Old Pulteney 1983 Vintage

Old Pulteney tasting event, Sydney, February 26, 2020, Whisky #6 Nose: Lots of citrus notes (orange juice concentrate, mandarin, red grapefruit), mango, musk sweets, sherry, hibiscus tea, vanilla, dark fruit and a hint of sea breeze. Palate: Heavy, dense brine and spice arrival. In the development this morphs to sweet honeyed spices and a background of malt extract as the citrus qualities on the nose return for an encore. Fragrant oak notes of cedar cigar boxes and sandalwood chests in the foundation with a supple but firm texture that is just on the lighter side of chewy. Some sherry notes (raisins, dark fruits, etc.) and a little mild tannic spice. Finish: Medium/long. Well oaked malt notes fading to a sweet citrus aftertaste. Water did this no favours at all - everything just crumbled and went to cardboard and dust. Please take it neat. After the good, but under-performing, 25 year old the tasting finished on a high note with this very pleasant 33 year old vintage dram. Bottled in 1983 and matured mostly in bourbon with a little sherry finish, it had the coherency typical of older whiskies but retained some lively notes and freshness. This event was the first time I’ve tasted the new Old Pulteney core range and only the 15 and 18 year core expressions and this 33 year old vintage really impressed me. The new livery 12 year old is not as good as the old 12, and the Huddart is OK but that's all. Nothing on offer began to approach anything like the quality and personality of the discontinued 17 and 21 year old expressions. “Excellent” : 88/100 (4 stars)

Heavy on the front of the palate with a lot of citrus punch. Quite a long finish with a hint of custard. Very nice

Vanilla, brown sugar(is that marshmallow?) and raisin on the nose. rich, spicy, vanilla on the palate.