Review | Old Pulteney Harbour

The north Highland distillery of Old Pulteney has added a bottling to its core range - Old Pulteney Harbour. The name refers to the harbour in the distillery's hometown of Wick, which was once one of the largest fishing ports in Europe during the Victoria era. The new whisky has been designed to show the brand's continued connection to the sea. Old Pulteney Harbour has been matured in a quartet of American oak ex-bourbon cask styles - first-fill, second-fill, re-fill and re-charred. These were hand-selected by Malcolm Waring, the long-serving Distillery Manager at Old Pulteney, and his team.

Inbox | The Week's Whisky News | January 26, 2024

Welcome to Inbox - our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to the WFE email. We started Inbox several years ago as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/ piece of news/ PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. 

Review / Old Pulteney Port

This whisky is the second bottling in the Coastal Series range from the Highland distillery of Old Pulteney. The Old Pulteney Port features malt matured initially in ex-bourbon barrels before a further maturation period in ex-Ruby Port barriques and pipes. These casks were 230 litres and 550 litres in capacity respectively. The whisky has been created by Malcolm Waring, the long-serving distillery manager, and his team. 

The Old Pulteney Port is bottled at 46% ABV and is both of natural colour and non chill-filtered. A bottle will cost £75. There are two further releases in the series, which are scheduled for 2024 and 2025. The inaugural release featured a secondary maturation in ex-Pineau des Charentes casks from France.

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (September 29, 2023)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. 

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (August 17, 2018)

Welcome to Inbox.  For those new to WFE, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (April 13, 2018)

Welcome to Inbox.  For those new to WFE, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Review - Old Pulteney 25 years old

The Old Pulteney 25 years old is a recent super premium addition to the core single malts from the north Highland distillery. This replaces the multi award-winning 21 years old, which won the prestigious Whisky of the Year 2012 in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible, in the range. The new expression has been matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels for its first 22 years, before being transferred to Spanish oak ex-sherry butts for three years.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (January 12, 2018)

Welcome to the first Inbox of 2018.  We hope that you all had a great time over the festive period. We certainly did and are well rested and ready to bring you more whisky news and reviews in the coming year, which will see us celebrate our 10th year of blogging.

 For those new to WFE, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (September 29, 2017)

Welcome to Inbox.  For those new to WFE, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

New release - Old Pulteney 35 years old

This whisky is the latest premium release from the popular Highland single malt brand of Old Pulteney.  It has been matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, which were hand selected by Distillery Manager Malcolm Waring, for 35 years.  This makes it one of the oldest bottlings ever to be released from the distillery, second only to last year's 40 year old expression.  This 'new' release was actually launched back in June but we are only now getting around to reviewing it ...

Inbox - July 11, 2014

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Inbox - July 4, 2014

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Have just tried - Old Pulteney Navigator

The Navigator is a whisky that was originally released in early Autumn last year and was designed to celebrate Old Pulteney's maritime heritage, links and character. It was launched on September 1 to coincide with the start of the Clipper Round The World yacht race, which set off from London and for which the brand was the main sponsor.  The Navigator was made from ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, which were hand selected by Distillery Manager Malcolm Waring.

Inbox - November 22, 2013

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

New Release - Old Pulteney 40 Year Old

Old Pulteney Distillery is the northernmost mainland distillery in Scotland. Located in the town of Wick, the distillery is squeezed tightly into the surrounding streets and buildings and space is at such a premium that the Wash Still has had to be designed with an unusual flat top so as to allow it to fit into the Still Room. Luckily the compromise with the still shape has not adversely affected the quality of the whisky produced and the Old Pulteney 21 Year Old was rated as the best whisky of the year in whisky writer, Jim Murray’s 2012 Whisky Bible.

Inbox - October 26, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.  Here is the news that has attracted our attention this week ...

Inbox - July 27, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.  Here is what has grabbed our attention this week ...

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Bruichladdich - Vive la distillerie
The worst kept secret in recent whisky history has finally been confirmed this week - the independent Bruichladdich distillery on Islay is being taken over by French drinks giant Rémy Cointreau.  Rumours had been rife around the whisky blogosphere, Twitter, Facebook etc ...

