Old Pulteney 13-year old Single Cask (Barrel & Batch) Whisky Review!

Pulteney Distillery's marketing team make plenty of noise about maritime influences and salty flavours, even calling it 'The Maritime Malt', but anyone familiar with the saltier end of the peaty spectrum will struggle to find any trace of it in their core range. When presented properly, though - i.e. at a good ABV and from active casks - Old Pulteney is a rich, full-flavoured dram that almost seems to scream "worm tub"!

Pulteney Distillery is located in the town of Wick on the far north-east coast of the Scottish mainland. The trek from Edinburgh is well over 5-hours, or over 2.5-hours from Inverness. That's not exactly a stone's throw by anyone's standards, and the round trip is going to make a serious dent in any traveller's itinerary. You'd probably stop in if you're also going further north to Wolfburn or even Orkney, but even still this is not an easy distillery to visit. Pulteney Distillery was founded in 1826 at a time when Wick was a busy fishing port, but the distillery wound up closing from 1930 until 1951 while under DCL ownership. That closure was largely thanks to Wick becoming a dry town from 1920 until 1947, supposedly after an American evangelist convinced the local council to ban alcohol. Imagine going through World War II without a whisky while a distillery sat silent in the middle of town! Supposedly it was a very rough town prior to that alchohol ban, and it still doesn't have the best reputation today. Pulteney Distillery was sold to a local solicitor in 1951 and was re-opened, then changing hands multiple times and eventually becoming part of Inver House Distillers along with Balblair, Speyburn, KnockDhu (bottled as AnCnoc) and Balmenach. The official bottlings from Pulteney Distillery are branded as Old Pulteney, which was supposedly the nickname of Sir William Pulteney whom the original Pulteneytown, now part of Wick, was named after. 

The distillery setup is an interesting one, with unpeated malted barley put through a relatively short fermentation time of 56-60 hours on average, followed by some interesting contradictions in the distillation regimen and reflux, where heavier vapours fall back into the body of the still and are effectively redistilled before rising up again. The wash still & spirit still both feature large "boil balls" or onions at the bases of their necks (for more reflux), but then the wash still has a very short flat-topped neck with a slightly downwards-angled lyne arm (for less reflux), and the spirit still has a fat neck & very odd U-shaped lyne arm which starts horizontal but turns 90-degrees downwards (again, less reflux) before twisting at a right-angle into a large purifier which sees heavier compounds sent back into the still for re-distillation (for more reflux). Then in one final contradiction, the vapours that do make it past the purifier head into a worm tub condenser, which means slower condensation with less copper contact than a modern shell & tube condenser, resulting in a heavier, oilier and sulphurous spirit (see here for more information). Interestingly this worm tub is a series of straight pipes stacked on top of each other submerged inside a rectangular steel vessel, rather than the conventional coiled tube (the namesake "worm" in a worm tub) submerged inside a round wooden vessel. 

Old Pulteney's flagship 12-year old is bottled at 40% ABV (the legal minimum) and is both chill filtered and artificially coloured, so it's not the example to reach for if you want to experience the distillery character. You're going to want a higher bottling strength and natural presentation, which would usually mean you'd need an independent bottling, and there's not many of those around. The distillery does occasionally release single cask official bottlings, both from the distillery shop and occasionally for certain markets - which brings us to our hero of the day, Barrel & Batch. This free-to-join "whisky co-op" group is the brainchild of Sydney hospitality stalwarts Ray & Simon, who bring small batch and/or single cask whiskies and whiskeys to a growing fanbase here in Australia. Unlike the multiple subscription services that we now have, Barrel & Batch does not operate as an automatic "send by default", where you'll automatically be sent a bottle of everything they release unless you manually "opt out" each time - yes, I hate that idea. This small duo already has some serious notches on their bedposts, featuring exclusive bottlings from Bruichladdich (reviewed here) to Highland Park and Redbreast in the past. They're also the people responsible for the 13-year old Old Pulteney single cask that I'm reviewing here, which was released early in their journey soon after the pandemic hit Australia back in 2020. 

This is a single cask release bottled specifically for Barrel & Batch, fully-matured in a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel for over 13-years and bottled at 53.0% ABV - reduced slightly from cask strength due to a miscommunication with the bottling hall, but I don't it's hurt this whisky in the slightest. I've been lucky enough to try a couple of sherry cask Old Pulteney single casks which were big & powerful meaty whiskies, so an ex-bourbon cask example will make for an interesting comparison. This 13-year old was the first single cask Old Pulteney bottled for Australia, while more recently there's been a younger refill cask release (not a single cask bottling) that was bottled at cask strength for Australia's largest subscription service - having tasted both of these Australian exclusives, let me assure you that there is no comparison at all between them. In fact I found the aforementioned cask strength to be very unpleasant and almost undrinkable, while this Barrel & Batch single cask bottling on the other hand is very much drinkable - maybe a little too drinkable! At the time of writing it's still available from the Barrel & Batch website for the reasonable sum (by Australian standards) of $199 AUD, That's a decent deal for any single cask official bottling on these shores. Let's get to it!

Old Pulteney 13-year old, Barrel & Batch, 53.0%. Highlands, Scotland.

Distilled 2006, fully matured in single ex-bourbon barrel #1451, bottled 2020. Reduced slightly from cask strength. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 258 bottles. 

Colour: Mid gold. 

Nose: Very thick honey, as in straight from the fridge. Very malty too, and slightly meaty & vegetal. Worm tubs ahoy! Fresh juicy oranges, roasted nuts & toasted oak. Touch of fresh herbs (sage & rosemary?) in the background. Vanilla fudge, and a hint of yeast extract (vegemite/marmite).

Texture: Heavy weight, thick & chewy. Rich & malty. Very slight heat, and it works well. 

Taste: Lovely chewy maltiness, like munching on a handful of still-damp barley in the kiln. That thick chewy honey and fresh oranges again, but it's less sweet here than on the nose. Vanilla fudge and that meaty yeast extract again. Touch of warm toasted oak. 

Finish: Medium length. Chewy malt again, but more gristy (flour-y) now. More fresh orange, and the vanilla fudge & yeast extract. Orange & cream chews (lollies / confectionary). And there's even a salty tang at the end. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: More of these please Barrel & Batch, and more of these please Old Pulteney! Worm tubs, high strength, a good first-fill cask in the early teens, and reasonable pricing. Just what the doctor ordered! For those who've overlooked Old Pulteney in the past like I did, find yourself an example which also ticks all of those boxes, and it'll completely change your mind about the distillery. Which is precisely what a good single cask bottling should do, whether official or independent. If you're an unpeated worm tub fan - think bourbon cask Craigellachie, Mortlach, or Edradour, then an Old Pulteney like this will be right in your wheelhouse. If the above checklist applies to you and you're also in Australia, get to the Barrel & Batch website and order one while you can. That's purely a recommendation from someone who bought this very bottle and reviewed it. There are no kickbacks, PR firms, marketing pressures or paid links involved here. Just good whisky!

Cheers!