ralfy review 788 - Old Pulteney 12yo @40%vol: (2019)
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- Опубліковано 11 сер 2019
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I really enjoy my Old Pulteney 12 as an easy sipping, relaxing drink. It is a staple on my shelf. I would recommend this to anyone new to scotch.
I love Old Pulteney. Great single malt.
Whether it’s a good dram or not, there’s a lot of wisdom in this review. Appreciate it.
Love my Old Pulteney 12. It is a staple in my collection and one I constantly go back too.
I picked up a bottle of Old Pulteney 12 at our local NSLC in Nova Scotia and was lucky to find that they are still stocking the older version before the rebranding. I'm really enjoying this whisky (my first highland style malt) and am tempted to purchase another bottle for safe keeping. Thanks for the great reviews ralfy!
. . . happy to share the malt-moments !
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Old Pulteney 12yo and i do ad a few drops of water and let it open up for about 10 min.....I dont really pick up the tired cask in the end.....but more like laid back feeling of a good experience coming to an end....until the next sip that is and we go for the ride again haha. Thank you Ralfy for all the years here on UA-cam, and what a pleasure it is seeing these even they were uploaded in 2019.
Scooping this as I watch and listen.
Ralfy is spot on with the box at the start of the review.
I am sure the rest of the review will hit the thing on the head. As usual.
One of my favorite whiskeys, very subtle, love the salty undertaste. Luckily, here in the states this whisky is boxed in a heavy oval cardboard box with metal ends, love the classic bottle. We use an empty one to house our olive oil.
£21 on special offer in Morrisons. You can't say no at that price!
Ralfy 257* 2012 * Old Pulteney 12: 89/100
Ralfy 553 * 2015 * Old Pulteney 12: 90/100
Ralfy 788 * 2019 * Old Pulteney 12: 83/100
My take:
Seems like the advice is to avoid the new bottles (unless you're getting it at 43%), find the old bottles if you really want this one, or buy something that's nicer and at a better price. They're out there! Put pressure on Old Pulteney with your wallets - they'll switch to 46% and un-chillfiltered if there sales drop and pressure exists for them to do so
Well said sir. Agreed with you at 100%.
Never had this whiskey, but wasn’t it at a higher strength in the past? What was the ABV in those reviews?
12 year old has always been 40% if I'm not mistaking.
@@zybron88 Depends on the market. The US bottlings have always been 43% iirc (and definitely are at the moment)
Yep. I regularly bought the 43% bottling. I will not be purchasing the 40% version that it is slowly being replaced with.
My local supermarkets here in the Pyrenees, one of the poorest areas of France, have begun to stock Ardbeg, Highland Spring and even Glenrothes. Old Pouteney is one of my favourites, very reasonably priced and always readily available.
I've seen some reviews saying this new version isn't as good as the previous one. Good to know you still find it worthy. I can order again :)
Ralfy dear, I'm salivating for that Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malt Festival bottle you've got smiling out from the corner. It's on my short list of the very highly Ralfy-recommended [copyright sign] malts to get my paws on!
I prefer the previous branding and ABV and consumed quite a few of them
I bought a bottle recently on amazon for £24. First bottle of OP I’ve ever had and better in my opinion than some higher rated drams I’ve had. I was gobsmacked at the quality, was pleasantly surprised.
Finally got a bottle of this after waiting 2 years . Pretty happy with it.
My first single malt ever, in Dezember 2010 😀🥃
Attributes to be considered when establishing a malt mark: ABV percentage, colour, nose, taste, finish and glug factor. Brilliant.
Rowland Hempel Don’t forget structural integrity!
LOL its cool too to get into your head Ralfy. Wishin' we were closer, geographically. Old Pulteny is delicious. Cheers!
Whoa, I just bought this bottle the other day. Nice. Edit: I was underwhelmed. Still always a great experience to do a tasting along with an experienced taster.
A nice drop before having something to eat.I like the briney taste also.
Always good to have in the drinks cabinet for the occaisional snifter.It's going for £24 online so you can enjoy it for what it is '- a good jobbing malt' :)
Picked up the old 12 this weekend.
