Pulteney 17 Years Old 2008 Edition No. 2 (The Dramming Lads)

Single malt Old Pulteney, an independent The Dramming Lads bottling, a 17 year old from 2008 and bottled at 49.1%. Only 138 bottles were released. Pulteney, founded in 1826 at Wick, on the windswept northeast coast, Inver House has run it as a flagship malt since 1995. Inver House has made it the centrepiece of its single malt range since 1995.

It was run through the unusual stills, the wash still topped flat where the swan neck was cut, before resting in warehouses within sight of the harbour. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the maritime malt to the fore. 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. 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.

At a hearty 49.1% it carries real weight. A gentle vanilla and coconut from the wood runs under sea air, citrus and salt. Beneath it run honey, citrus and a waxy weight. Salt, honey and oak draw out the close. This is a far northern malt shaped by sea air.