There was a time not too many years ago, when Scotland’s northernmost mainland county of Caithness boasted just one whisky distillery, namely Pulteney, located in the historic fishing port of Wick. However, the overall increase in new whisky-making ventures during the past couple of decades means that Pulteney has now been joined by four competitors.
While greater variety of whiskies from the Far North is to be welcomed, what the relative newcomers cannot offer is a 50-year-old single malt, while Pulteney, currently celebrating its 200th anniversary, is able to provide such a rarity.
The distillery’s 200th birthday is being marked with three new single malt releases, one of which is the 50 Years Old, the oldest ever bottling from Pulteney, along with a 30 Years Old and a 10-year-old Distillery Exclusive.
Key to their creation is Sarah Burgess, who became master of whisky creation for International Beverage last summer. Prior to her appointment, Burgess held senior roles with Diageo, the Macallan, and latterly the Lakes Distillery.
“For this special year we wanted to create something extraordinary,” she says, “not only to mark the milestone, but as a true celebration of the distillery and the maritime thread that weaves through all Old Pulteney whiskies. I often think casks of whisky are like people, each behaving in an individual way and changing over time.
“One of my first assignments in the company was to create the 10-year-old 200th anniversary Distillery Exclusive bottling and I also got to make a 30 and a 50-year-old. It’s been a phenomenal experience for me early on in my career with International Beverage.
“For these new expressions, my job was to select casks that honour the different moments in the distillery’s 200-year history, whilst bringing them together in whiskies that reflect everything Old Pulteney represents.”
When it came to developing the Distillery Exclusive, Burgess explains, “Old Pulteney has been called ‘the manzanilla of the north’, so for this bottling I took some manzanilla sherry casks that had been filled with Pulteney, but I felt they were not sufficiently indicative of the distillery style, so I added one first-fill sherry cask and one refill sherry cask. That softened the whole thing and made it more complex and fully representative of Pulteney. It’s 90 per cent manzanilla and 10 per cent oloroso-seasoned casks.”
The 30-year-old expression comprises whisky matured in American oak casks, then ‘refined’ in European oak casks. Long-serving distillery manager Malcolm Waring deserves much of the credit for the quality of the spirit itself. When it comes to new make, he declares, “I want it to be big, beefy, powerful, aromatic, and even vegetal. Complex, oily, and even slightly coastal.
“I made the spirit that has gone into the 30 Years Old as a shift operator, and I actually filled the casks as well a few days later. Refill American oak casks from warehouse no.4. It’s something that’s been part of me since day one!”
Waring adds, “Reaching 200 years is a truly significant milestone for Old Pulteney and a proud moment for everyone connected to our distillery, both past and present. For two centuries, the distillery has remained deeply rooted in its coastal home of Wick, with its location and maritime climate playing an integral role in shaping the distinctive character of our whisky. Few whiskies are so entwined with the place where they’re made as Old Pulteney.”
As might be expected, both the 30- and 50-year-old bottlings are beautifully presented, but with a pleasing degree of restraint. Designed by Lewis Moberly, Glencairn Crystal created bespoke decanters and Moran’s Wood Components handcrafted the outer casings.
Burgess explains, “The 30 Years Old is about elevating the range, and will be an ongoing expression with a release of 1,000 bottles, while the 50 Years Old is really to celebrate the anniversary specifically, and there are just 200 bottles. For that I chose four casks — a combination of American oak and European oak refill casks. Four times 50 equals 200, as in the anniversary! It’s a whisky of deep, coastal character.”
According to Waring, “We’re quite fortunate to have a supply of aged stock, considering that the principal role of the malt for so long was to go into blends. The work really starts in the warehouses. You have to know them. There are not only differences between the effects of racked and dunnage warehouses, but within individual warehouses. We fill 95 per cent American oak, and our oldest casks on site date from 1970.”
Prior to the new 50-year-old expression, the oldest whiskies released by Pulteney were single bottlings for the 2023 and 2025 Distillers One of One charity auctions, respectively the 45-year-old Bow Wave and the 47-year-old Polaris.
Unlike many of its competitors in the current challenging conditions for whisky trading, production at Pulteney has not been cut back. The distillery works five days per week, making 1.3 million lpa this year. Waring and his team are trialling malt produced from 300 tonnes of Diablo barley, grown locally at Watten Mains farm and filled into a variety of cask types for potential future stand-alone bottlings.
Along with the new 30- and 50-year-old single malts and Distillery Exclusive bottling, Pulteney Distillery boasts totally revamped visitor facilities, which opened to the public recently, and a menu of tour experiences, while a
new marketing campaign has just been launched.
According to the Old Pulteney team, the “‘Character Runs Deep’ campaign signals a new era for Old Pulteney whilst staying true to the brand’s roots. The campaign recognises the strong character, tough conditions, and time-honoured industrial craftsmanship that have defined the Maritime Malt since 1826.”
All in all, there seem many positives for Pulteney Distillery to take into the next 200 years of its story as the canny veteran of the Caithness distilling scene.