Well Ralfy, December 2023 and Old Pulteney is still 40% abv and being sold for a bargain £27 in Tesco. I normally go for Speyside malts but this is very drinkable and sits happily in my collection.
Thank you
Ralfy dear (!) - there's one of the older bottles on special in my local store, I'd best snatch it up!
I tried it after this review and It’s great ❤ - My new go to at an affordable price
Just bought this malt for one of my best mates. For some reason mine was a 40 ABV, his was 43. So I drank his.
AFaceForRadio his was likely American market and newer would be my guess.
I am tasting this while I watch. I agree that if the ABV is a bit higher it will be a much better dram.
Here in Denmark, i bought this on sale 22,35 €. Good value, Nice dram
Thnx. Ralfy-- ❤I'll have to agree with the score-- very respectable and, will be getting a 2nd btl. for sure. Umm, sadly its 40 ABV. now. First one was a 43% dram and-- making it very spicy and flavorful ❤😂Cheers 🥂 from ETn Smoky Mtns.
Thanks as always, Ralfy. In the US at least, as recently as last year, OP12 came not in that flimsy paper box, but a sturdy cardboard one, oval shaped, with a tin top and bottom. Same great bottle shape, and 43% (yay)--though no indication about coloring or nonCF (boo). Hope the changes about that which you hint at do make it to the US. I do enjoy OP myself, having a second bottle waiting. :)
Sounds like the US will be getting the 40% version going forward. We will see.
@@WhiskyMystery Captain, what makes you say that? Do you really have evidence? Honest question. It's just that it's far more common for the UK to get only 40% abv (because of tax and regulatory issues) , while then we in the us tend to get a higher abv for the same bottle. It would seem surprising for OP12 to be watered down for the US going forward.
I believe it's only a matter of time until we start to get the packaging here in the U.S.
@@Dantheman626 But Dan, like I asked Captain, what's making you say that? (Sure, he was talking about the ABV, and you're talking about the flimsy packaging.) Are you simply lamenting that it COULD happen? or do you have reason to know that it MAY or even WILL? Again, just curious to hear more, if you have info.
@@CharlieArehart1 well usually when packaging changes it takes a while before stores put it new order to replace their current stock. For example, I have yet to see the new Glenfiddich or Glenmorangie near me, but I know it's a matter of time before all old stock is replaced. I remember months back looking for the new Macallan 12 black box at my local Total Wine, and they told me they wouldn't order any for a while because they had so much in stock, fast forward to today and all you see now is the new black box there.
Wow, OP12 has fallen 7% since Ralfy last reviewed it...I’ll be on the lookout for some of the older stuff here in the states...
I bought a bottle here in South Africa. It does not have the white label, but rather just writing on the glass itself. 43% so I guess I'm one of the luckier ones. Also packaged in an oval shaped, hard container with metal lid. Have not tasted it yet.
I just bought a bottle in Arizona, USA. @ 43%
Bought a 12yo for the US-market which was 43%. They should release all of the 12yo`s at 43%. Much much better!!!
Vintagegijoefreak America gets less selection but what is on the shelves is a better quality typically. Give and take
Try the 2006 Vintage (bottled 2019), 1 liter bottle for travel retail at 46%. It's fantastic!
Hey, finally a malt people can buy at a store! Even if its a repeat, at least its not reviewing something most viewers won't ever see.
@MontalbanJR Admittedly I'm not. There's plenty of quality pours I don't have to hunt for. :)
It’s been 40% for a while, even before the rebrand. I suppose things have to change if they want to sell a 12 year old for under £25.
. . . that's too cheap !
ralfydotcom And we overpay because of tax and now minimum pricing. From 90 to 83 in 4 years is huge.
its always been 40% in the UK, plus its only 25 quid when its on offer (it always was one of the cheaper malts and yet retained the quality which now has sadly vanished)
Ralfy... can you cover a highly innocuous topic in your extras!!
How to pour a whiskey bottle without a drip!
