After hosting the OP tasting last week in Tel Aviv, I was reminded that for some reason I’ve not posted notes for the 21 year old, and I also wanted to re-taste the 17 year old, see how it changed since i last reviewed it in Jan 2011… (my palate has changed, and the whisky must have too). Let’s roll:
Old Pulteney 17 yo, 46% abv , £59 (~380 NIS locally)
Aged mainly in ex-Bourbon casks, Oloroso Sherry and some PX sherry casks, so a nice mix of different whisky casks.
Nose: Is this a Clyenelish or an OP? (Blindfold I’d guess this baby comes from the village of Brora) there’s a lot of lovely waxy feeling on the nose, in addition to nice ex-bourbon fruitiness (banana, peach, some dried coconut I dare say..), there’s also some nice medium sweet sherry feeling going on here (Oloroso, mostly) which give it a deeper feeling. All in all nice interplay of ex-bourbon / sherry aromas, and the waxy, dusty notes intergrade quite nicely.
Palate: Vanilla shines through (ex-bourbon rules, right?) , then a sweeter fruity sensation is detected too, with pear, apple peel and wood spices, there’s also a touch of exotics here with banana, melon and maybe tinned pineapple, some pepper, and more wood, lovely wood if I might add. Big, oily and impressive.
Finish: Medium , with nice chocolate, allspice, and the sweet Oloroso.
Very good stuff, and one of the best selling locally (according to the importer). No doubt it offers a good price / quality ratio. It’s quite delicious, yet not very maritime like (if you like that in a whisky).