Whenever The Whisky Exchange has a new single cask exclusive it is quite a thrill. Usually Sukhinder Singh does his magic and conjure some uniqe and good (or interesting at least) cask. I had my issues with their last Kilchoman exclusive but this time he actually managed to get Old Pulteney Distillery to bottle him a sherried Old Pulteney.

How rare is it? I can’t recall any fully matured sherried Old Pulteney from the last few years besides this one and the LMDW bottling. and to boot – this single cask is a first fill sherry cask (a sherry butt probably with 612 bottles available) so a proper Old Pulteney sherry bomb? Let’s find out.

Old Pulteney 2004 Single Cask #128 (TWE Exclusive) (62.1%, £99.95)

Nose: Punchy at first thanks to the high ABV, lots of minerals and salt upon first sniff, sweet dark cherries and dark bitter chocolate. After a few mins it calms down and we have quite a celebration: salted toffee, sea breeze, 60% dark chocolate, dried fruit and sultanas, dried cranberries and raspberries and whiffs of hot espresso.

Palate: Intense and full bodied, dried red fruit, salted fruit, cooked cinnamon and nutmeg, dark chocolate, salt, dried cherries and herbal freshness.

Finish: Medium length, salted spices, oak spices, lingering chocolate and red berries.

Thoughts: This is the good stuff! Unlike the TWE exclusive sherried Kilchoman which I felt was unbalanced, this sherried Old Pulteney could teach some balance lessons to circus rope walkers. There’s fruit sweetness, the right amount of chocolate and the Old Pulteney salt and coastal notes to round it up. Right now it’s out of stock but register for stock alerts – more bottles should come in a few days. It’s worth the little extra work as it’s a marvelous sherry bomb bottle that the Whisky Exchange managed to score themselves and it’s highly recommended.