I think you can get an extras out of this one!
Yep. He's very good at that. I need to use a wine drop stopper.
First time trying this one word - Oily it textures your mouth. Reduced to £26 at Morrisons. Summer malt push.
I was staring at this bottle earlier when I was at K&L wines, but decided to get the Glenmorangie 12 Quinta
Good decision...much better!😇
10:07 *Ooh, cheese baguette!!* 🧀🥖🤣
Got to agree, the new box is a nightmare, especially that useless top.
It's very relevant to note that in certain markets this has been bottled at 40% (go look at his past reviews), but in the US it has historically been 43% even with the old packaging and presentation. I've yet to see the new version in the US, but I think it's still 43%. Would have been great for Ralfy and the viewers if he got 43% there. Or 46%!
It's 40% now. Drinking it atm, very nice actually. Much more flavor than most the 40% mass-market stuff.
Very custardy and sweet like Clynelash, but more savory and salty.
Großartig 😂 die Whiskyverpackung würde auf der Küchenarbeitplatte abgestellt, wo vorher ein Salat gewaschen wurde, aufweichen. Das nenne ich mal Back to roots. Und genau darum geht es. Ein Whisky ist nicht für die Vitrine gemacht, sondern für den Alltag. Und nebenbei, der Inhalt schmeckt
I am a great fan of Old Pulteney. I love the 12y and also i'd loved the "Isabella Fortuna". Unlucky about, that the Isabella is not more available, i should have bought five bottles, but just bought only one. ;-( Shame on me.
So what is the datum elevation at each distillery we are using to compare elevation above sea level? Malting floor? Base of the primary still? These are matters of vital import malt mates.
Love Pultney, absolutely love it, if you are reading this, buy it!
Even with 40 abv? I avoid all 40 abv dont but it, cant try but dont buy
I agree but only for old versions.
3:58 “Glug Factor” is very important!
This used to be one of my favorite, easy access daily drams years ago , but I lost it on the way. Anyway, there's better stuff in this price range like Tomatin 12 or Legacy.
I got one at 43% 86 proof
Im glad because simply 40 is too low
For some reason, the first thing that popped up in the taste was a good tequila-like taste, basically agave... Pretty good overall, salty fresh air is the first thing I get, then agave tequila-like taste and some vanilla, spice burn and salt in the medium-length finish... Would be great if anyone caught on the agave tequila thing that is still lingering in my mouth!
Ralfy's reviewed this twice previously with scores of 89 and 90. Now with a scoring of only 83, something seems to be rotten in the state of Denmark. I went out and bought a bottle after having saw Ralfy's second review (90), which was the first review I saw of this OP 12 yr old. My only criticism, which Ralfy mentioned, was that it should be bottled at 46%. The bottle here in the US is at least at 43% but it still seemed a bit anemic. I did enjoy it however, and it was a bit of a value compared to some of the other 12 year olds available. The price has gone up nearly 30% in my area in the past few years, however. In regards to the box, it used to have a much sturdier canister that it came in with a metal bottom, I believe. Lastly, I hope they don't dumb it down to 40% (here in the US) as some others have mentioned may be in the works. That would certainly be a step in the wrong direction. That has happened with my economy malt go-to, Speyburn 10 year old. Was at 43% here in the US, but now the new version is at 40%. It is now off my list.
100%agreed!
xiamengbaby if you thought 83 wasn’t enough then imagine poor Ralfy dealing with 80
@@robfut9954 Oh, absolutely! (86 proof, 43% abv). The OP12 was very good, but I think it could be a great malt if it were at 46-48% abv. I feel Ralfy's disappointment him knowing the potential of the malt and the distillers dumbing the whiskey down to save money or to satisfy the casual drinker who can't handle higher proof.
Hmmm. Changes... I liked the old label more
Last time I was in an airport duty free I picked up a 46% ABV, non-coloured, non-chill-filtered version 11 year old version of Old Pulteney bottled in 2006 in "first-fill ex-bourbon casks". It's lovely - pick up a bottle if you can find it.
