24/07/2023 Old Pulteney

Old Pulteney 8yo (70° Proof, Gordon & MacPhail, b. ca. late 1970s): you can tell Gordon & MacPhail were bottling these semi officially (in the since explicitly-named Distillery Labels collection): no-one else calls it Old Pulteney, which is a trademark. Instead, others point to a whisky distilled at Pulteney Distillery, a mention that appears in smaller characters on this very label too. Nose: phwoar! From the first sniff, it is easy to see why Pulteney got "The Maritime Malt" nickname. Sure, we have cut apples, yet what dominate are harbour scents: sea breeze, sea spray, diesel-engine fumes, rusty metal, chipped paint, eroded by salty, humid air... In fact, the impression of corroded metal is strong, in this one, bending and twisting to blend with red-apple peels, smoked, then dunked into an old paint tin. The second nose insists on corroded, borderline-rusty metal, and old paint tins, whilst retaining the sea air. It adds mentholated shaving foam and ground lemon pips for originality. Mouth: heavy-metal fans, rejoice! The story of iron continues, with bitter steel, metal hoardings, corroded corrugated steel sheets, and drill bits, all over a milky texture. It is not all metallic bitterness, fortunately; we also have apple compote, here, apple peels, home to growing lichen, fruit-tree wood smoke, and sanding dust. The second sip is as bitter at the start, then it relaxes a bit, morphing into the peel of citrus that has grown by the shoreline, fruity, salty, and a little more bitter than it is acidic. Maybe we have crushed effervescent tablet with a citrus taste? Imagine lemon-flavoured Alka-Seltzer, and lime leaves. Finish: bold and lively, the finish has a kick! No power lost to the angels, here, despite roughly half a centilitre's evaporation, over the decades. Roasted apple slices, served on a heated steel or pewter plate, the velvet shrine in which that pewter plate is normally displayed, a whisper of smoke (though what the source is is less clear), but very little of the coastal elements, at this point. The second sip has dried citrus peel (pomelo), lemon thyme, and crushed Kaffir lime leaves. It is remotely salty, though that is overshadowed by the citrus. Belatedly, a drop of pouring custard appears. Imagine a tequila shot for which salt has all but run out. The death has remnants of the leafy bitterness, and spouts out some of the diesel fumes from earlier. This is excellent. 8/10