Old Pulteney Huddart

Old Pulteney tasting event, Sydney, February 26, 2020, Whisky #2 Nose: Very faintly peaty initially but the smoke grows as the dram opens. A little lemony fruit, vanilla and a fleeting hint of menthol. Palate: The arrival is led by smoke, and it is a heavier in quality here than it is on the nose. Citrus, brine, hot spices and a brown sugar on the development with some oak towards the finish. Over time, and particularly with the addition of water, the peat-reek gains a cardboard note. Finish: Medium. Ashy smoke and brine. The smoke lends weight to this whisky and it is very similar to the current 12 year old but with a layer of smoke added. It’s actually younger (8-10 years) but the smoke gives it presence and heft that makes it seem older than it is. The story from the brand rep was that this was the result of a happy mistake when a run of spirit was accidentally filled into ex-bourbon casks that had previously held Laphroaig. Hmm. It’s more likely they intentionally did an experimental casking using ex-peated barrels rather than run peated wash through the stills. Regardless, the results were impressive enough to convince the distillery to make Huddart a core range product, but it’s not aged in ex-Laphroaig. The casks come from stablemate distillery Knockdhu, which produces a range of peaty whiskies. It’s a good, gently peated dram and it has been well received by the critics. There are several distilleries making these “aged-in-ex-peated-cask” expressions right now (Scapa, Wolfburn etc.) and personally I think Wolfburn Northland is a more subtle realization of this maturation concept. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

If you've already read @Richard-ModernDrinking's excellent review of the Huddart, here's my quick take - What he said!! If you're still reading, a few additional thoughts - The nose on the Huddart is absolutely devine.  Whenever I open a new whisky bottle (a small sample bottle in this case), I have a habit of smelling the first odor that escapes when the cork or top is removed.  In this case, a big ball of sweetness greeted me, akin to a sherry bomb.  But once in the Glencairn, it opened up to citrus and apple, vanilla and custard.  There's peat smoke as well, but it's so beautifully integrated with the fruits that It wasn't the first thing I noticed.  On the nose alone, this is at least a 4.75.  I was left wondering what would happen if I put it in an essential oil diffuser.   Perhaps the only true negative about the palate is that it's a step down from the nose.  But there's some nice, gentle peat smoke on top of what tastes like typical Old Pulteney - paricularly brine and a creamy honey.  The finish is a bit bitter, but it's a dark chocolae and grapefruit bitterness that's enjoyable. It seems that the Huddart has made its way to the US, because it's available at Federal Wines and Spirits in Boston (although they have a lot of unusual bottles and may be importing through alternative channels).  My understanding was that OP's full new core line was to have hit US stores early in 2019, so I'm a bit surprised I've not seen it in other locations yet.  As a result, I don't know what the typical US price will be and therefore have no basis for evaluating its VFM.  But it's a very worthy dram, and I hope to see it on shelves soon.

The NAS bottlings have been the weak spot of the Old Pulteney range in the past but this new one is a worthy exception. Finished in heavily peated casks from a Speyside distillery, it sports a spectacular nose that I would love to spend more time with. The peat presence is of the heathery variety and huge for a whisky that was only finished in empty casks, on a par with Balvenie Peat Week for example. The palate isn’t as exciting and the mix of the peat influence and the characteristic Pulteney marine flavors not as integrated as in an Islay, but it’s still a bottle I would happily drink at home. That’s true for any of the four core bottlings in the new Pulteney range, which is not something I can say about many distilleries. In other words, any pick from Wick will do the trick.

Pas une vilaine bouteille et très intéressant de voir Old Pulteney faire une bouteille peated. Toutefois, ça demeure une bouteille moyenne avec un prix vraiment trop cher. En aucun temps cette bouteille devrait être 90$, c’est assurément 20-25$ trop cher. Très faible odeur de citron, avec un goût qui est à la fois salin et fumée. Par contre, c’est relativement léger et quelque peu fade. Néanmoin, se boit très bien; un dram de semaine de luxe. Bouteille ouverte en 2021-08.

I picked up a bottle of this out of curiosity and was immediately taken by its briny, herbal, coastal take on a spirit driven malt. While other spirit driven single malts go with light fruity and sweet this leans into coastal character with light pleasant sweetness and a hint of smoky/peaty chatacter. My closest comparison is Clynlish with less fruitiness and more brininess. This will be a constant in my collection going forward.

clear peat on the nose, but not so overwhelming that you cant smell anything else. sweet undertones with a hint of vanilla and orange. when sipping, the body is full and rich with clear barrel spices, and some peat. chocolate and dark fruit develops. on the finish there is chocolate, and some tobacco, almost meaty. the finish is long. an amazing whisky for its price.