Old Pulteney 15 Years Old

A distillery bottling of Old Pulteney, aged 15 year old, and bottled at 46%. Established in 1826 at Wick, on the windswept northeast coast, Pulteney is the maritime malt of the far north. 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. 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.

Bottled at 46%, it is rounded. 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. The finish runs oily, saline and warm. This is a coastal Highland malt from the edge of the country.