I am a big fan of Old Pulteney whiskies, having visited and loved the distillery, and with some brilliant OBs (too bad the 17 and 21 are no longer) It does not take much to like the distillery in the wee town of Wick, up north. Single casks of OP are not very common (Although not very rate, and some are released from time to time, but most do not hit online shop ‘shelves’), and definitely sherry casks are not that common at all when OP is concerned (they mostly do ex-bourbon, which lets the distillery style shine). This one, however is different, being a big bad sherry monster of a cask. Distilled in 2004 and bottled 2018, at an impressive 62.1% abv… It sold out very fast on the TWE blog (but not to worry, some more is coming later this week). There were only 612 bottles Total, so if you fancy a bottle, be quick tomorrow or so, when the bottles are back online for a flash!
Old Pulteney 2004 Single Cask #128 TWE Exclusive , 62.1% 
Nose : lovely big sherry on the get-go, with sultanas, and caramelized baked apple, Tart Tatin style. Creamy and sweet, with hints of chocolate truffle, Salty caramel, and damp wooden floors. With some water added more fruitiness is revealed with more chocolate and spice, and even a gingery edge.
Palate: Oily and chew-able, with an avalanche of sweet and thick dried fruit spread, and loads of chilly heat. It’s big! it’s bold. it’s lovely. think : sultana, fig, and quite some spices, with a peppery tang, more chocolate stuffed with salty caramel, cinnamon and candied ginger. After some time in the glass, the sweetness is growing even stronger, with notes of XMAS cake, and some chilly heat, and salt. Very fine interplay between the salty and the sweet notes of dried fruit salad.
Finish: peppery, salty and sweet with the dried fruit combo going a long way, some black tea, mint and earthy sweetness. Quite delicious.
Bottom line:
This is a big . bold sherry monster, with a lot of pepper and chilly heat, that needs to be ‘tamed’ with water. It is not your average OP whisky, but it is a fun and highly enjoyable whisky for the sherry monster lover, and if you happen to be an OP fan, You will want a bottle of this, no doubt. Very good stuff indeed, and a great little surprise from TWE. Be on the lookout for one later this week, I think you’ll like it. No surprises here, TWE cask selection is usually excellent, and they have done good work here as well.