🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

Quite drinkable and OK

Part of a small sample series where I tasted 5 different Diageo special releases 1989 of Pittyvaich, from ages 20, 25, 28, 29 and 30 years old.

Matured in bourbon hogsheads, a beautiful deep yellow colour. The aroma exudes delicate, noble wood notes. Not really anymore - not yet. He looks thoroughbred, delicate, discreet. In time it opens now a slight sweetness is added, reminiscent of gooseberries. Alcohol slumbers in the background Almonds, marzipan, grapes. violent start, Stronger than expected. The saliva collects in the mouth washes over my taste buds. It now seems a bit spicier, more mature. It is probably fully mature, at least some of the barrels. The woody notes still take center stage. That suits him well too. I like it very much!

Ok, this one needs extra time. The nosing displays a significant development of aromas over 15-20 mins in the glass. From herbal bitterness to floral and fruity dunnage style. Right at the end it returns to bitter. Interesting and to a large extent tasty, but not perfect.

Light golden colour. Oily whisky.

https://whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/twe-whisky-show-closed-distilleries/ Also tried in the queue [of the Whisky Show], on day 2. I had this down at 84 points when I tried it along with Diageo’s other special releases in 2016. In today’s company, I find it far more seductive. C: With a rich, firm-yet-delicate metallic character, I find it reminiscent of Diageo’s 1975 Glen Albyn [WB], that they released way back in 2002! Scores a B

Heavenly I recently hosted a unique online masterclass in which all six official releases from this closed distillery were tasted, from the 12 years old Flora & Fauna series to all 5 Diageo Special Releases (20yo, 25yo, 28yo, 29yo, 30yo). This 25 Year Old is bottled at cask strength. I was a bit surprised that I had not yet posted any notes, so high time to rectify that. Nice, round and aromatic nose on tropical fruit (pineapple, mango, white peach, lime) and a touch of oak, a bit of vanilla and some mint. Delicious! Nicely seasoned, but at the same time very fruity and sweet. It transports me directly to a tropical island. The strength is nigh perfect. This is very, very good. The finish is medium long, fruity, softly spicy and simply outstanding. A heavenly whisky from this lost Speysider.

An interesting, light dram for people who like this direction, almost more Lowlander than Speysider, but has something interesting about it.

Thanks Fäba for the blind tasting. The fruity notes on the nose led me to Speyside, but after that it was like uncharted territory, and my final guess was Mortlach. Pittyvaich is a closed distillery that, like Mortlach, was operating in Dufftown – perhaps just a coincidence.

Very delicate but Refill Bourbon was just the right choice for this distillate, wonderful fruit flavors were created. It's pretty much scratching the ninety point mark.

N22 P23 F22 B23

Pleasant, close in style to his 20-year-old brother, but the flavor is stiffer and simpler, although older, deeper, but there is no that pleasant lightness and airiness, the taste / finish is also calmer, sweeter, in general, there are 5 years difference in age, smoothness, solidity appeared, the lightness disappeared and yet it became slightly more boring.

Best enjoyed neat. Exotic bomb.

Aroma: Firm, honey-sweet aromas of fermented malt and a dash of almond oil. Then delicate fruity notes of pineapple, baked green apple and strawberry jam, followed by vanilla biscuit and vanilla sauce. Water makes it wonderfully sweet and round and gives it a fragrant oily touch. The fruit note is now cut banana with honey on malt cereals and soft fruit candy and barley malt. Body: Moderate. Taste: Amazingly mild in natural cask strength, overall sweet and cool overall, with a light acidity. Warm nuttiness when unfolding, still oily and malty in the bouquet. In the middle of the palate fine buttery tart. Diluted with water, it is thicker, warmer and drier in texture; In the taste with mixed dried fruit and a balancing acidity of crisp apples. Finish: medium and warm. Herbs with a hint of peat; later drier and with aftertaste to heather honey. Milder with water: still sweet and slightly oily with a balancing bitterness. Spicy and slightly aromatic. Notes from Diageo

Actually, I'm not a huge fan of classic species, too often I find it boring or interchangeable. But this one is really exciting, offers many different flavors and manages to wrap these into a harmonious overall work of art. A magnificent ex-Bourbon maturation as it is written in the book, complex and clean matured. Too often, the malts of closed distilleries are overestimated and improperly transfigured, but here it meets exactly my taste. Great malt!

