Three months later and I'm back. The nose is lacking and even a bit unpleasant, but the palate and finish have improved greatly. This has really opened up. Bumped from 3.0 to 3.75. Furthermore, I may have changed my stance on how this stacks up to the 12 year (old packaging). More on the latter to come later on.
49.0
USD
per
Bottle
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Getting a lot of your notes. Nice review
@Anthology based on what I’ve tasted, you’d be quite correct. For me, long-standing opened bottles would either improve on both senses, or worst case, just become muted, especially the nose, and especially the 40% ABVs
@Anthology I still prefer the 12, but only by a little. I actually just polished this bottle off two nights ago and everything pretty much held true from my revised review
@Anthology I've had experiences sort of like this a small number of times. My first bottle of Jim Beam Black started smelling immensely skunky at some point, but the palate was relatively unaffected (I can't remember if it was any better or worse). I had something I'm struggling to remember a while back that has an enjoyable, complex nose with some chemical and artificial caramel flavors. The nose flattened out after a while, but so did the bad flavors, so on net the palate improved and the nose got worse. Probably the closest example I've encountered to what @Whiskey_Hound described is my current bottle of Sir Edward's 12, which has picked up a bitter skunky quality to the malt on its nose, but its palate has become more balanced and revealed some light fruity flavors that weren't there before. I'm not sure I would increase its rating 0.75 points based on how it's changed though.
@Whiskey_Hound Wow, I didn’t see that coming (changing stance on the Navi vs. the old old 12yr). Be careful, you may be approaching blasphemy zone for the OP12 fanboyz&galz. I’m much intrigued by how oxidation helped the palate but potentially worsened the nose. That feels like an outlier. Have you or anyone else( @CKarmios @DigitalArc @WhiskeyLonghorn @ContemplativeFox @PBMichiganWolverine ) or anyone else experienced this phenomena with other drams?
@Anthology and @CKarmios Finally killed this one tonight. My score is still in line with my second rating; oxidation made a big difference here. I guess I didn't make it clear that this was discontinued... I worded it kind of strangely so I adjusted that. I haven't had any of the updated OP expressions yet, but I'm looking forward to getting into those. @CKarmios I can still find this for more than $10 cheaper than Laddie and $15-20 less than PC here in Jersey. I guess it's a regional difference but this stuff is a budget option compared to those in my neck of the woods
Good review, nice to see the rating bumped up after bottle oxidation, this really highlights the whisky's youthfulness. @Anthology someone's developing an Old-Old, New-Old PTSD. On a more serious note, Navigator is not revamped, however I do find it expensive for the content - not really comparing like with like, more of an illustration, but this falls within Port Charlotte 10 and Classic Laddie price levels.
Good review! Also appreciate the update after 3 months open. Helping me justify potentially pulling the trigger for this one. @Whiskey_Hound do you know if the OP Navigator was also revamped? I thought it was only the age statements core that was revamped.