Old Pulteney 1974

This Old Pulteney, an official release,, a 26 year old coastal malt, from 1974 and bottled at 46%. Just 1600 bottles were filled. Pulteney was founded in 1826 beside the harbour at Wick in the far north, and it has distilled by the North Sea for two centuries. Inver House has made it the centrepiece of its single malt range since 1995.

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. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding only a light honeyed sweetness. At a quarter century and more it is rich and oily, dried fruit and beeswax over a soft sea salt. Long, cool ageing builds the oily texture Pulteney is known for. Honey, beeswax and sea salt are the threads that run through the range. The distillery has worn the title of the Maritime Malt for good reason. Wick built its fortune on herring and whisky, the silver and the gold of the north.

At 46% it is clean and maritime. Vanilla and a little cream from the barrel runs under a salty maritime note. It is rounded and deep, the maritime note woven in. A long, honeyed finish carries a saline tang. This is a far northern malt shaped by sea air.