Old Pulteney 1989

This Old Pulteney, an official release, at 26 year old, from 1989 and bottled at 46%. The outturn was 3210 bottles. Set at Wick, on the windswept northeast coast, Pulteney has distilled since 1826. For years it was the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland.

It was run through the unusual stills, the wash still topped flat where the swan neck was cut, before resting in warehouses within sight of the harbour. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, the backbone of the Pulteney style. Very old Pulteney turns profound, oily and waxy with a mellow maritime depth. The northern cold draws out a slow, even maturation and a clean, bright spirit. Inver House has built its single malt range around the distillery since 1995. The honeyed, waxy core is the signature of the maritime malt of the far north. Robert Cumming reopened the silent distillery in 1951 as demand for whisky returned. Old Pulteney is matured within sight of the harbour that gave Wick its name.

At 46% it is smooth and honeyed. A gentle vanilla and coconut from the wood runs under salt spray and beeswax. A beeswax and a saline tang give it real body. A gently briny finish lingers warm. This is a briny, oily dram from the North Sea coast.