It marks the group's first steps in to the Scotch whisky market, and adds single malt whisky to a large portfolio that includes Champagne, Cognac, rum and other local spirit brands.  The transaction value amounts to £58 million, a total which assumes the entire share capital of The Bruichladdich Distillery Co and its associated debts.  We look forward to reading further news and plans for the distillery and its whisky range as the takeover progresses.

Jean-Marie Laborde, the Chief Executive Officer of Rémy Cointreau says, “The acquisition of Bruichladdich, a renowned Islay single malt with a rich and exciting heritage, is a great opportunity to enrich our high-end portfolio of brands and to confirm our strategy in the spirits luxury segment. We expect Bruichladdich to sit proudly alongside our other brands and we look forward to working closely with Bruichladdich’s experienced and passionate team”.

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Johnnie Walker - Blue Casks Edition
The famous blended brand has launched a limited edition cask strength version of its iconic Blue Label expression.  Named Blue Label - The Casks Edition, this expression has been blended from a small selection of premium rare casks which were hand picked by Johnnie Walker's Master Blender Jim Beveridge.  It has been bottled at 55.8% ABV and has a retail price of $300 USD for a one litre bottle.

The Blue Label - The Casks Edition is now available through selected travel retail markets including Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris in Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia in Asia, plus the USA, Dubai and selected central and South American countries such as Columbia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Panama.

Jim Beveridge comments, “This limited edition is a chance to enjoy the remarkable experience of Johnnie Walker Blue Label in a new way. Only one in ten thousand of our casks have sufficient character for Blue Label and in creating this special edition we really wanted to showcase the incredible flavours that come from the casks themselves. The flavours drawn from these carefully selected casks have intensified to produce a robust and powerfully flavoured blended Scotch whisky."

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Old Pulteney - Go full Spectrum
The north Highland distillery of Pulteney has announced the release of its latest travel retail exclusive single malt - the WK217 Spectrum.  The whisky is the third and final expression in their 'boats of Wick' series, which celebrates some of the vessels that have served the famous fishing town where Pulteney is located.  It follows the previous releases WK499 Isabella Fortuna and WK209 Good Hope.

The Spectrum was built in 1920 and had an illustrious career, including helping with harbour duties around Wick during World War II.  The whisky has been matured in a combination of ex-bourbon American oak casks and ex-sherry Spanish oak casks, is non chill filtered and is bottled at 46% ABV.  The WK219 Spectrum is already available in major UK airport retailers and will be appearing in selected European and Middle Eastern airports shortly.  The retail price is £39.99.

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Whisky Luxe - Edinburgh show details announced
Details of the most exclusive premium whisky event to be held in Scotland to date have been announced.  The Whisky Luxe event is to be held on Friday 7 September at The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh.  The show will showcase some of the world's rarest and most expensive whiskies, and offer whisky fans the opportunity to sample them.  Only 350 tickets are available for the event, which will cost either £125 or £150.

For £125 you will receive a set of coins/tokens that will obtain samples from the show stands.  For £150, you will receive the tokens plus a private tutored masterclass with renowned whisky experts Charlie Maclean and Jonny McCormick.  Additional coins/tokens can be purchased with all proceeds being donated to charity.  Tickets for Whisky Luxe can be purchased via www.whiskyluxe.com, which will also feature updated news on the event and the exhibitors.

Have just tried > Old Pulteney 21 years old

The news story of this week has seen Old Pulteney gain a major accolade for its 21 years old expression. It was named as World Whisky of the Year in the latest edition of the Jim Murray Whisky Bible. The 2012 edition is the 9th version of the book, in which whisky expert Jim Murray samples a staggering 1,500 new whiskies in an intense four month period each year.  The 21 years old topped this years list with a record equaling 97.5 out of 100.  Jim Murray has a strict set of criteria that he follows with each whisky he samples and whiskies have to be exceptional to get marks in the high 80s or early 90s.  In the nine years of the book, Old Pulteney is only the second Scottish distillery to land this prestigious accolade.

