Old Pulteney Distillery Exclusive

An official Old Pulteney single malt and bottled at 53%. Pulteney, first licensed in 1826 beside the harbour at Wick in the far north, Inver House has run it as a flagship malt since 1995. Water comes from Loch Hempriggs, carried by a lade Thomas Telford laid in 1807.

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. A French oak cask lent a dry, spiced edge to the maritime malt. Without an age statement, the malt feels well aged and softly maritime. Time in oak builds a honeyed weight over the fresh, briny new make. The spirit carries an oily weight unusual among Highland malts. 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.

Bottled at a cask strength 53%, it is rich. The French oak lends clove and a dry spice, and vanilla and a little cream from the barrel, with honeyed wax and a saline lift. The texture is oily and coating, the salt threaded through. The finish is deep, oily and maritime. This is a coastal Highland malt from the edge of the country.