Old Pulteney Lighthouse Tweet Tasting.

Old Pulteney – Noss Head
46% ABV
£39.99 – Travel Exclusive.

Nose.

Lemon sherbert, peel, underage orange, coconut, light honey. floral bouquet. time in glass gives more wood spices and a little saltiness coming through.

Palate.

Hot. pepper + chilli. Vanilla, honey, some bitter sugar. quite dry.

Finish.

Short finish. very dry. oak spices.

Adding Water.

The pepper and heat are died down on the palate, allowing for more sweetness to come forward. A greater range of honey and fruit is present and makes for a better balance. The finish is also not as super drying and longer, more honey stays, a little salt, and the sawdust coming at the end.

Old Pulteney – Duncansby Head
46% ABV
£44.99 – Travel Exclusive.

Nose.

More maritime. salty sea air, spicy nuts! getting some spiced fruits now. polish.

Palate.

Sweet, rich, heat attack, dryness again. Honey, vanilla, thick mouthfeel on it. Spicy vanilla honey, supercustard if such a thing existed.

Finish.

Very dry. sawdust again.

Adding Water.

Lessens the heat and increases the flavour. Some superb lusciousness on the mouthfeel, and a real high quality balance.

Old Pulteney – Pentland Skerries
46% ABV
£54.99 – Travel Exclusive.

Nose.

Still young. toffee. some light spicy fruitcake thing going on. Chocolate floating in the background.

Palate.

Thick, sweet, toffee malt. Rum and raisin. Dusting of cocoa. Fruitcake filled. Profiteroles.

Finish.

Drying again, not as dry as previous. lots of thick honey and sherried fruits are there, some chocolate, and general deliciousness.

Adding Water.

More perfumed. Less traditionally sherry on the nose and palate with water. Preferred without.

Conclusion

For me (a self confessed sherry head) its reasonably obvious that the Pentland Skerries is my dram of choice from the 3. But I was also surprised that I enjoyed the Dunansby Head so much, its a cracking all round, well balanced and constructed dram. If your after something more in between, then Duncansby would be for you. If you like your Old Pulteney and want to try a different take, then I have to recommend the Pentland Skerries. It is a very nice alternative for Old Pulteney, a real cracker of a dram. And at £54.99 for a litre, its good value for money.

Much appreciation goes to @alembic_tweets and Old Pulteney for the tasting opportunity.

Whisky Review – Glengoyne 18 year old

Glengoyne 18 year old
43% ABV
£70.25 from MasterOfMalt

“Natural Colour” – nice!

Nose.

And now we are at 8 ft depth and counting (see 10/15 year old reviews for point of reference! Spicy, very spicy. Deep oaky spices, cardamom, liquorice, honey, thick dark honey, treacle toffee even. Overstewed fruits, polished furniture. It’s an older nose, the age being very apparent, the oak taking over from the honeyed malt of the 10/15 year old Glengoyne’s. some definitive floral elements remain also, with the breathtaking Parma violets dominating.

Palate.

There is still sweetness. A darker sugar. Burnt caramel, thorntons special treacle toffee, wood spices flood through, spicy pepper, cardamom, liquorice notes. A little nuttiness is there in the wood as well. Again, it’s obviously the same beast as the 10/15 year olds but with that added age and wood influence, giving those more polish, oak spices and nutty notes.

Finish.

Still almighty smooth. The spices are here to stay, it’s a longer finish which moves from the spicy to the sweet, then drying out with a finale of wood spices and shavings.

Adding Water.

A small drop. The nose is enhanced with added floral complexity, but a better integration of the wood spices. There is a certain amount of what appears o be rum notes coming through also. The palate reflects the newly found nose, added fruit, dark fruits, rum soaked raisins delving through the mist, very nice. The finish remains long and full of all the flavours of the undiluted with an added rummy note, fading away to that warming spicy loveliness.

Conclusion.

Well. My first introduction to Glengoyne has been one hell of a night. This distillery shows some quality, competency and consistency in their malt. With each step up clearly showing its added age. This 18 year old is a hell of a dram. It’s got a lot of complexity, and shows its quality in its age. If you like your malts, rounded, old and deep, this is for you. For my personal taste and budget I am now a fan of the 15 year old, and that is the one I would be getting a full bottle of.

