The Old Pulteney Navigator was created as an “homage to the nautical navigators, the planners of every sea voyage, who advise the captain of the ship’s position and maintain charts and navigational equipment on board. These brave men and women of experience and patience are often the unsung heroes of dangerous sea passages.” So like the Clipper, it’s a “tribute” bottle.
The Naviagtor is a NAS (no age statement) whisky and is a mixture of Old Pulteney single malt that has been aged in bourbon barrels and malt that has been aged in sherry casks. It seems to be on the younger side of things but at least it’s bottled NCF and NC. That’s always a big plus in my book.
Old Pulteney Navigator Review
Distiller: Old Pulteney
Age:NAS
ABV: 46%
Price: $46*
Non Chill-Filtered
Natural Color
EYE
Golden amber
NOSE
It’s overall a fairly light nose with notes of fruit, honey, grassy malt and graham cracker. There is a spirity nature to the nose that hangs out in the background with wisps of vanilla frosting and an ambiguous artificial-like sweetness.
PALATE
Muddled fruit and a sherry like sweetness make up most of the flavor with light notes of caramel, vanilla and hay. I don’t get much of that spirity nature on the palate, but is a small bit of it that comes and goes.
FINISH
Medium and nutty with notes of malt, fruit and ash.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
It’s light and not much there to balance, so in that respect it’s doing alright there. Medium body with a slick texture and mild burn.
OVERALL
My biggest complaint with the Old Pulteney Navigator is that it’s $10 more than the Old Pulteney 12 years, yet it’s not as good. When I did the review of this and the Clipper I sat down side by side with them, the 12 and the 17. Hands down the 17 was the best but the 12 came out on top of both of the NAS versions. The Navigator, like the Clipper, isn’t offensive, just lack luster.
I think the one thing some folks aren’t thinking about with the increasing NAS trend is the fact that unless they’re going to charge less for them than their baseline malt they need to focus on making them taste better than their baseline malt. It’s not impossible, just look at what Talisker did with the Storm. I whole heartedly like it more than I do the Tali 10. For me the NAS argument is one of value. Anyways, that’s my 2 cents.
SCORE: 81/100
*Disclosure: This bottle of Old Pulteney Navigator was graciously sent to me by the company for the purposes of this review. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.