Old Pulteney 9 Years Old TGSC (The Good Spirits Co.)

The Good Spirits Co selected this Old Pulteney, aged 9 year old, and bottled at 55%. A release of 286 bottles. Old Pulteney was established in 1826 in the fishing town of Wick, Caithness; it still distils beside the sea at Wick. Wick was once the herring capital, its fortunes built on silver fish and golden whisky.

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 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 spirit takes colour and sweetness slowly in the cool far north. Closed when Wick went dry in 1930, the distillery did not run again until 1951. Sea air works into the warehouses, a saline thread that marks the house style. For decades this was the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland.

At its natural 55% it is deep and honeyed. Honeyed wax and a saline lift meet a touch of oak sweetness underneath. The texture is oily and coating, the salt threaded through. A gently briny finish lingers warm. This is the maritime malt of Scotland's far north.