. . . bottled proof of how it can be so good as at a higher strength.
The current airport product is 16 y/o at 46%. I have not tried it.
Supplementary question without notice... Are we measuring Glugs quantitatively or qualitatively? Number of Glugs in a dram pour? Glug sound pressure in dB? The Ralfy (a qualitative measure)?
In the USA where I am, the packaging is an oval cardboard can with metal top and bottom.
That'll change sometime soon I'm guessing...Other Scottish distillers with a great reputation such as Aberlour have gone thru 'changes' where they charge more for a lesser product (most of their age statement whisky is now bottled at 40% instead of 43% abv which was what they did until a few years ago).
IMHO - it's a sad state of affairs for scotch whisky - but good news for us here in 'Murica since bourbon is very well priced, and the quality remains high.
@@FMichael1970 Well, it has happened. The new stock of Old Puteney is now 40% ABV and packed in a fancier box. There's some stores around here where I know they have a slow turn-over rate, so I went there and got some of the old bottles at 43%.
Okay, Old Pulteny does not need a malt mark. I think as a standard it stands well against the test. Drop GPS. Marketing aside... Enjoying Old Pulteny.
Sad to see Old Pulteney going down too. Whisky boom takes a heavy toll.
It's a great bottle of affordable malt...one of my favourite drams. When I buy whisky in a supermarket, I almost always ask them to keep the outer packaging. Waste of space and money.
Where do you go for whiskey? I've done the local supermarkets to death, had a look at whiskey exchange / master of malt etc, also tried whiskeyhammer and a very expensive specialist shop in nottingham. I've run out of ideas for places to look!
Hi Ralfy. I've always been intrigued by coastal malts and I do wonder if peat has a part to play. Interestingly you mention OP12 is unpeated, so I take it that the savoury notes are from the coastal air being breathed in by the casks? Is that right? Is the same true for Clynelish, Oban & Scapa?
. . . to some extent, yes.
first time I see your work, very impressive. I've liked brandy, but its been mainly rum for the last few years. Whisky is hard for me to get into, I found auchtosan (excuse spelling) artificially smokey. Any suggestions for 3 different malts to start on? That i might enjoy? Godet's folle blanche epicure is my favourite brandy
You'd probably like good Bourbon if you like Brandy. A good Bourbon, especially at around 50% alcohol has a lot of the dried fruit notes Cognac has. Rye whiskey as well
The new Old Pultney 12 reminds me the new Deveron 10
I almost bought a bottle today, back after I watched your first review I had some then, and it was 43% here in the USA. It is now the term I like "blend strength" at 40%. I skipped it!
Having seen this review I kind of had a panic attack. Old Pultney is an old favourite of mine. I havn't bought one for a while though and seeing the 12 year old is now 40% I went to a local Supermarket and picked up a Half Bottle for £12.99. Well for goodness sake! Panic over Its still a 12 year old single malt that usually sells for £25 for a full bottle in many Supermarkets. Given that all of the 45 % + vol Malts I buy sell at over £40 a bottle ( Aultmore 12, Deanston 12, ect) I think a little Perspective is needed. As Ralfy clearly said in the review , Its still worth buying. Yes I think it should of stayed at 43%, yes it would be nice it went up to 46 NCF/NC. But how much would we have to cough up for it then in the UK. Then how much overseas. Get a grip Malties! preferably on a decent and accessable Single malt! Im off to go mutter away darkly in a corner of ma hoose!
Clynelish 14 is 46% and less than £40. It's a great dram. Give it a try...
I was thinking similar - I'm really not a whisky fan, but Old Pultney is, on the rare occasion I pick up a dram, it's the only one I really enjoy (at a reasonable price). No idea why, although I grew up in the Pultney area (Thrumster, Wick, Thurso) so perhaps there's something nostalgic there.
I might have to pick a half up this weekend and see if I still enjoy it - it's been a while.
After the previous favourable review of the OP 12 I was hoping to get a bottle for a special occasion. Now I'm lost.
Is any readily-available 12 y.o. SM getting better?
Did the glass get bigger? Looks huge.
Bought this in Canada for my bro, it was a limited edition at 43%, apparently only available in Duty free, why?
I am a beginner and I can taste the old cask it's not the first refill at all
I see a 40% bottle at the store I keep going right past it for the 46% or above whiskies
Also here in the US, the label is screened on and the ABV is 43%. Quality does vary some so when I chance upon a particularly good one, I get a few extra from the same run.
I have a bottle of OP12 that is 43%. Is this just an older bottle?
Hello, you pullet-plucking Pulteney pugilists!
Ralfy reviews the structural integrity of packaging
3 years later and they haven’t taken his advice on that box lid. As well as increasing the chance of fumbling the lid doesn’t fit back on with a standard supermarket security tag on the neck, so they look dishevelled on the shelf with squint lids and are even more likely to be dropped as the lids are loose.
Plus, the shape of the bottle clearly favours a round box with a metal lid.
Thanks for the mediocre mark on a scotch that’s going down hill. I see it happening with other distilleries too that are trying to mass produce and sell into this booming market. I look for older bottles.
No offense, but some people would be happy if a whisky they like was never sold to anyone but a select few professional appreciators. There's nothing wrong with someone trying to make money from a product they are putting on the market, since that is the purpose to begin with. Don't fool yourself into thinking that small, independent producers are the only ones putting out quality. To have a quality product you have to have capital, and time. If you have investors they often want to see a return quickly, therefore it's the large companies who have the ability to put out quality, aged spirits because they aren't depending on a quick return to stay afloat.
This is an exceptional example of why these past 4 years I've more, or less written off scotch whisky in favor of my native spirit bourbon...Price gouging, lack of quality, and Scottish distillers have been coming off as disingenuous.
Thankfully these issues haven't been prominent here in 'Murica.
The good Old Putin is 66 YO, distilled and blended in Russia multiple purified and matured throughout the whole world in a hostile political environment arguing with solid oak wood cask alike heads. He is not the loose 40% ABV but at least 3500 TIU (thermonuclear imperial units). Emotionally deep chill-filtered, even frozen in Siberian Highlands and absolute natural colour which is red. Soviet red.
Deserves 100 points integrity Lord mark from Ralfy.
:-O
Seems like they listened to Ralfy with the new lineup... Except the 12... Tsk tsk tsk tsk. I like the term "blend strength". We should all use it in online reviews as a way to highlight the non-premium nature of a product. These days even blends come out at higher abv, NCF and ink-free. And it's a return to tradition. Whisky is not vodka, it was never meant to be bottled at 40%. Keep calm and kvetch on about #BlandStrength 😎
I'm going to have to disagree with Ralfy about the future of Old Pulteney 12. This edition is their supermarket product aimed at high sales volume creating plenty of cash rolling in on a regular basis. Few distilleries can afford to sell to anoraks only because it means raising the prices and suffering an irregular cash flow. By comparison, the Old Pulteney 12 is 24 pounds at Tesco while the 15 is currently 69 pounds at Whisky Exchange. Old Pulteney still offer plenty of 46% product in the 15, 16 and 18. I'm not sure about NCF. They are quite openly covering both ends of the market and you can't blame them for that.
You gets what you pays for.
46% bottling has 15% more ethanol, so it would only cost ~$28, maybe $29 due to tax. And they could save a few pennies by avoiding colorant and chill-filtration. That would be a bargain!
It certainly would be a bargain but don't hold your breath waiting for a deal that good.
@@sav7568 I don't. I just buy other malts 😎 some of us pays for what we gets 😏
Well I reckon if you could get some at 46% it would cost around 45 - 50 pounds.
@@sav7568 of course, but not because there's not enough stock or profit.
40%? Another one bites the dust..
its not about the ABV, this used to be a really good whisky, but now it is thin and characterless - it always was bottled at 40% for the UK market... what has changed is the cask selection, the crap casks that would have been passed over to the blenders are now finding their way into the single malt - its the standards that have been lowered not the ABV, all based upon so-called high demand - we will have to wait and see how long that demand will last for.
This one used to be bottled at 43% in the US market. I just checked my local liquor big box store recently and the new bottles are only 40% ABV now. That, in addition to lower barrel quality, is a big letdown and insult to the OP customer. I haven't had this one in a while, but I did enjoy it. I had hoped they would up the ABV to 46%, but they've made cost their #1 priority. So sad, and aggravating!
According to whisky review 154 Dalwhinnie is the highest distillery at 358 meters. Just saying!
Damn price went up on this stuff. Why? I’m in Texas. I discovered this stuff years ago.
I bought a bottle over twelve years ago,way too salty for my pallet
I have a serious complaint to Old Pultney for its non availability at duty free shops in india and mostly across asia
. . . send them an e-mail !
I doubt they make a better dram than Dalwhinnie however. Love that stuff
Better than it has any right to be for the price. Wouldn't be ashamed to serve a dram or two to fellow malt aficionados. Thanks for another insightful review!
planing on reviewing the new 15 or 18 op, rallfy :) ?
. . . not at the moment ! But later in the year, possibly.
Why are some ‘coastal’ malts produced by coastal distilleries considered more ‘coastal’ than others? For example, if you take a look on the map, Glenglassaugh distillery is located 200 meters from the shoreline. Yet I never heard anyone calling Glenglassaugh a coastal malt?!
. . . a very good point ! I think it is habit and dogma !
No Kilchoman reviews recently Ralfy?
Probably not for a while, ralfy doesn't really review NAS whisky anymore. I think since about 2016.
Yes, a kilchoman would be a cool review especially a Loch Gorm...
I don't buy new whiskies bottled below 45,8%. Make some exceptions for old stuff.
On Amazon black Friday £22
I like it
Hello Ralphy. What part of Scotland are you from? My family are from CountyLarnach. They came out to New Zealand in 1880 on a boat….(the mum and dad….4 kids)…once in N.Z they settled into Dunedin, a gloomy gothic city in the South Island of N.Z. My grandfather and his brothers (all born in New Zealand from the kids who made the journey with their parents in 1880] served in WWII as kiwis. The way I am was shaped from some seriously hard people from Scotland. My family name is “weir”. Anyways, I bought this whisky on Thursday and it was still in the original tube with aluminium lid…..the guy at the bottle shop said “oh look at the new box” and proceeded to show me the new box…..which I though was pretty cool, until I saw your review. N.Z is only just getting that box. Anyways. Take care. If you ever come out to New Zealand please message me. I can show you some authentic “scotch mist”
I am confused Ralfy......Breas of Glenlivet is not Braeval?
www.whiskyfun.com/Braes-of-Glenlivet.html . Braeval was formerly Braes of Glenlivet !
I got this off your recommendation from a Previous video as a new whiskey drinker, and i found the smell good but the taste like nail vanish remover. However a badly reviewed whiskey jura journey I could actually taste wheat and the actual American oak casks. So I am surprised that you rate this whiskey so for me I never need to watch another whiskey review I will guide myself. Thanks
Added more water it's definatly a maritime barnhouse type it's ok but a bit sharp on the verge of a blending whiskey
. . . Quite right too !
When you pronounce this name, should you do it with both of the E in it?
i really wouldn't mind paying more for a properly presented Pulteney 12 but in my opinion this is just sad stuff, a shadow of its former self and just boring
The 15 is closer to the old 12.... but here that means paying $45 more. Ouch.
@@FrankProvo Frank, yes people will not pay that ridiculous amount, especially now as the whole whisky fad is dying down. In the meantime they have lost the trust of a raft of loyal customers. They may have made a fast buck or two by putting this, what I would call 'bland blend-fodder', out on the shelves, but it will take them a lot longer to re-establish their reputation!
One day when our species has reach Spirit-ual transcendence, all whiskies will come with a complementary universal measuring tool.
Deep tought sir. Sadly I think we'll reach (as species) the self destruction before the spirit_ual (I like this word this way) transcendence.
Better enjoy our single malts nowadays.