Now this is an oxymoron if I've ever seen one - a young Old Pulteney! A single cask bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), I was just so curious I couldn't resist - the normally oily, salty Old Pulteney house style at a very young age and filed under the SMWS flavor profile Young and Sprightly?? Yes, please. Someone once said that SMWS Young and Sprightly bottles were "not for the faint of heart."
This is going to be something a tie-breaker for me. Of the last two bottles I had of Old Pulteney from SMWS, one was decidedly poor ("North Meets South") and one was terrific ("Shades of Black"). Where will this land?? Here are the official tasting notes:
Fresh and airy on the nose, with hints of tomato leaf, unripe melon and fig, sea splashing against harbour walls, salted driftwood and purple popping candy. The neat palate is sparkly, and zesty – cinnamon and ginger dusted melon sprinkled with brown sugar; then oak, charcoal, rosemary and tobacco to finish. The reduced nose has ceviche served by the seaside, mango, lemonade and lime wedge in a Mexican beer. The palate grows milder – barley sugars, toffee apples and Fruit Salad chews; then a finish of spicy chai in a wooden beaker, angostura bitters and Euthymol tooth powder; a bit of a chameleon.
I'm intrigued. I love the sound of fresh airy, with savory turns (tomato leaf! unripe melon!). I expect the sea notes, but am a little curious about "purple popping candy" for sure. I'm eager to see if I actually get oak, charcoal, rosemary, and tobacco (!). What a curious combination.
Aged only a brief 7 years in a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel, and bottled at 58.4% ABV. What could possibly induce the SMWS to release this so early?? Well, let's dive in:
Nose: Well, this could easily be filed under Oily and Coastal as well. Grape Nerds candy, salt and a hint of brine, a touch of oak, unripe melon - the official notes are spot on... it's quite soft for a 7 year old Highland whisky.
With a splash of water, this improves and grows more characterful - the candy element has some extra dimension (grape .... jolly ranchers? There is a tartness now), a bold honeycomb scent emerges and combines really nicely with the salt and brine, and the whole nose becomes more forceful. I still don't get "tomato leaf" but there is a certain greenness to this, which could be interpreted as "leafy." I think the note I would pin down is "heather." With water, this is quite a sweet young thing. Lithe on the nose. I never get any seafood/ceviche; maybe later in the bottle, as it oxidizes.
Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel, a touch oily.
Palate: Well, as soft as the nose was, this is hot hot hot. A big wave of alcohol comes right through without mercy. In fact, "zesty" might be a perfect description - the alcohol results in a rather effervescent feel on the tongue. I taste sweeter melon, honey, oak, and some of the coal mentioned in the notes. And a strangely dry malted barley flavor. Strangely, taking a fuller mouth of whisky - rather than just sipping it in small doses - produces a much more savory experience, with more salt, brine, and leafy green flavors.
With water, this becomes much closer to the Old Pulteney I know and love - a touch tart, a touch sour, lots of honey, melon, waxy fruit candy (grape and strawberry), heather, an undefined floral quality going into the finish. Quite sweet, but tempered a bit by the emergence of the tartness and sourness (which I think are the briny/coastal notes being amplified). As before, taking a larger swig reduces the sweetness and evokes a more coastal profile.
Finish: Oak and some pepper combine with a lingering honey sweetness in the finish, which is not particularly long. Pleasant. Perhaps a drying wisp of smoke is left on the tongue at the conclusion. With water, the finish changes and I do, in fact, get a chai-like element here. Milk and tea and oak and honey. Much better with water. Still a bit of smoke.
Verdict: Well, this is definitely a win. It's quite close to the "Shades of Black" bottle I enjoyed so much, and also reminds me a bit of the official 12 year bottling in its core flavors. I haven't done a blind tasting in some time, but if I had been challenged to identify this I would have likely guessed Clynelish first and Old Pulteney second. It has a very salty candy-ness to it that is quite appealing. Full of personality! And priced on the lower end of the SMWS spectrum. I'm still unsure why it was bottled at only 7 years old - there is nothing obviously amiss here - but I'm still a fan of it. Recommended.
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