Old Pulteney 1995 Cask #2998

An official Old Pulteney single malt at 17 year old, from 1995, drawn from cask 2998 and bottled at 59.4%. Only 210 bottles were released. Set in Pulteneytown on Scotland's far northern shore, Pulteney has distilled since 1826. Wick was once the herring capital, its fortunes built on silver fish and golden whisky.

The spirit was drawn off the flat topped wash still and boil ball spirit still that give the make its body, and matured by the shore, where sea air works into the wood. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the maritime malt to the fore. Past a decade the honey and wax build, knitting with the coastal salt. The cool, damp northern climate slows maturation, letting the spirit take wood gently over many years. Wick built its fortune on herring and whisky, the silver and the gold of the north. Everything once moved by sea here, barley in and casks out across the North Sea. The water runs from Loch Hempriggs along a lade Thomas Telford laid in 1807.

Undiluted at 59.4%, it is concentrated. Sea air, citrus and salt meet soft vanilla from the cask. Beneath it run honey, citrus and a waxy weight. The close is slow, brine over soft wax. This is the maritime malt of Scotland's far north.