Old Pulteney 2008 vW (van Wees)

This Old Pulteney was from the independent bottler van Wees, aged 14 year old, from 2008, drawn from cask 800004 and bottled at 46%. Old Pulteney was opened in 1826 at Wick, on the windswept northeast coast; it stands among Scotland's most northerly distilleries. Robert Cumming brought the distillery back to life in 1951 after two decades silent.

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. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, lending honey and vanilla under the salt. By this age the waxy, honeyed core settles in over the brine. Long, cool ageing builds the oily texture Pulteney is known for. A faint salinity threads the honey, the mark of long coastal maturation. 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.

At 46% it is clean and maritime. A gentle vanilla and coconut from the wood, with brine and a honeyed wax. A crisp apple and a sea salt edge lift it. The close is slow, brine over soft wax. This is a honeyed coastal malt from Caithness.