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Winner of 2 awardsMalt from the most northerly mainland distillery in Scotland. This 21yo is an exceptionally well-matured version well worth a try. Highly rated by writers and entusiasts alike.
This bottle was part of a private collection - if you'd like more detailed photos just get in touch!
Free deliveryWinner of 2 awards
Sadly for me this wasn't the one. I built myself up for months wanting the right moment to open this bottle. And sip this wonder malt i have grown fond of with the 12yr old always having a bottle in cupboard. And the occasional 17yr old. It's a lovley malt but just lacks that salty browned butter I like in other samples. I can't get to grips with the after taste of lime or the lack of punch I expect. I have put back in cupboard now to have a rethink once I'm over the let down. For me I'm still a fan but just not of this one.
It was good. I was pleased.
Its very nice.
I have been drinking whisky for 2 years now and have a collection of 20 or so 10 – 12 year what I call “high street” whisky’s. I feel that my palate has now evolved somewhat and I feel brave enough to try some of the better vintage malts. When I found out about Old Pulteney winning the whisky bible gold medal I felt compelled to buy it as surely £75 was a fair price to pay for the best “whisky in the world”, and the bottle would mark a new stage of my love affair with the water of life. So on with the review. The body I poured a good neat dram into a glencairn glass and gave it a good swivel. The colour was intense amber and golden hue and when I swivelled it around in the glass the legs on that beauty were better then a leggy stockings model. The nose. I stuck my nose quite deep into the glass and took an almighty sniff. The overwhelming scent was that of spices with quite a floral undertone to it. I could also just about make out some coco also. I was expecting a stronger scent for such a matured whisky but that is just an observation rather then a criticism. The taste It was a weird experience tasting this as I guess I had built up this whisky so much in my mind that the actual event almost passed me by. I swallowed the first mouthful and my first words after that were “hmmm”. Hmmm is not good, and to me it tasted no better then my standard 12 year Balvenie double wood. I thought to myself I’m not ready for premium whiskies and that I was some sort of whisky philistine who couldn’t appreciate the good stuff. No matter ill give it another go. Then it hit me; that 2nd mouthful was a joyous mixture of caramel, honey and floral flavours that assaulted my pallet in a well co-ordinated pincer movement. Wave upon wave of deep and layered flavours that danced around in my tongue and the roof of my mouth like a celtic jig. That was more like it. The finish The finish was the best part, as it was a quite long but smooth, oh so very smooth finish. For no apparent reason the finish also produced a massive grin on my face that induced a euphoric like state in my mind. I was beaming and I didn’t know why. Conclusion Don’t make the same mistake as me and become so hung up on drinking the “best” whisky in the world that you miss the main event. Concentrate on what you’re drinking and you will be richly rewarded by what is a very accessible tipple to the newly initiated like me. This is definitely a flagship bottle of whisky in my collection which the cork will see the light of day on birthdays weddings and births. A must for any whisky drinker who like me are looking to take a step up to a premium tipple.
So...it's just been awarded ?"WORLD WHISKY OF THE YEAR 2012." by the prestigious "Jim Murray's Whisky Bible.” Scoring a record-equalling 97.5 points out of 100, it is only the third time that a single malt has ever won the prestigious award, and the distillery is just the second Scottish distillery to do so. Up to now I haven't been a big fan of OP's as they never seemed to quite delivery the complexity I yearned for. But this one should be different... Initial impressions are good, its a great looking bottle of course and the dram has a beautiful golden glow about it, promising plenty of depth. After a satisfying glugging sound when poured, the nose is quite unique! Fruity, full, slightly spicy and complex. I spent ages and ages just nosing this one trying to pin down the smells. It's just so complex, but begs you to drink it. Its a sexy beast of a whisky to smell I can assure you of that. And so to the tasting. A sizeable gulp, held in the mouth for 10 seconds and swallowed. To use my daughters expression...omg! First off, its mouth-filling, full bodied and beautifully balanced. Delivering sweetness and balanced fruit flavour only equalled by its smoothness. Theres a hint of sherry and light spice. This is a VERY sophisticated whisky. My initial thoughts were that Jim Murray has turned a corner with his ratings as previously he often went for malts that delivered a smoke back note (or more). Not so here, this is a complex and exceptionally well balanced dram. The finish is loooooong and actually made me laugh out loud. I truly thought it wouldn't live up to the accolade, but I was wrong. For me, this well deserves the title of Best Whisky in the World 2012. Its absolutely awesome and now stands pride of place in my 70+ collection. Well done to the guys at OP, you have created an almost perfect whisky.
