Old Pulteney 2002 (Old Malt Cask) (50% Event)

This Old Pulteney was from the independent bottler Hunter Laing matured to 20 year old, from 2002, drawn from cask HL 21182 and bottled at 50%. Just 235 bottles were filled. Built in 1826 in the herring port of Wick on the Caithness coast, Pulteney is the maritime malt of the far north. Robert Cumming brought the distillery back to life in 1951 after two decades silent.

Distilled in Pulteney's distinctively shaped copper stills on soft Loch Hempriggs water, the make was then aged beside the North Sea for that maritime edge. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the maritime malt to the fore. Long ageing brings an oily depth, dried fruit and a mellow coastal salt. The northern cold draws out a slow, even maturation and a clean, bright spirit. 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. Slow distillation in the squat stills builds the malt's rounded, waxy body.

At cask strength 50% it is muscular and oily. The refill oak lending a light vanilla, with brine and a honeyed wax. A crisp apple and a sea salt edge lift it. A waxy, coastal finish lingers long. This is a honeyed coastal malt from Caithness.