Old Pulteney 2006 Cask #740

A distillery bottling of Old Pulteney at 16 year old, from 2006, drawn from cask 740 and bottled at 53.4%. Only 252 bottles were released. Set beside the harbour at Wick in the far north, Pulteney has distilled since 1826. 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. Around twelve to fifteen years the malt rounds into honey, citrus and sea air. Long, cool ageing builds the oily texture Pulteney is known for. Sir William Pulteney gave his name to the planned town that grew around the harbour. 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 a natural 53.4% it is full and oily. 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 gently briny finish lingers warm. This is a far northern malt shaped by sea air.