Product Review: Old Pulteney 12 year

Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years, 70cl

This is my personal favourite from the "Under 50UKP" whisky category. I first sampled it around 12 years ago now, coincidentally. My then girlfriend (now wife) bought it for me as a Yule present. She had wanted to buy me a bottle of whisky, but had no specific one in mind. She went into Manchester Oddbins (now sadly defunct) and asked the assistant for advice. He gave her a few options and told the story of each. This one appealed to her. Most northerly mainland distillery in Wick. One time only accessible by sea. She isn't a whisky-drinker herself, so the story was all she had to go on.

The whisky itself has a very distinctive taste. Quite a pale whisky, it has a pleasant initial burn, quickly giving over to an interesting aftertaste. Perhaps it is my imagination, fuelled by the "Maritime Malt" tagline, but I feel it is somehow a "briney" aftertaste - which is much more pleasant than it sounds. It certainly conjures images of the sea.

This usually retails around 35-40UKP per 70cl bottle. I would encourage anyone to try it.

Whisky Voice review: 5/5

Whisky hits the information superhighway

I've noticed recently a few whisky-themed apps in my Android/Google Play Store. Some are imaginatively titled, like "The Whiskey Companion" and others are clearly going for that burgeoning yoof/urban market with "Whizzky". I've yet to find one that I'd actually bring myself to use, though. I'm not really sure what I'd want from a whisky app. I did used to use "Untappd", the Real/Craft Ale beer app, but gave it up when I realised it was doing little more than adding some time-consuming admin to my otherwise enjoyable pub time.

The whisky apps I've seen so far seem to concentrate purely on providing a (usually limited) whisky database and allowing the user to record what whiskies they have, which they have tried and maybe type a little review or two. Personally, I'd prefer to see a little more interaction/social media content (talking to other whisky drinkers could be nice) and maybe a facility for recording/reviewing/listing any pubs that have particularly good stocks of whisky and/or knowledgeable bar staff.

I'll be keeping an eye out for such an app - and crossing my fingers that Father Christmas brings me a nice single malt for being a good boy this year!