It’s been awfully quiet here. Mostly due to the start of the summer holidays for the kids, but also because of family matters. However, that doesn’t mean no whiskies were tasted during this time, and I hope to be able to continue business as before soon.

Anyway, in 2022 two single casks from Pulteney Distillery were bottled for Whisky Festival The Hague. Around the same time as the festival I actually was at Pulteney Distillery, although these two things have nothing to do with each other. I did snag two Distillery Only bottlings that will be reviewed shortly. Tasting notes are at the ready.

The two bottlings for The Hague are both from bourbon casks, if I can go by the volume of bottles drawn from each cask. Interestingly the ‘Bourbon Barrel’ bit is only mentioned for one of the casks on Whiskybase, and I can’t find the information in the order confirmation either. Anyway, if cask 1306 was a sherry cask I’d be very, very surprised.

Old Pulteney 13, 2008-2022, Bourbon Barrel 1248, 51.3%

Sniff:
Pound cake at the beach. So it’s coastal and sweet with hints of vanilla, a buttery creaminess, a hint of salinity. Charred oak, bricks, with a warming feel to it.

Sip:
The palate continues down the same sweet road with that little brick and salt dusting on top. It’s a bit sharper than I expected for the ABV, but that’s not necessarily a negative thing. Some peppery heat, as well as more hints of barley and straw.

Swallow:
The finish is very similar to the palate. Slightly more sweet and buttery, but otherwise there still are those hints of straw, barley, a hint of oak is added.

Rather cask driven, where the distillery character is left behind just a tad. A very solid dram though, but on the sweeter side of single malt.

86/100

Old Pulteney 13, 2008-2022, Cask 1306, 52.8%

Sniff:
Can a whisky be lighter and darker at the same time? Lighter in that it’s less sweet and more volatile, more ephemeral. But darker in a way that’s more representing the north of Scotland, more moody and less amicable. There’s a hint of charcoal, some sand and salinity. Slightly green with ferns and mosses.

Sip:
The palate is a little bit richer, but stays away from the sweetness of the first one. More coastal, more woody, more complex too. There’s straw, sandy beaches, marram grass, oak. Also pepper, salt, grist. After a while the coastal notes start soaring more and more.

Swallow:
The finish continues down the same line but let’s the spirit shine a little bit more, which works rather well with a dram like this. Still some cask influence, but in a timid, more subtle way. There’s some vanilla, some sweetness. But more coastal notes, more barley and straw.

This one works better for me, with a slightly more austere and dry approach. Really good whisky, with just a hint of that vanilla sweetness.

88/100