Old Pulteney 2007 DR (A.D. Rattray) (58.4%)

An Old Pulteney single malt, selected and bottled by A.D. Rattray, aged 9 year old, from 2007, drawn from cask 700742 and bottled at 58.4%. Old Pulteney was established in 1826 in the fishing town of Wick, Caithness; it still distils beside the sea at Wick. It is one of the last urban distilleries, set among the streets of Pulteneytown.

Distilled on Loch Hempriggs water in stills whose shape has not changed since the 1820s, the make was then laid down by the sea for its briny, honeyed style. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, lending honey and vanilla under the salt. At this age the spirit is fresh and briny, the citrus and vanilla bright. Coastal warehousing gives the malt its signature salty, maritime lift. Sea air works into the warehouses, a saline thread that marks the house style. For decades this was the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland. It is one of the last true urban distilleries, set among the streets of Pulteneytown.

At its natural 58.4% it is deep and honeyed. A coastal salinity meet a touch of oak sweetness underneath. Soft brine and orchard fruit sit behind the sweetness. Salt, honey and oak draw out the close. This is Old Pulteney's classic maritime character.