Old Pulteney 2006 Cask #1414

This official Old Pulteney single malt at 15 year old, from 2006, drawn from cask 1414 and bottled at 51.9%. A release of 264 bottles. Set by James Henderson in Pulteneytown, Wick, Pulteney has distilled since 1826. The distillery closed in 1930 when Wick went dry, and reopened only in 1951.

It was worked through Pulteney's boil ball stills, fed by Loch Hempriggs, before long maturation by the sea drew in its coastal character. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, the backbone of the Pulteney style. By this age the waxy, honeyed core settles in over the brine. The spirit takes colour and sweetness slowly in the cool far north. Pulteney's stills are unlike any other, the wash still topped flat where the neck was cut. The cool, damp Caithness air gives a slow and even maturation. Closed when Wick went dry in 1930, the distillery did not run again until 1951. Sea air works into the warehouses, a saline thread that marks the house style.

At its natural 51.9% it is deep and honeyed. A briny, oily edge sit alongside light vanilla from the refill oak. It is clean and bright, the coastal salt lifting the honey. The close is slow, brine over soft wax. This is the salty, honeyed signature of Wick.