Old Pulteney 2010 Cask #1793

An official Old Pulteney single malt, a 13 year old coastal malt, from 2010, drawn from cask 1793 and bottled at 64.2%. Just 624 bottles were filled. Pulteney was founded in 1826 beside the harbour at Wick in the far north, and it has distilled by the North Sea for two centuries. Robert Cumming brought the distillery back to life in 1951 after two decades silent.

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. An Oloroso sherry cask wrapped the malt in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Around twelve to fifteen years the malt rounds into honey, citrus and sea air. Time in oak builds a honeyed weight over the fresh, briny new make. Old Pulteney is matured within sight of the harbour that gave Wick its name. The far north cold draws a clean, bright spirit and a slow take on the oak.

Undiluted at 64.2%, it is concentrated. The Oloroso brings salted dried fruit, fig and walnut, and vanilla and a little cream from the barrel, with sea salt and a coastal tang. The mouthfeel is oily, the honey carried on a waxy body. A long, honeyed finish carries a saline tang. This is a honeyed coastal malt from Caithness.