Old Pulteney
Gordon MacPhail
63.3%
15 Years
Distilled by Old Pulteney in 2004 and bottled by Gordon MacPhail in 2020, this release from the Island distillery has been matured entirely in a refill sherry butt, yielding 507 bottled. It's bottled at 63.3% ABV and bears a 15yr age statement. I'm a big fan of Old Pulteney who often laments the difficulty that comes with trying to track down unique expressions. As a result, this bottling was a no brainer to snag. Let's dig in.
Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.
Sweet and inviting on the nose: tons of caramel, honey, butterscotch, light red fruits and fig. It's a creamy dessert through and through.
On the palate it's rich, a touch spirit forward but not surprising given the impressively high ABV. Cocoa, praline, honey and buttery toffee, a touch of nutty raisin bread, fig and candied ginger. A touch bitter on the back palate, packed with cask influence and malty backbone all throughout.
Long finish. This is where the ABV kicks most - present but not punishing. Like a warm snickers bar and a touch of sherry got together to party, it's light on oak, big on sweets and has a nice touch of red vines, ginger and nutty sherry to keep things interesting.
Overall, quite enjoyable. It's unique, fun, delicious and great to see more Puleney making its way out into the world, no matter the means. Lovely and lovable, it's a delicious dessert dram that's miles outside of Pulteney's house profile.
88
