Old Pulteney 1995 Cask #2851

This official Old Pulteney single malt, a 13 year old coastal malt, from 1995, drawn from cask 2851 and bottled at 59.8%. Pulteney was dating to 1826 at Wick, on the windswept northeast coast, and it has distilled by the North Sea for two centuries. 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. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding only a light honeyed sweetness. 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.

At cask strength 59.8% it is muscular and oily. 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. A long, honeyed finish carries a saline tang. This is a coastal Highland malt from the edge of the country.