Old Pulteney 8 Years Old Rare Single Highland Malt (G&M)

From Gordon & MacPhail comes this Old Pulteney matured to 8 year old, and bottled at 40%. Built in 1826 in the fishing town of Wick, Caithness, Pulteney is the maritime malt of the far north. Old Pulteney is known the world over as the Maritime Malt.

Distilled on Loch Hempriggs water in stills whose shape has not changed since the 1820s, the make was then laid down by the sea for its briny, honeyed style. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, the backbone of the Pulteney style. Younger here, it keeps a crisp, coastal freshness over light honey. Maturation by the sea is central to the house style, the brine settling into the malt. The water runs from Loch Hempriggs along a lade Thomas Telford laid in 1807. Pulteney's stills are unlike any other, the wash still topped flat where the neck was cut. The cool, damp Caithness air gives a slow and even maturation. Closed when Wick went dry in 1930, the distillery did not run again until 1951.

Bottled at 40%, it is rounded. A salty maritime note sit alongside a touch of oak sweetness underneath. It is rounded and deep, the maritime note woven in. The finish is deep, oily and maritime. This is the seaside style that made the distillery's name.