Just the thing to warm you up this weekend as you celebrate the birth of Scotland’s favourite son, Robert Burns.
Old Pulteney 12 Years Old Highland Malt – $77.65 for 700ml at the LCBO
It’s taken me quite some time to come around to the the studied enjoyment of malt whisky. As I don’t drink much of the stuff, over the years I have built up quite the collection in my liqueur cabinet. However, in these colder months of our Canadian winter I have often found myself reaching for a wee dram as a nightcap as I read a book before bed… middle age is obviously setting in.
If you plan to spend any of your weekend celebrating the birth of Scotland’s favourite son, Sean Connery Robert Burns, then I highly recommend that you seek out the 12 Year Old Old Pulteney from their distillery in the far flung estuary town of Wick, Caithness in the very northeast of the Scottish mainland.
When one adds just a touch of distilled water to a glass of this stuff one will find a complex nose that is most reminiscent of the sea, not surprising considering the distillery’s maritime positioning. Expect to find citrus fruit, seaweed, bananas, smoke, and sea spray. In the mouth this whisky is medium bodied, with flavours of caramel, toasted almonds, spicy bourbon barrel oak, and a hint of brininess echoing the aromatic nuances found on the nose. The finish gives one a good satisfying length of flavour.
(Four out of five apples)
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Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge, and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution… And he’ll be toasting the Scottish Bard with some of this later this evening.
Jamie, Good choice! I was in Wick last June, and will be there again this June, and a visit to the charming Old Pulteney distillery is a delight. Wick was world-famous 100 years ago for its gold and silver – the silver being herring and the gold this subtle and very reasonably priced single malt.