Initially this 25yo felt like a louder version of the 20yo OB, but time and water made them more distinct, and left me preferring the 20yo. I do wonder if I would have felt different if I had changed their order of appearance in the tasting lineup? Some months ago I was wondering what rare or unusual whisky would make for a good 1200th review here when I got the chance to join a virtual tasting of the entire Pittyvaich OB line. The tasting was organized by two Finnish whisky hobbyists (many thanks Pete & Maija!) who had managed to get Colin Dunn to host it. Concerning the distillery itself there's not much to tell since most established distilleries have bottlings that have been longer in the cask than Pittyvaich was open (1974-1993, demolished in 2002) and the distillery's raison d'être was to produce blend stock. You try to wax romantic about that, I'll wait ;). So, how are these Pittyvaichs? All six whiskys in the lineup (see below) share a certain oily, faintly waxy and subtly peppery mouthfeel, a grassy and woolly (or perhaps it is old linen?) nose, with some touches of breads and flours that make for a whisky that most reminds me of old Miltonduffs from the 1980s, even though Pittyvaich was created as a replacement distillery for Dufftown. For me personally no whisky in the tasting was of such superb quality that I immediately would have wanted to buy a bottle for my collection, but they certainly had their own theme going and it's always nice to spend a moment with some lost treasures from the dragon's hoard that are the Diageo warehouses. The bottlings in the tasting were: Pittyvaich 12yo Flora & Fauna bottled 2006 (83 points), 20yo 1989 bottled 2009 (87 pts.), 25yo 1989 bottled 2015 (84 pts.), 28yo 1989 bottled 2018 (83 pts.), 29yo 1989 bottled 2019 (85 pts.), 30yo 1989 bottled 2020 (86 pts.) [edit] I got another chance to taste my way through the OB Pittyvaich set, and decided to do it in reverse order this time. It did not change my opinion much, and while I did enjoy them quite a bit, to me none of them is a 5 star whisky.

Honey, vanilla biscuits, caramel, wax, lemon balm, dried orange peel, tropical fruits, roasted aromas, pear, rhubarb, roasted aromas, a touch of meaty. Harmonious, full-bodied, good texture, delicate, creamy, oily, vanilla sweetness, good intensity.

Peach, vanilla, lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, leather, wax, melon, green apple, apricot and nectarines.

It can do something - and light fruits.

Diageo's official bottle for a very short-lived distillery.

03-03-2018

Aroma: Pleasant fruity, finely spicy, malt. Apples with cinnamon, lemons poured with honey, honeycomb, cloves and blums. (85 b) Taste: Fruit-sweet, malt, acacia honey, smooth creamyness, delicate warm spice. No bitterness or crawling woodiness is done here. (87 b) Points: 86 Summary: Another disused distillery. I received 49.9% of my alcohol beautifully soft. I enjoyed every sip, and for half a half I shared with my daddy for a toast to Christmas. Special and interesting whisky, both of us praised the Pittyvaich.

(TASTED BLIND) NOSE: Sweet, mild banana and vanilla, cream custard. Then nice, dry but fresh fruit; green apples, unripe pear. (90-91p) TASTE: The arrival is a bit dry but still fruity. On the mid palate some grass, crushed pepper, fresh citrus, green apple. (89-90p) FINISH: Dry, fresh sage, sharp citrus, a touch of mint. (86-87p) OVERALL: Lovely, dry, malt whisky verging on austere frutiness and herbal-/grassiness. Takes water quite well; still grassy and fruity. Total score 90 (89) points.

Pilsner, bread crumbs, hops, freshness, barley malt, very lively molt, summer balanced delicate aroma of flowers, flower shop

Rich and layered, although lacking in pleasure and sweetness, it is still lingering.

Conclusion and pictures on: https://tomtrinkt.de

n: balanced & light, candy, malt, fruity, sweet, yellow pear, citrus, cantalope, herbs, sultanas, honey, mineral t: ginger, earthy, old wood, peppery, herbal a: mustiness, ginger, earthy, soil, rotten wood, old furniture, bitter, lemon peel

fruity rolling tail, vanilla, pepper cherry.

Light, elegant and fresh!

A very pleasant whisky, balanced, mature, tested in blind testing