Tasting Old Pulteney 12 yo at the WK209 twitter tasting

I tasted the 12 year old version of OP a few times before, and two weeks ago at a friend’s. I never was overwhelmed by it, but it’s a good dram. I had the pleasure of re-tasting it as well as its older brother the 17 year old last Thursday at the twitter tasting online with OP’s Malcolm Waring.   One thing did intrigue me about the color of the 12 and the 17. The 17 year old was paler in color (middle of picture below). Usually the older drams are darker in color (when no coloring was added). I did post a question to Malcolm Waring during the tasting and he twitted this : “17yo comes 100% from re-fill casks whereas the 12yo has mainly 1st fill”.  To be exact, we’re speaking of 90% first fill, and a 10% refill casks here….Now everything is clear.

Ready to be tasted at the Old Pulteney #WK209 event (WK209,17,12 LTR)

Old Pulteney 12, 40% ABV , £28 (buy here)

Nose: fruity,some sea spray (this is Old Pulteney eh?) , and some  tropical vanilla. a bit dry…

Palate: The palate is spicier than the nose, a bit sharp at first, with the vanilla shining, and quit a few malty notes. wee briny. With 5 drops of water: The oak becomes more evident, and the a certain bitterness is felt.

Finish: Oak,some spice, and with water, rather bitter.

Bottom line:

This is a very good entry point malt, and a good way to get introduced into the Old Pulteney range. At around £25, it’s well priced. I would love to see this one at Cask strength, as i feel the 40% ABV is not enough here.

I usually do not like to add water, and this time i tried adding a few drops, just to make it interesting, and all i can say : this whisky doesn’t like water added. The bitter ending and palate, are really not that enjoyable (with water). Next time, only neat…

Score : 83/100

More Old pultney tomorrow, as i review the older brother  – the 17 year old.

Sincere thanks to Lukas of Allembic for the sample.