Please see all my reviews of the 10/15/18 year old Glengoyne single malt whiskies.

Whisky Review – Glengoyne 15 year old

Glengoyne 15 year old
43% ABV
£44.50 from MasterOfMalt

“Natural Colour” – nice!

Nose.

Spicy wood. Sugar sweetness. Honeyed malt. Vanilla. Perfumed floral. Parma violets. Light polish. Stewed fruits in the background. Added oak spice. Its a very compelling and addictive nose, i could sniff on this dram for a very long while. There is a overall added depth to the nose in comparison to the 10 year old. If the 10 year old was 4 ft deep, this one is a good 6.5 ft!

Palate.

Sweet sweet sweet! A little added oomph from the slightly higher ABV when comparing to the 10 year old experience. The mouthfeel is silky and unashamed. There is a pepper spice around the sweetness, the stewed apples and bananas are bigger and chewier. The toffee thicker and stickier. Once again, it’s incredible easy and sipable.

Finish.

So much smoother than the 10 year old, and I found the 10 year old very smooth. This is just like drinking silk, if you could drink silk of course! The sweetness is richer and more rounded than the 10 year old.

Adding Water.

A small drop. The nose now exhibits a deeper, more polished oak and floral notes. There’s a more rounded and detailed level to the nose. The spices come through a little more with some liquorice, star anise, and cardamom. TE diluted palate lacks a little of the mouthfeel from the undiluted as expected, but still is most luxurious. The sweetness is still apparent, but the added spice to the nose comes through in the palate also, giving a more interesting and valuable experience. The finish retains those spices as the sweetness fades. It is a very special dram. Again, so very easy drinking as per the 10 year old, but has the additional demand to really pay attention to the quality and the variation of the malt.

Conclusion.

The 15 year old adds a lot in terms of oak spice and wood notes to the similar mix of honey sweetness found in the 10 year old. It shows a very interesting lesson in consistency, as all of the same characteristics from the 10 year old are present here, but with that added oak age, spices and a thicker depth to the known aromas and flavours. An excellent dram, and relatively well priced compared to its younger sibling. Having tried the 10/15/18, I can say this is my personal favourite. It shows good value for money in complexity, but it can also be treated as a bit of a session dram, although I would be more inclined to have the 10 year old if it is only for drinking. The 15 year old is for drinking sure, but enjoying and savouring, which is more important in my whisky drinking experience.

Please see all my reviews of the 10/15/18 year old Glengoyne single malt whiskies.

Whisky Review – Glengoyne 10 year old

Glengoyne 10 year old
40% ABV
£28.49 from MasterOfMalt

“Natural Colour” – nice!

Nose.

Gentle herbal notes and a bouquet of floral dominate. Vanilla and honey back up the nose. There’s a certain youthful robustness in the nose as it is relatively young but does have a delicate edge. With time in the glass we have more floral, and a sweetness coming through. Richer honeyed malt. Some apples come through and a little stewed banana. Needs time in the glass and the nose develops additional complexities.

Palate.

Sweet! Very sweet. Sweet, rich honey, vanilla, chewy, oily as well. More sugars, caramel, thorntons special toffee, wow, it’s a sweet tooths dream. So very easy drinking. I was expecting more youth and harshness, but there’s hardly any youthful burn. It’s smooth and easy. In amongst the toffee is some apples and softer fruits stewing around.

Finish.

That sweetness sticks around, with the stewed banana and apple lingering alongside the warm toffee stickiness. It’s a reasonably long finish, which ends with a little wood spice, but mostly those luscious sugars.

Adding Water.

Only a small drop added. Herbal and floral dominates again with a drop of water, dulling the fruit notes which originally took time to come through. On the palate I find that the oily mouthfeel has weakened, the sweetness is the same, but there is a certain loss of depth originally found in the undiluted form. The finish remains sweet and moreish. Personally I think this is one not to dilute. In fact, I would go as far as to say it would have been nice if this was bottled at a higher ABV as per the 15/18 year old versions.

Conclusion.

The 10 year old is a very nice entry level dram. Having never had tried Glengoyne until now I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found a delicate, very sweet, sugar rush of a dram. With some added depth, and surprising oiliness. It’s a easy going session dram. Affordable and with good quality to boot.

Please see all my reviews of the 10/15/18 year old Glengoyne single malt whiskies.