Old Pulteney 12 Year

In lieu of my usual house scotch, the Black Bottle (see earlier post), I had to recently purchase another scotch and tried the Old Pulteney 12 Year. This is a completely different animal to the Black Bottle - the Black Bottle is an Islay blend and the Old Pulteney 12 Year is a Highland single malt. Where the Black Bottle is smoky, peaty, with a touch of iodine on the nose, the Old Pulteney is fresher, floral, richer, salty. It is matured in air-dried old bourbon casks. Old Pulteney is supposedly the most northern distillary in Scotland based in the town of Wick.

I am a Islay fan, so I am not going to change my house scotch, especially since the Black Bottle is so inexpensive at about $24.99, but the Old Pulteney 12 Year is definitely worth a try for something a little different. And at about $40.99, it is still not in the pricey range of some single malts.