The Old Pulteney distillery, or simply Pulteney as the locals call it, is the most northerly mainland distillery in Scotland. Located in the Highland fishing town of Wick, it lies just 15 miles south of the UK's most northerly point of John O'Groats. Old Pulteney is currently owned by Inver House Distillers, which is part of the larger Thai group InBev, and has a production capacity of three million litres a year. The distillery was founded in 1826 by James Henderson and was named after Sir William Johnstone Pulteney, the herring industry's leading light of the day. It is one of the few distilleries to be named after a person.

Last year we were lucky enough to pay a visit to the distillery and for more information about Pulteney - click here to read our report. Their core range consists of a 12, 17, 21 and 30 years old. The brand has grown massively in the last three years and this has seen Old Pulteney climb into the top 20 for world sales of single malts. This 21 years old is bottled at 46% ABV and has the highest percentage of sherry cask maturation of any whisky in their core range - 30% has been matured in ex-fino sherry casks, with the other 70% matured in re-fill ex-bourbon casks. The recent new re-branded packaging is pictured above.

Our tasting notes
The award seems the perfect time to re-visit a sample that we have at home and construct some more detailed tasting notes than we have offered before.  So, here goes ...

The colour is golden amber and the nose is packed with lovely aromas - something nutty (think of almonds), vanilla, oatcakes, crisp red apples, dried fruits and caramel (the combination of the last two is reminiscent of toffee apples). Other aromas are less prominent and appear with increased time in the glass, especially hints of ripe banana and malty cereals.  On the palate, this is drier than expected and is packed with oak, cinnamon and nutmeg notes initially. It feels buttery and creamy in the mouth with pleasant toffee-like sweetness complimenting the wood spices of earlier.  The dried fruitiness from the nose is also present, with notes of sultana particularly evident, along with further elements of almonds, vanilla, burnt sugar and a hint of saltiness that cuts through the richness to give balance. The finish is again dry and delicious, if not slightly short, and becomes saltier as the flavours disappear.

What's the verdict?
This is a lovely whisky and one that deserves to be in the spotlight, although only the individual whisky drinker can judge whether it is the World Whisky of the Year for them.  Naturally to come to this conclusion, the whisky has to be to your taste and style.  What this exposure will do is bring not just the 21 years old, but the distillery and its single malt range to a far wider audience.  This can only be a good thing and it is deserved as Pulteney has long been an under-rated or overlooked distillery. If you get the chance to try it, then we highly recommend that you do.

We would like to take this opportunity to send our congratulations to Malcolm Waring, the Distillery Manager at Pulteney, and those people that we know at Inver House on this great award.  We raise a glass to you all.

New releases > Old Pulteney WK209 'Good Hope'

The Old Pulteney distillery is the most northerly mainland distillery in Scotland. Located near to the Highland fishing town of Wick, it lies around 15 mile south of John O'Groats. Old Pulteney is currently owned by Inver House Distillers and has a production capacity of three million litres a year. The distillery was founded in 1826 by James Henderson and Wick was the the main European hub for herring fishing industry at that time. The distillery was named after Sir William Johnstone Pulteney, the herring industry's leading light of the day and this makes it one of the few distilleries to be named after a person. To read further information about the distillery and our visit there - click here.

Old Pulteney's core range consists of a 12, 17, 21 and 30 years old. The brand has grown massively in the last three years and this has seen Old Pulteney climb into the top 20 for world sales of single malts. Worldwide sales grew by 16% alone in 2008. This exclusive addition to the range is only available in the travel retail/Duty Free sector and is limited to 9,600 bottles. Each one litre bottle will retail at around the £35 mark and it has just been released.

Old Pulteney's new whisky is named after the trawler Good Hope (pictured, left), whose home port was Wick and carried the registration number WK209. It was built in 1948 and was the first trawler from Wick to use echo location technology to find schools of fish. The whisky has been bottled at an alcoholic strength of 46% ABV and has been entirely matured in European oak ex-sherry casks. The age is not stated, but is rumoured to be a mix of 8-12 year old whiskies, and WK209 follows on from the previous exclusive WK499 release, named after another trawler (the Isabella Fortuna). To read our review of WK499, click here.

