Pulteney 13 Years Old 2001 52.20 All day American breakfast in the garden (64.7%, SMWS, Refill Bourbon Barrel, 207 Bottles, 2014)
- Highland single malt scotch whisky
- 64.7% ABV, £47.10
- Score: 83/100
What they say:
Cask No. 52.20
Available to buy from 9am Friday 14 November
The first impression was of echeveria, aloe vera, warm bark, daisy petals and hedge cuttings. Naturally the panel felt as if they had stepped into the garden for breakfast of the all American kind, bacon and honey on waffles and all cooked outside on a grill. Breakfast was served with apple juice and creamy coconut and lime margarita in a plastic cup. They found it developed more herbal notes with water: sticky Thai rice with shozu, bamboo shoots, angelica and seagrass. It became sweet with banana chips, doughnuts, undercooked meringue and Morello cherry with an agave silky liqueur like finish.
Drinking tip: When days and nights merge
Date Distilled: 18 June 2001 Colour: Vegas sunrise Age: 13 years Flavour : Spicy & sweet Cask Type: Refill ex-bourbon barrel Whisky Region: Highland Northern
What I say:
Sampled during the November pre-release outturn tasting at SMWS Queen Street, I was particularly excited about this Old Pulteney (SMWS distillery #52) whisky for several reasons. A bog fan of Old Pulteney’s official bottlings, I was aware that private cask sales had stopped back in the 1990’s when Pulteney distillery was brought into the Inver House Distillers group. This has meant that few independent bottlings have been released and also rarely by SMWS. Luckily I managed to secure a bottle after the tasting in order to compile more complete tasting notes.
Colour:
Light/yellow gold (6/20) thick heavy tears
Nose:
Spirity/feinty, vanilla, sweet, icing sugar, honey, fragrant and floral, gristy cereal barley, vanilla custard and crème brulee, fresh cut spring flowers, bluebells and buttercups, daisies plus parma violet sweeties
Taste:
Stong alcohol/spirit, salty, meaty, biscuit cereals, sweet liquorice in places; with water – vanilla, icing sugar, some cinnamon spice and bubblegum
Finish:
Medium, meaty and gristy, perfumed
Overall:
Overall this wasn’t my favourite dram of the tasting but still pretty good once you took the edge off of the alcohol strength with a little water. As it was a rare chance to sample some unofficial Old Pulteney it was well worth it.
Don’t take my word for it:
The Whiskyphiles 