Within the very far northern reaches of the Scottish highlands, the place the wind is wild, the rain plentiful, and the surroundings is breathtaking, you will see that the Previous Pulteney Distillery.
Positioned within the Pulteneytown space of Caithness, Wick to be exact, the Previous Pulteney Distillery produces Previous Pulteney single malt Scotch whisky, in a wide range of totally different ages and expressions. There may be additionally a vastly widespread customer centre positioned on Huddart Avenue, which really impressed one of many Nice Drams we’re going to be reviewing at present.
Right here at Nice Drams, we all know greater than a factor or two about whisky, and we all know a superb tipple once we style one. Previous Pulteney Whisky is most actually a superb tipple, which is why we’re going to be taking a look at a few of their hottest releases in additional element.
With its coastal influences evident from the second you are taking that first sniff, it’s simple to see why Previous Pulteney stands out a lot. It’s a whisky that isn’t afraid to be totally different and is a whisky that celebrates its historical past, and embraces its coastal location, reasonably than shying away from it.
Previous Pulteney Distillery – Giving Due to the Sea
Established within the 12 months 1826, the distillery was really established within the identify of Sir William Pulteney, even supposing he handed away greater than twenty years earlier than the distillery was based, in 1805.
Due to its coastal location, the distillery, located within the far northern reaches of the Highlands, may solely be accessed by boat. Actually, it was as soon as probably the most northerly distillery in all of Scotland.
Positioned on the shores of north-eastern Scotland, the distillery used to need to have its barley shipped over through boat. Actually, within the early days, lots of the staff on the distillery have been employed primarily as fishermen, specialising in Herring. On a facet word, for those who’ve by no means tried smoked herring earlier than, you merely should, because it places any grocery store smoked salmon to disgrace. Pair it up with a advantageous single malt, resembling these we’re reviewing at present, and you’ve got a match made in heaven.
In any case, again to our historical past lesson. The distillery makes use of water which is sourced from the close by Loch hempriggs. It’s extremely pure and comfortable, and helps give their whisky its unmistakable character. Bear in mind how we stated this distillery celebrates its roots? Effectively, one other instance is the truth that the distillery will get its water from an previous mill lade which was constructed by legendary Scottish engineer Thomas Telford.
The whisky produced right here is unpeated and is aged by the ocean. Due to this, you may count on loads of coastal influences within the completed product. Make no mistake about it, it’s a beautiful wee dram and sticking with only one glass requires extra willpower than we right here at Nice Drams can muster up, that’s for positive.
Previous Pulteney Single Malt Whisky Vary
Previous Pulteney age their whisky proper by the ocean, primarily in American oak and Spanish oak casks in a racked warehouse together with a standard dunnage warehouse.
By the way, a dunnage is sort of a scaled-down model of a warehouse, very similar to you’d discover centuries in the past. It’s a lot smaller in top (roughly 3 barrels stacked on prime of each other). Usually, they’ve a slate roof, thick stone partitions, and an earthen ground.
The dunnage is designed to advertise superior air circulation, and due to its measurement, signifies that the barrels need to be shifted and moved by hand as there merely isn’t room to get a forklift inside. Plus, we’re undecided how effectively a forklift’s wheels would deal with the earthen ground of the dunnage both (although it will most likely carry out higher than lots of the rear-wheel drive automobiles we get on this nation once we get greater than a light-weight dusting of snow).
Anyway, Previous Pulteney have each a dunnage and a racked warehouse, and due to their coastal location, you get loads of maritime seaside influences shining by means of within the completed product. So, count on loads of salty, brine-rich, seaweed-y notes in lots of the drams we’re about to overview.
