Scotland, Northern Highlands: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes

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Pulteney

Description of the whisky

The distillery

Old Pulteney distillerie
Pulteney Distillery
Huddart Street
Wick
Caithness KW1 5BA
+44 1955 602 371
Owner Inver House Distillers Ltd
Creation date 1826

Photos

Comments

With the exception of Orkney Islands, Pulteney is the most northern distillery of Scotland. The distillery is named after an old estate in the Southern part of the city of Wick, Pulteney town.
The distillery stayed in the family of is founder James Henderson until the mid 1920's, when it has been bought by James Wartson & Co., owner of Parkmore and Ord. Three years later, this company became part of John Dewar's & Sons who was incorporated some time later by the D.C.L (Distillers Company Ltd.)
Closed from 1930 until 1951, Pulteney has been bought in 1951 by Robert Cumming, owner of Balblair who was constraint to resell the distillery to Hiram Walker in 1959. The latter renewed the distillery completely.
The current owners, the Inver House company bought both Balblair and Pulteney distilleries in 1995.
It's single malt is known as Old Pulteney, but the major part of the production is intended for the blends of Inver House: Catton's, Hankey Bannister, MacArthur's and Pinwinnie Royal, and for the Heather Cream whisky liqueur.

The whisky

A propos des notes de dégustation Your own tasting notes

List of the bottles

Description of the distillery

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Old Pulteney: official bottlings
 

Old Pulteney
12 years
Age
 12 years
Alcohol
 40°
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros< 25 euros
 
 The colour is yellow-orange. The elegant nose is slightly smoky. It reveals also some grilled and fruity (plum) touches.
The mouth is salty and smooth, and marked by smoked barley malt.
The finish goes on to floral and slightly acid hints.
 At the first nosing, my impression was that this whisky was one of the most refined ones from Isle of Islay. Elegant touches of smoke ant peat. The taste and the finish are both great. This malt produced by the most Northern distillery on the scottish "continent" (apart from Orkney thus) leaves excellent memories and must be considered as an "essential" in each good whisky collection. Further, its price and availability make this malt on of the greatest Scotch whiskies. Really a wonderful bottle.

A very delicate nose, with a slight touch of smoke developing quickly on flower smells, after having evoked peat then sweet citrus fruit (tangerine), the whole very well balanced and qualified. This complexity does not appear at the first sight. This whisky likes to be desired. The pleasure just goes on in the palate, still discrete and with a very nice salted impression, and the smoke remains present. A nice salted finish crowns the whole.

A delicate and relatively floral nose with some smoky hints and touches of ripe fruit. In the palate, a pleasant complexity, between slight hints of smoke and cereals and very discrete citrus fruit touches, a pleasant salty taste. An interesting salted finish, slightly woody and developing on the malt and chocolate.
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Old Pulteney
Sherry Wood 18
Age
 18 years
Alcohol
 59,5°
Cask
 Sherry
Particularity
 Cask Strength
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros
 
 The nose reveals a touch of peat.
The taste is oily, with hints of hazelnuts or peanuts.
The finish reveals salted notes, and leave an impression of salt on the tongue.
 Unlike the 12 y.o. version, the nose does not reveal smoke. This whisky, matured in sherry casks and bottled at cask strength (59,6°) is another wonderful malt. Very well balanced, it remains exceptionally sweet, despite its high alcohol percentage. It's price is very high too...., but when you think about is, the happiness given by this fantastic malt is this price worth...

A second tasting confirms the very good impressions from the first one. A slight prominence of the sherry appears however, but this does not change anything to the quality of this exceptional malt.

The third tasting did not change anything to the result of the 2 first ones. It is simply a marvelous whisky, with a clear sherry dominance.

The clean nose is frankly marked by sherry, with peat and some citrus fruit hints on the background. In the palate, this whisky is really delicious, with a clear nut taste on a malt background. A long and very pleasant finish.

Very nice nose, where sherry, fruits (green apple), chocolate and clear mentholated hints are dominating. In the palate, a amazing complexity, rather difficult to dissect, but where cereal and fruit are important components together with salt and hazelnut hints. The lingering finish is very pleasant too, rather salty and the memory of nuts is there too.

The nose is pleasantly smoky and gently marked by sherry. Notes of plum jam.
The first impression in the mouth is quite acid, soon followed by nice woody notes. Hints of sherry. Nice complexity even if the whole is clearly marked by woody bitterness.
The finish is marked by wood as well. Rather long, this finish develops on pleasant sherry notes.
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Old Pulteney
17 years
Age
 17 years
Alcohol
 46°
Bottler
 Official
Particularity
 Not chill filtered
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Old Pulteney aged 17
Sweet, fruity on the nose with a hint of woodiness. Full bodied with vanilla and floral overtones and a long-lasting finish.
A complex nose, mixing salt and smoke to a nice fruity and slightly woody side. In the palate, this whisky is very amazing. The taste is clean with a slightly acid hint mixed with some smoke, but develops soon on sweeter ripe fruit touches. A very ice complexity and a wide range of sensations. A lingering and very nice finish, with some woody hints.

At the second tasting, the floral side of this whisky was clearly present at the nosing, letting the salted character on the background, together wiht honey and peat hints. Clear peppery notes are present too. The mouth if first rather dry, peaty and first developes on woody notes, ant then on honey and flowers, in a very complex whole. The finish is long, and the dry bitterness detected in the mouth remains for a while.
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Old Pulteney
1991 Cask Strength
Age
 15 years
Alcohol
 54,9°
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Old Pulteney 1991 Cask Strength
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Pulteney: independent bottlings

Old Pulteney
Scott's Selection 1977

Age
 27 years
Alcohol
 55.9°
Bottler
 Scott's selection
Particularity
 Not chill filtered
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Pulteney Scott's selection 1977
Quite a clear peppery and spicy nose, with some discrete notes of chocolate, malted barley and floral hints together with a tingling impression. A touch of smoke too. In the palate, the first impression is a kind of woody bitterness quickly followed by more acid notes, remaining however on a woody register, even if rather complex and continuously developing.  The alcohol does not hinder at all. The finish is long, warm with always the same bitter woody feeling. The whole should have some more diversity and complexity, but it remains a very pleasant whisky.

The nose is clearly marked by nice floral fragrances, hints of confectioner's custard followed by discrete sea hints together with spicy notes. Pepper and clove. Very interesting nose anyway. The palate is very refined, complex with wax notes mixed with ripe fruit and some nutty hints. A great smoothness. Nice development and quite diverse palette of tastes. The finish seems to be endless. Great class. All the mouth sensations come back. The memory of ripe fruit and the nutty hints. This is undoubtedly an excellent whisky which clearly improved since the previous tasting.
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Old Pulteney: independent bottlings
 

Pulteney
Hart Brothers
12 years

Age
 12 years
Alcohol
 55,6°
Particularity
 Cask Strength
Bottler
 Hart Brothers
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
 Old Pulteney Hart Brothers
 There is a hint of sea air, light and smooth with a salty touch
 
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Northern Highlands

Northern Highlands map

Most of the distilleries of that area are settled on the wild and windy seaside between Narin and John 'O Groats, on the Eastern coast.

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Click on the map for a list of the distilleries of the area, on the title for further information about the Northern Highlands area, and if you want to make an "alphabetical journey" through the area, please click on one of the pagode roofs, according to the direction you want to follow

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