Old Pulteney 1990 (Authentic Collection) (61.1%)

Bottled by Cadenhead's, this Old Pulteney, aged 13 year old, from 1990 and bottled at 61.1%. The outturn was 216 bottles. Old Pulteney was opened in 1826 at Wick, on the windswept northeast coast; it stands among Scotland's most northerly distilleries. Water comes from Loch Hempriggs, carried by a lade Thomas Telford laid in 1807.

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. Ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, soft oak that lets the coastal character lead. By this age the waxy, honeyed core settles in over the brine. Sea air works through the warehouse, lending a saline thread as the whisky breathes by the shore. The spirit carries an oily weight unusual among Highland malts. Wick's herring fleet once numbered in the thousands at the height of the boom.

Bottled at a cask strength 61.1%, it is rich. A gentle vanilla and coconut from the wood, with honeyed wax and a saline lift. The texture is oily and coating, the salt threaded through. Sea salt and honey see out a long finish. This is a coastal Highland malt from the edge of the country.