There is a widely available 12 year old from Old Pulteney, but this one is an older, now discontinued bottling

Recommended, if you can find it at a reasonable price

For the details…

I have a special soft spot for Old Pulteney. My single malt journey started with an Old Pulteney–likely one of the old Gordon & MacPhail bottlings–that I had at the Tongue Hotel, on Scotland’s remote north coast. When I had that dram of Old Pulteney, I was a whisky novice–I’d been drinking blended Scotch for a few weeks, but I’d never before had a single malt. I asked the staff for something local, and Old Pulteney was what they came up with–not exactly local, but at the time, certainly the nearest mainland distillery. I loved whatever expression they gave me, and since then, the vast majority of my whisky-drinking has been single malt Scotch, and I’ve often sought out Old Pulteney.

The Pulteney distillery was licensed in 1826 to one James Henderson, who’d been distilling illegally at another location for some years. The distillery lies in a section of Wick called Pulteneytown, after an influential figure in the town’s herring boom, Sir William Pulteney, hence the name of the distillery. The distillery remained under the ownership of descendants of its founder for almost a century, until 1920. Through the 20th century, it went through a variety of owners–including a stint with DCL–and a period on mothballs. Then owner Allied Domecq sold it in 1995 to Inver House who have promoted it as a mainline single malt. 

There have been several iterations of the 12 year old; the version reviewed here appeared sometime in the later aughts, and was replaced by a slightly redesigned bottle also at 43% abv, and more recently by a rebranded version bottled at 40% abv. I liked this version enough to buy 2 bottles of it at a time when I didn’t have a great deal of money, partly because of the incredible value for the money (it went for about $30), but also because this style of whisky–especially from Pulteney–is whisky comfort food for me. From the first bottle, I got more of a saline, maritime character with mineralic notes (iron), wax, and tropical fruits. This bottle struck me as less maritime and much more fruit-forward and even honeyed. I don’t think batch variation is this issue in this case; I finished the other bottle probably a decade before I even opened this one, so it’s more likely my taste buds changed a bit.

This is an older official bottling, bottled in the late 2000s or early 2010s at 43% abv

Nose: Tropical fruit–papaya and perhaps mango. Honey. Faintly mineralic–tomato sauce in a tin can? A wisp of smoke, perhaps from a candle or an extinguished match. Pleasant and the fruit/honey notes are to the fore.

Body:  Medium, but still rather mouthcoating and with a slightly oily texture.

Palate: Quite big without being overwhelming. Old fashioned candlewax and rich honey are to the fore, backed by juicy mango and a savory note, perhaps miso. Immensely enjoyable, but not overly complex. With tasting, the struck match note comes more to the fore.

Finish: Still fruity and honeyed becoming both drier and more savory. Chipotle. Then a sudden hit of dustiness. Medium length.

Score: 90/100

Who should buy it?: Anyone! If you can find it within $20 of its original retail price, definitely buy it. 

Overall thoughts: My associations with this distillery probably color my judgement a bit here, but this is an immensely enjoyable, likable whisky that should please almost any whisky lover’s palate. It’s not especially complex, nor does it barrel over you with flavor, but it’s a distinctive malt with a lot of charm. Higher abv and lack of chill-filtering would, as is often the case, would probably do wonders and push this closer toward truly exceptional territory.

Bottling Information:

Expression: Old Pulteney 12 YO 43% abv

Bottler: Proprietor

Range: Core

Bottle Code: L9-018-1B-10/R5115-13:35

Presentation: Unspecified

Details: Unknown

Price: $30-40 (original retail)

Availability: You should be able to find Old Pulteney at any decent specialty retailer. This expression has been discontinued and replaced with a 12 year old with a different look and bottled at a disappointing 40% abv. I have a bottle, but haven’t yet opened it. You might be able to find the older version reviewed here at auction.

Distillery Information:

Region: Highlands

Location: Wick, Northeast Highlands

Geography: Coastal

Date Founded: 1826

Owner: Inver House

Website: https://www.oldpulteney.com/

Capacity: 1,800,000

Plant Summary: MASH TUN: Semi-Lauter; WASHBACKS: 5 corten steel, 1 stainless steel; STILLS: 2; HEAT SOURCE: Steam and biomass; CONDENSER: Worm tub

Total expressions sampled: 4

Overall distillery score: S-