Our tasting notes
The colour of WK209 is a vibrant golden yellow and the nose is fresh and promising. There is an immediate aroma of juicy sultanas, followed by some candied citrus peel (especially lemon, with a hint of orange) and crumbly brown sugar. With time aromas of stewed pear and apple appear, which are reminiscent of a fruit compote - this is further confirmed with a whiff of cinnamon and nutmeg spice. The increasingly complexity of the nose also includes aromas of rich butter and salty brine. On the palate, this feels clean, fresh and tangy with a very pleasant initial mix of the salty and sultana notes from the nose. Further dried fruits appear (think of raisin and a hint of candied orange peel), along with the crumbly brown sugar and stewed fruit compote characteristics. The initial sweetness of the palate is helped by a note of honey, before some drier elements turn it in a slightly different direction and add balance and depth. These include notes of toasted almond, wood spice (especially cinnamon) and further salty brine, which seems to increase with time and helps the whisky retain its freshness. The finish is slightly short but pleasant, with the same movement from the sweeter notes to the drier, spicier, saltier ones.

What's the verdict?
This whisky is lovely and offers something different from Old Pulteney. Most of their whiskies are matured in ex-bourbon casks or in a mix of ex-bourbon and sherry casks, so it is interesting to try one from purely ex-sherry casks. It has a pleasant and surprising freshness for a pure sherry cask matured whisky and the combination between the bracing signature saltiness of Old Pulteney and the dried fruity quality from the ex-sherry casks is excellent. WK209 also seems a cracking bargain for the price.

Inbox > January 14, 2011

Inbox is back after its festive break and is ready to bring you more news! Inbox is a weekly round up of whisky news and PR type material that has found its way in to our email inbox. Sadly, we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive, so Inbox has been born! It will feature items from around the world of whisky and will be published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we will write a couple of lines about each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information if you want to. So grab a dram and we hope that you enjoy ...
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Ardbeg iPhone app is coming!
The cult Islay distillery have announced plans to release and Ardbeg app for the iPhone. This will appear in the iTunes store soon and will include interactive features such as distillery history and facts, tasting notes for the core range of whiskies, news updates and access to the online shop.

Chivas Brothers extends ‘Extinct Malts’ range
The Scotch whisky wing of drinks giant Pernod Ricard have announced the release of two new whiskies from two of their closed distilleries – Inverleven and Glenugie. Both are limited to just 500 bottles and will appear under the Deoch an Doras label (Deoch an Doras translates from Gaelic as ‘drink at the door’ or ‘farewell drink’). Inverleven was built within the larger Dumbarton grain whisky distillery in 1938 and taken out of service in 1991. The new release (pictured, left) is bottled at 48.8% ABV and will retail at £275 each. Glenugie used to be the most easterly distillery in Scotland and was located in the town of Peterhead. It was founded in 1831 and closed in 1983. The new release is bottled at 55.5% ABV and will cost £250 each. Both can be purchased at three Chivas visitor centre shops – Aberlour, Glenlivet and Strathisla – or via www.maltwhiskydistilleries.com.

Old Pulteney tasting on Twitter
Inver House, the owner of five Scottish whisky distilleries, have announced a live tasting of some of the Old Pulteney range. This will take place on Twitter at 19:30 UK time on Thursday 20 January. There will be a number of selected whisky bloggers (including us!) and whisky journalists taking part, along with Malcolm Waring – the Distillery Manager at Pulteney. Malcolm has just joined Twitter and if you would like to follow him, then search for @Malcolm_Waring. The whiskies being tasted are the 12 and 17 year olds from the core range and a brand new sherry cask bottling for the travel retail/Duty Free market called WK209, which won't be available until March/April (we are looking forward to trying that one in particular!). If you want to follow the tasting on Twitter, then look out for the tag #wk209.