Old Pulteney 2012

This Old Pulteney, an official release,, aged 10 year old, from 2012 and bottled at 46%. Old Pulteney was built in 1826 in Pulteneytown on Scotland's far northern shore; it still distils beside the sea at Wick. 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. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding only a light honeyed sweetness. Younger here, it keeps a crisp, coastal freshness over light honey. The cool, damp northern climate slows maturation, letting the spirit take wood gently over many years. 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. The cool maritime climate is as much a part of the whisky as the cask.

Bottled at 46%, it is rounded. Sea air, citrus and salt meet soft vanilla from the cask. Beneath it run honey, citrus and a waxy weight. Salt, honey and oak draw out the close. This is the maritime malt of Scotland's far north.