Old Pulteney 1990

This official Old Pulteney single malt matured to 26 year old, from 1990 and bottled at 46%. Opened in 1826 beside the harbour at Wick in the far north, Pulteney is the maritime malt of the far north. Robert Cumming brought the distillery back to life in 1951 after two decades silent.

The spirit was made in copper stills of singular shape, fed by soft northern water, and matured on the Caithness coast for a salty lift. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the brine. At this great age the malt is full and rounded, the sea salt now a whisper. Time in oak builds a honeyed weight over the fresh, briny new make. Caithness sits at the very top of mainland Scotland, exposed to the North Sea. The distillery passed through several owners before Inver House took it on. A faint salinity threads the honey, the mark of long coastal maturation. Sir William Pulteney gave his name to the planned town that grew around the harbour.

Bottled at 46%, it is rounded. Vanilla and a little cream from the barrel, with sea salt and a coastal tang. The mouthfeel is oily, the honey carried on a waxy body. The finish runs oily, saline and warm. This is a honeyed coastal malt from Caithness.