Old Pulteney 25 Year Old - Review
Known as the "Maritime Malt," Pulteney Distillery is defined by its deep connection to the North Sea and the rugged town of Wick. Established in 1826 by James Henderson, the distillery was founded during the height of the herring boom in Pulteneytown—a settlement specifically designed by the British Fisheries Society to accommodate thousands of fishermen. For much of its early history, the distillery was accessible only by sea, with barley arriving and finished casks departing via the harbor. This coastal identity is etched into every part of its operation; even the distillery’s unique pot stills, which lack the traditional "swan neck" shape, are rumored to have had their tops literally chopped off to fit within the cramped confines of the original building.
The hallmark of Pulteney’s spirit is its maturation process, which takes place in warehouses subjected to the constant, salt-heavy winds of the Caithness coast. While many Highland whiskies are defined by heather or peat, Pulteney is celebrated for a salinity and oily texture directly attributed to this maritime environment. After being mothballed in 1930 due to local prohibition, the distillery was revived in 1951 and eventually came under the stewardship of Inver House Distillers in 1995, leading to a modern era of global acclaim.
The 25-Year-Old Expression
At the pinnacle of Pulteney's core range stands the Old Pulteney 25-Year-Old. Launched in 2017 as part of a significant brand revamp, this expression represents a quarter-century of exposure to the coastal elements. The maturation strategy for this bottle is highly specific: the spirit spends its first 22 years in American oak ex-bourbon casks, which establish its foundational structure. It is then transferred for a final three-year finishing period in Spanish oak ex-Oloroso sherry butts.
Bottled at 46% ABV and presented without chill-filtration, the 25-year-old is designed to showcase the extreme "mellowing" that occurs over decades in a cold, damp maritime climate. By the time the spirit reaches this age, the initial coastal sharpness has integrated with the heavy influence of the Spanish oak, creating a profile that is far more structural and dense than the younger 12 or 15-year-old releases. It remains one of the most decorated older age-statement whiskies in the Highland region, serving as a liquid record of Wick’s enduring relationship with the sea.
Review:
Nose: The Spanish sherry cask influence is subtle but inviting on the first nosing. Barrel spice, cinnamon sticks, dark chocolate with caramel, cordial cherries, and a bit of malted brininess on the end. As I sit with it longer the malted barley begins to shine through but the red fruit notes linger around longer than anything else I had gotten previously. I don’t know why but I keep going beck to sweet tarts, or like PEZ candy…Lastly, I get almost like a mossy oak note at the end which I will attribute to its age. Very complex but softly rounded on the edges without anything hitting you directly. No ethanol notes are present in the nose.
Palate: Incredibly oily on the palate. Now, oddly enough, the fruit dissipates on the palate and a salted sea brine note comes forward with a sticky toffee putting note with some nectarines. It is very citrusy but also confectionary. The dark chocolate comes through on the back-end and dances with orange peels. Lovely.
Finish: The finish is long but mild on this. The flavors from the palate linger with you and slowly begin to bring a subtle warmth to the back of your throat. The sherry still does not come through strong on the finish so I would by no means call this a sherry bomb. I would consider the sherry in this bottling truly to merry with the malted barley plummy flavors that you would get from a Highland scotch and soften it with the citrusy notes and mellow dark fruit. More than every the caramel sticks. It’s almost like it is stuck to your teeth as if you were to have a caramel square.
Overall: (90). Outstanding pour. I would consider this mellow, but also complex in the range that it offers. I feel this being the pinnacle of their core range makes sense because it isn’t meant to be experimental. It isn’t meant to take you on a path that you hadn’t been before. It is meant to encapsulate all that is a coastal highland malt, with a nice Spanish sherry influence to boot. It is creamy, citrusy, lightly salted, and fruited. It is meant to be a pour you share with friends to mark an occasion, end your night after a lovely meal, and just enjoy the moment. This does almost everything right at 46% which is very impressive. This packs more flavor in than most malts around 50-55%. This distillery is often overlooked in the United States and I urge you, Macallan-heads, quite being insufferable and at least get yourself a pour of the 15 or 18 year-old expressions. Incredible value.
Value: 50/100; (-2 on the overall). What I paid for this cannot influence the value of the bottle. This bottle on EVERY website, storefront in the US or abroad, retails for about $550. My local store near me, for whatever reason, had this for $149.99. I bought the only two they had. Quickly. If that was retail, I would give this a 100/100. But with this retailing anywhere from $500-$700 USD, I can’t say that I would have probably bought more than one bottle at that price. If you can get it for $350, that is where the value I believe, begins to shine. If you have a price error like I did, treat yourself and don’t hesitate. Those who judge you for it are jealous.
Availability: Not readily available. This is a smaller distillery, it has excellent output of it’s lower end of the range, but with this being their top of the line offering, it is a bit hard to come by in teh states. If you make your way over to the UK, you should be able to find many in their core line available. Also, please look into independent bottlings of Pulteney, I had found a cask strength 17 year old Pulteney in Scotland through Signatory vintage for 109 pounds. Next question.
Citations:
https://oldpulteney.com/whiskies/25-year-old-single-malt-scotch-whisky/
https://www.diffordsguide.com/producers/201/pulteney-distillery-company
https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/wick/pulteneydistillery/index.html
https://www.traveldistilled.com/old-pulteney-25-year-old-whisky-review/
https://worldwhiskiesawards.com/winner-whisky/gold-medal-39-world-whiskies-awards-2018
