Old Pulteney 15 Year Old 1997 G&M Single Cask 1199 for ALS

ALS is short for Amyotrofische Laterale Sclerose (a neuro-muscular ailment without any chance of healing). One of the leaders of ‘A Heart for ALS’, which raises funds for research, is Alain Verspecht (himself an ALS patient since 2006), is also an avid whisky fan and president of the Friends of the Quaich whisky club in Destelbergen/Laarne (Belgium). Two retailers saw fit to combine their strengths and bottle a cask for this worthy cause. They chose a 15 Year Old cask of Old Pulteney from 1997, bottled by Gordon & Macphail.

The nose is a wonderful mix of sweet (vanilla, coconut, grain cookies) and salt, although that last is rather light. Very softly spiced. Some yellow fruit, I think. Some earthy notes too. Very accessible.

It is wonderfully mouthcoating and creamy, peppery now, and reveals some more fruit. Pineapple, mango, peach. The dried version. The salt is now a lot more pronounced. Perfectly drinkbable without diluting.

The finish is medium in length, sweet and salt at the same time. Salt is victorious at the death.

A nice Old Pulteney, no doubts about it. Very quaffable. Not completely ‘wow’, but the idea behind it all the more so. The bottle is sold in Belgium for 65 EUR (including a glencairn glass from Gordon & Macphail) and 4 EUR of every bottle sold goes to ‘A Heart for ALS’.

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