If you’re feeling very rich today, or you are a big OP collector here are some exciting news for you. A brand new spanking OP. Doesn’t happen frequently.
Old Pulteney is to unveil the oldest and most exclusive official expression of single
malt since its establishment in 1826. The Spirit for Old Pulteney 40 Year Old came from four casks. They included three Spanish ex-sherry hogsheads and one American oak ex-bourbon barrel. The casks yielded 493 bottles of whisky at a natural strength of 51.3% ABV at cask strength, has not been chill-filtered or colored. Despite the age the spirit shows
remarkable freshness and intensity and boasts an unmistakable Pulteney character.
The whisky is presented in unusual deep-blue bottles crafted by The Tudor Crystal Design
company and its sister company Plowden and Thompson’s Undertaking. Hand blown from
melting silica, soda ash and special additions each bottle is then finished with solid silver
melted blown across the glass to form a wave pattern. This gives the familiar ‘Smuggler’s
Kettle’ Old Pulteney bottle elegance and flair that pay respect to the liquid inside.
Each bottle of Old Pulteney 40 Year Old is topped with a stone closure whittled, polished,
fine-pressure jetted, milled and polished again by the famous local Caithness Stone
Industries. The bottles are finished with a Scottish hallmarked silver medallion stating the
age of the whisky. The high-gloss lacquered wooden box that encases the bottle has the
iconic Old Pulteney herring drifter silver-etched into it to complete the stunning
presentation.
In addition every bottle of Old Pulteney 40 Year Old comes with a hand-signed book by
whisky expert Charles MacLean.
Pulteney Distillery Manager, Malcolm Waring, explains:
“Old Pulteney begins its life as spirit already full of character. Then we
mature it on site, here in Wick, we think its hugely important. With each
passing year the whisky takes on a little bit of Caithness, the initial
charisma is there but it develops more and more complexity. To see that so
clearly in a whisky matured for over four decades is extraordinary; we are
overwhelmed by the quality of this liquid and by how firmly it’s anchored
here. The people, the process, the land and the sea are all in there.”
Old Pulteney 40 Year Old will be available from specialist whisky retailers globally from 1st
November 2012 at a RRP of £1490.
No sample yet, but hopefully some time the whisky fairy will drop by, then I’ll publish my notes. Sounds very yummy, and very expensive at the same time.