For some reason the Pittyvaich Special Releases have always been 1989 casks. Past bottlings were quite interesting, from a peculiar distillery which only operated for 18 years before falling victim to industry consolidation in 1993 – casks are becoming rare.
Pittyvaich 29 yo 1989 (51,4%, OB ‘Special Releases’ 2019, PX + Oloroso seasoned cask finish, 4976 btl.)
Nose: quite bright and vividly fruity, with sour plums, unripe pineapple and plenty of citrus. Green herbs, hay and gingery notes, floral honey as well. Some vanilla cake and a yeasty, bready touch.
Mouth: creamy and spicy. Grapefruits and oranges, with some sweeter dried fruits in the background (sultanas). A drying, fizzy sensation in the middle, followed by green tea and menthol. Leather and allspice. Toffee and bitter orange peel but certainly not the amount of sherry I expected.
Finish: quite long, with grassy oak spice (clove, ginger), green apple and warming oaky notes.
This is a fairly uncommon but nicely vibrant whisky. Probably not to everyone’s liking but I do see its qualities. (TWE / MoM)
Score: 89/100