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Release Notes
Defined and shaped by its location, Old Pulteney is a true and absolute reflection of the place which it lies, the lively coastal Caithness town of Wick in the Scottish Highlands. Introducing a smoky edge to Old Pulteney, Huddart celebrates our birthplace whilst bringing something different to our core whisky collection.
Matured solely in American oak barrels, Huddart is initially matured in second fill ex-bourbon barrels before further maturation in ex-peated whisky barrels which add a slight smokiness, making it an excellent choice for those looking for something with just a slight influence of peat.
Matured solely in American oak barrels, Huddart is initially matured in second fill ex-bourbon barrels before further maturation in ex-peated whisky barrels which add a slight smokiness, making it an excellent choice for those looking for something with just a slight influence of peat.
Old Pulteney
3rd Party Tasting Notes
Appearance: Rich gold.
Aroma: Rich and warming. Brimming initially with mellow wood smoke, honey and oily leather, blooming later into crisp green apple. Creamy vanilla and a hint of burnt toffee in the background.
Taste: Freshly-ground spices and soft vanilla balance the notes of smoke and peat fire. There are both richly sweet and distinctly salty coastal flavours in the background, together reminiscent of salted caramel.
Aroma: Rich and warming. Brimming initially with mellow wood smoke, honey and oily leather, blooming later into crisp green apple. Creamy vanilla and a hint of burnt toffee in the background.
Taste: Freshly-ground spices and soft vanilla balance the notes of smoke and peat fire. There are both richly sweet and distinctly salty coastal flavours in the background, together reminiscent of salted caramel.
Old Pulteney
The Distillery: Old Pulteney
| Established: 1826 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Huddart Street, Wick, Caithness. KW1 5BA, Scotland, UK |
| → website |
2009 - Old Pulteney releases a 30 years old official bottling at the fairly unusual ABV of 44%. I imagine this was a fairly small batch and some casks could have dropped below the legal minimum of 40%.
The Old Pulteney distillery was founded in 1826 by James Henderson in Wick, a fishing village in the far north-east of Scotland. The town lies next to the Wick River and used to be a Royal Burgh in the 16th century. The part of Wick where the distillery is located was called Pulteneytown; it used to be a separate town until 1902. Both Pulteneytown and Old Pulteney are named after Sir William Pulteney, a governor of the British Fisheries Society.
In the new Millenium
2001 - Pacific Spirits (a subsidiary of the Great Oriole Group) acquires Inver House for circa $85,000,000.-
John Dewar & Sons owned the Old Pulteney distillery for only two years; in 1925 it was taken over by the Distillers Company Ltd. (DCL). The DCL decided to close the distillery five years later in 1930. The Old Pulteney distillery remained inactive for 2 decades until 1951 when Old Pulteney was resurrected by R. Cumming; a lawyer from Banff in Speyside. This "amateur" sold the distillery to Hiram Walker in 1955 who decided to renovate Pulteney in 1958. One year later the maltings at Old Pulteney were closed.
In 1961 the owners of Old Pulteney were sold to Allied Breweries which changed its name to Allied Lyons in 1981 and to Allied Domecq plc in 1994. In 1995 the distillery was acquired by Inver House Distillers. They released a 12 years old official bottling in 1997, which was followed by older expressions a few years later.
The town experienced a "boom" in the 19th century thanks to the herring industry. The bay was filled with hundreds of fishing boats and at a certain point the local herring economy became so overheated that the authorities had to declare an alcohol prohibition to prevent things from running out of control. So, the Pulteney distillery was located in a "dry town" for a while.
The Old Pulteney distillery is fairly unique in the sense that it"s located within a town; as far as I know only Bowmore, Oban and Springbank share this trait. Pultneytown was built by Thomas Telford as a fishing village; the streets were named after Thomas" friends. The town was later improved by the engineer Thomas Stevenson, father of the famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson (the author of "Treasure Island"). Meanwhile, the Henderson family was still in control of the Old Pulteney distillery - and they remained in control until 1920 when Old Pulteney was sold to James Watson & Co. Ltd. from Dundee. They didn"t hang on to the distillery for long; in 1923 it was sold to John Dewar"s & Sons Ltd.
2004 - A 17yo official bottling is released. Initially it was bottled at an ABV of 40% and 43%, but around 2006 the alcohol percentage is increased to 46%.
2006 - Pacific Spirits UK is acquired by International Beverage Holdings.
Trivia:
- The northernmost town of mainland Scotland is John O"Groats; less than 20 miles north of the town of Wick and the Old Pultney distillery. The Old Pulteney distillery isn"t the northernmost distillery in Scotland though... Highland Park and Scapa are located on the Orkney islands a little further to the north. At some point there were even rumours about the Blackwood distillery on the Shetland islands, but it seems those plans are definitely cancelled.
- The warehouses at the distillery have room for circa 30,000 casks - most of them bourbon casks.
- Old Pulteney has two stills at the moment, but around the turn of the century they still had three. The two small spirit stills that were utilised at that time were later replaced by a single, larger still.
- The Old Pulteney whisky became an important part of the "Ballantines" blends.
- The lawyer R. Cumming who bought Old Pulteney in 1951 had bought Balblair distillery two years earlier.
from Malt Madness
The Owner: Inver House Distillers
| Established: 1964 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Towers Road, Airdrie, ML6 8P, Scotland, UK |
| → website |
Being part of a larger group ensures the company"s continued success in an increasingly competitive market place.
Inver House is also committed to the training and development of its employees and in 1999 received the coveted Investors in People accreditation.
In October 2001, Inver House entered a new chapter when it was purchased by Pacific Spirit (U.K.) Ltd, now International Beverage Holdings Limited (InterBev) - the international arm of Asia"s leading drinks business, the Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (ThaiBev) with an outstanding portfolio of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wine and beer categories.
The substantial warehousing, blending and office facilities all remained, and do so to this day, as do the state of the art Gin, Vodka and Cream Production Facilities.
However, following the takeover by the management team in 1988, and the revival of the Scotch Whisky industry, Inver House Distillers purchased 5 highly regarded malt distilleries over a period of 9 years. Since then Inver House has gone from strength to strength in its commitment to a worldwide market. This continued commitment was recognised in 1992 with the granting of the Queen"s Award for Export Achievement.
Inver House Distillers was established in 1964 as a subsidiary of the American company, Publicker Industries. In the 1970"s the Scotch Whisky industry faced competition from other spirit categoreis and coupled with the death of its American Chairman, Publicker Industries did not focus its business interests in its Scottish subsidiaries. As a result of this, the malt and grain distilleries at the Scottish site in Airdrie became surplus to requirements and were closed in 1985 and 1986.
Trivia:
- IHD currently owns 5 distilleries: Pulteney, Balblair, Knockdhu (including anCnoc Single Malts), Speyburn and Balmenach.
- IHD also produces blended malt scotch whisky Blairmhor and the blends Hankey Bannister, MacArthur"s, Catto"s and Green Plaid.
- IHD"s portfolio also includes Vodkas, Gins and Liqueurs.
from Inver House Distillers
The Owner: International Beverage
| Established: 2005 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 14 Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, Chom phon, Chatu chak, Bangkok 10900 Thailand |
| → website |
International Beverage"s aim is to become the leading Asian international drinks company.
International Beverage now has responsibility for the growth internationally of a strong portfolio of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and other categories. These global operations are managed out of our four regional headquarters located in United Kingdom, Singapore, China and North America.
We export our brands to over 80 countries outside Thailand and our operations include distilleries in Scotland, China and across South East Asia.
International Beverage Holdings Limited (International Beverage) has been formed to be the international arm of Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (ThaiBev) and was established in 2005 to facilitate the continued expansion of the drinks business outside of Thailand.
Trivia:
- IB"s brand portfolio includes Chang beer, Mekhong Thai whisky, Sang Som liquor, Old Pulteney, Balblair, anCnoc and Speyburn single malts, Hankey Bannister, MacArthur"s, Catto"s and Drummer blended scotch whiskies, Caorunn gin, Old Pulteney and Heather Cream scotch liqueurs."
from International Beverage
The Owner: Thai Beverage Public Company
| Established: 2003 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 14 SangSom Building,Vibhavadee Rangsit Road, Chomphon,Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900 Thailand |
| → website |
White spirits are distilled liquors made from molasses without any mixture or color, and produced in four strengths of varying degrees of alcohol: 28, 30, 35 and 40% alcohol per volume. The company"s largest-selling white spirits are branded Ruang Khao or rice stalk. The labels are color-coded to reflect the alcoholic strength but do not have the brand name printed on them. Other brands in this category are Niyomthai and White Tiger.
ThaiBev produces brown and white spirits. Thai liquor is technically rum. Rum is derived from distilling cane juice, sugar or molasses until the product is with 60-95 degree alcohol content. The content is mixed with purified water to produce a satisfactory level of alcohol content before being transferred to age in charred oak barrels for at least one year. Before being bottled the liquor may be further mixed to adjust for desired color, aroma, and taste, but it has to have at least 40 degree alcohol content.
ThaiBev"s most famous, but not highest selling, liquor brand, Mekhong, originated in 1941 at the Bangyikhan Distillery west of Bangkok. Originally a state-owned distillery, it dates back over 200 years to the beginning of the current Chakri Dynasty. The launch of Mekhong was aimed at producing high-quality Thai liquor to stem the increase in the import of foreign liquor and to eventually replace imported brands. Sang Som however, has been the country"s most popular liquor brand for over 29 years, until 2006 holding almost 50% of the entire brown spirits market in Thailand. The company also produces Mungkorn Thong and Hong Thong and brands based on malt whisky, like Crown 99 and Blue, as well as Scottish whisky brands such as Hankey Banister and Pinwinnie Royal Scotch Whisky.
Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) is one of the largest beverage alcohol companies in South East Asia. Listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, Thai Beverage Plc has a market capitalisation in excess of US$4bn.
Thai Beverage Public Company Limited owns and distributes a number of significant brands including Chang beer and Mekhong and Sang Som rum. Chang Beer, which first started production in March 1995 at the brewery in the district of Bang Ban, Ayutthaya Province, is the top-selling brand in Thailand. It managed to win 60% of market share in Thailand after a hard market fight with the previously biggest brand Singha. In 2006, the company"s market share was 49% of the beer market, according to research company Canadean.
"ThaiBev" was incorporated in Thailand in October 2003 in order to consolidate Thailand"s leading beer , spirits and non-alcohol businesses owned by the principal shareholders and their business associates under a single holding company.
from Wikipedia, ThaiBev.com