I'm as we speak, I'm about to write my 1500th. tasting note on this web-site, in this session. And I hope its a good one. I decided that Old Pulteney would do the trick, and that Cadenhead's will present me with a winner this time.
Old Pulteney 8yo 40% G&M
A youngster from G&M, but I'm under the impression many of these old G&M bottlings "bonded & botled by G&M", has a lot older whisky in the mix. The colour is dark golden. It smells dirt, mud, salty, earthy, seaweed, smoked salmon. The taste is minty, fresh, seaweeds, coastal, grassy, a bit light, but a good example of a non-peater with a lot of coastal character. I'd rather have this one than a young 40% Bunnahabhain for example.
Great stuff, but lacks just a bit of edge to be a winner: 6.5
Old Pulteney 8yo 57% G&M Barrel Label
One sign that this is bottle some decades back is the "Pure Highland Malt" phrase. Remember these days the industry is much stricter with what you should and could call your produce. But be sure, this is a Single Malt as we know them today. A small evaporation in this miniature. A bit of a lighter golden hue on this one. It smells fresh pastry, pepper, sage, dried herbs, moss, a bit spirity, not nearly as coastal in character. But there seems to be some peat in this one? Was there ever peat in Old Pulteney Spirit too? The taste is extremely drying and spirity, almost unbearable at this stage. Water to the rescue. Now it turns into more of a peppery but still very raw spirit. Time and water, time and water, helps a bit on the palate, becomes a bit sweeter, tangerine and walnuts, but the finish product is still out of whack.
Perhaps its the evaporation, lets hope so: 2(with a lot of time and patience)
Old Pulteney 8yo 57% G&M White label w. portrait
Same bottler, same age and same strength, but hopefully another batch, as it sure must be. No evaporation here, and I think its a more recent bottling as well. Dark orange color, some e's? It smells honeyed, fish eggs, smoked salmon, linseed oil, cinnamon, ammonium, caramelized almonds. Much cleaner this time around. The taste is still very peppery and bitter, not much else. Water again. Now its better, some sherry notes, rancid vinegar, rotten bananas, its just not that great yet.. The initial taste is all on cinnamon and nuttiness, but it lasts only a short second or two before it becomes bitter.
Again a disappointment: 2(with less patience)
Old Pulteney NAS 1982-? 58.2% OB cask#566
My guess is that this was bottled somewhere in the early to mid 2000's, since the millennium single casks distilled the same year all had a bit of a higher strength. Light golde color. It smells rich, biscuity, peanut butter, coastal, peat, fuel, smoked meat. Nice one indeed. The taste is butter, vanilla, pistachio, grapefruit, sweet'n'bitter. A bit of water adds honey, banana, nuts, raspberry jam, vanilla, starfruit, kiwi, a lot of nice sweet notes before it ends on a bitter and peppery finish.
Nice stuff, a fruitbomb: 6
Old Pulteney 19yo 1974-1993 59.1% Master of Malt cask#8492
Golden color on this one. It smells gunpowder, strong stuff, spirit markers, glue, ammonium, gasoline, also quite a steric note here. Quite numbing. The taste is thick, creamy, grapefruit, peppery, almost peaty, coastal, salt water, stockfish, intense, very drying. The finish is peppery and peaty. It actually burns my tongue. I know there probably aren't much peat in this one, but its one of the sensations I get. A whisky for a mach man or woman, I'm not that macho, but I like my Laphroaigs...
Again, a crazy whisky, but this one has a certain charm to it: 5.5
Old Pulteney 13yo 61.1% Cadenhead's
This then, to celebrate my sesquicentennial whisky-tasting on this site, but of course whisky-notes can't be compared to years, or else I'd sure be a dead man. golden/amber hue on this one, and an age and strength that I think would for fantastic to another coastal distillery, Laphroaig. Let's hope for the best in this one. It smells nice, rounded peppery notes, smoked salmon, cooking brandy, balsamic vinegar, detergent, caramel, it's the most aromatic nose so far, but that doesn't necessarily mean the best. The taste is grapefruit, onion, cedar leaves, ginger, red paprika, turmeric, indian spice mixes such as garam masala, quite drying that is. Water added. Now it turns more peppery, plastic, rubber, not too pleasant, I liked it better neat.
The best one in this session, complex enough to last an hour: 7
Old Pulteney 12yo 1990-2003 62.7% Blackadder Raw Cask cask#3952
From a bourbon barrel. Not much cask sediments in this one, I hoped for something to chew on... The color is amber/golden. It smells rich, peppery, grassy, peaty, coastal, rocks(???), minerals, carbonized water, oregano, very weird to be fair. The taste is light, sweet, cinnamon and beeswax on the palate, which is rapidly followed by some burnt papery notes. Waters been added. Now it shows a much better nose with fresh pastry and pistachio. The taste then is grassy, vegetables, onions, sweet, phenolic, quite a lot going on for this little one now. And the cask bits are always a nice departure gift.
The strength in mind, its not nearly as raw as some others here: 6.5
Next tasting: Starting the peaty sessions with Springbank Distillery
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar