Welcome to another fine side-by-side tasting of two single malts, where I spend the time peeling apart the tiny differences in the profile of two whiskies, take down these notes in real time [for myself], pick a favourite, and possibly learn something new in the process. Today is another special pairing of some probably difficult-to-obtain Scotch whiskies, so if no one ever reads this page, I will not hold it against them. I’ve got a 30ml sample of Old Pulteney, which I unveiled from behind door #10 of my Cask Explorer‘s 2022 Advent Calendar (Diamond Edition). This is a fancy, pretty old, and lightly peated single malt that I decided to pair up with a much younger bottle of the Ardmore. But somehow, I think this will be a great pairing, so let’s get to it and see how it works out! But first, we need music! Now Playing: Arovane – Polymer.

I’ve profiled the Old Pulteney distillery pretty recently in pairing its core 12-year-old bottling with Aberfeldy‘s 12-year-old. You can read a bit about its history and its “call of “distinctive maritime flavour” profile here. In my Glen Cairn today is a much older expression, distilled in 1989, aged in refill ex-bourbon barrels for 26 glorious years, and finally bottled from a single batch [there are 3210 bottles in existence] in 2015, uncoloured and non-chill filtered, but at a bit diluted alcohol by volume of 46.0%. Even though I would have preferred this whisky to be cask strength, I will still give it my coveted integrity star for being direct and untroubled. The colour is very light, and yes, there is a slight hint of peat on the nose, but it’s not as strong and medicinal as what I already glimpsed from the Ardmore. We’ll get to describe the latter in a second paragraph of this write-up, but let us have just a little taste of this Old Pulteney first. The first thing I notice right away is oak. A lot of wood arrives with the initial sip and lingers in my mouth with a very long finish. I want to taste the sweetness of ex-bourbon here, maybe some vanilla in the corners with the herbs, but mostly I am tasting tannins. I’m slightly disappointed in this bit already, as I’m always wary of overcooked old malt. I’ll give it some time in my glass, add a very tiny drop of water, and check out the Ardmore, which I’ve had before.

I started getting into this Highland distillery the moment I discovered that it was owned by Beam Suntory, who also owns Laphroaig and often repurposes its casks for whisky distilled by the Ardmore. As a result, it gets the smoke from the Laphroaig before. No foul here from the rules of the Scotch Whisky Association – if you can use casks that have previously held rum or bourbon or tequila, you can certainly use old casks from Laphroaig. And what a difference it makes here! My dram is courtesy of The Vintage Malt independent bottler, which presents this 17-year-old whisky under The Cooper’s Choice series. This is a 2003 vintage bottled in 2021 at 48.5%, and yes, it’s untroubled, uncoloured, non-chill filtered, and of cask strength – because it’s from a single cask (number 801285). It’s even lighter than Old Pulteney in the glass, and as I mentioned before, there’s more maritime flavour on the nose than in the bottle writing those same words on its box. It comes in sharp, biting at the tongue, with no oakey taste and just iodine-permeated peat. It is sweet and salty [hence maritime] altogether, and I could see this stand up to the Lagavulin any day [makes a mental note for the next tasting]. Let’s go back to the Old Pulteney. Ah, it softened now and has a very old-school profile. Very nice! The wood has mellowed out into cardboard, and there’s the honeyed sweetness of the melon, apples and pears. There is still bitterness a bit, but I really like how it changes its taste with water. The Ardmore’s also better now (I dropped some water in between). It’s sweeter now with more bananas, very light caramel, and salted toffee. Let’s have another taste and make a call.

Distillery / Region	Pulteney / Highland	Ardmore / Highland
Producer	Inver House Distillers	Beam Suntory
Bottler / Series	Distillery bottling / Ltd Edition “Lightly Peated”	The Vintage Malt / The Cooper’s Choice
Stated Age / Vintage	26 years old / 1989	17 years old / 2003
Cask type	Refill Ex-Bourbon	Ex-bourbon
ABV / Cask Strength	46.0% / No	48.5% / Yes
Non-chill filtered/ Uncoloured	Yes / Yes 🌟	Yes / Yes 🌟
Price	£400-600?	£106
Did it win? / Did I like it?	No / Yes, once it relaxed in my glass	Yes / Yes
Would I buy it? / Recommend it?	No, not at that price / Maybe, if cheap	.Yes / Yes

The smoke is nearly gone in Old Pulteney with the water _and_ because I have been sipping on a stronger peated Ardmore all along. But this is an expensive 26-year-old! I see it being sold for nearly £600! And is it worth the price? Look, it’s an amazing single malt, and with more time and water, it has truly come to blossom. I now taste custard, coconut, and orange marmalade. And most importantly, it’s got that old-style profile which I yearn for. I’d buy this at half price, no questions asked. But Ardmore from 2003 [although sold-out] was only £106 (that’s what I paid!), and I am getting so much more enjoyment in the process. It’s definitely younger, sharper, and peatier, and yeah… with that, I will proclaim The Ardmore as the winner of this round. I am extremely happy to have had the opportunity to taste the Old Pulteney, but if you asked me what I would reach for in the shop, it would be Cooper’s Choice!