Old Pulteney WK209

The WK 209 Good Hope is a herring boat moored in Wick. Rumor has it this was the first boat to gauge depth by means of the echo sounder. The contents (of the whisky, not of the boat) matured exclusively on oloroso sherry casks for between 8 and 10 years, but the bottle did not get an age statement. 9.600 one-liter-bottles were filled for the duty free shops.

The nose needs quite a bit of time to become good. It starts on carrots, celery, chestnuts, bicycle tyre and chicory. A bit weird, actually. It takes a few moment for the sweet notes to appear: chocolate, hazelnuts, leather and vanilla. Touch of gooseberry and pear. The typical saltiness is quite absent on the nose.

The arrival is quite alcoholic and pretty vegetal. Cooked vegetables, even a bit meaty if you know what I mean. A bit like licking leather (which I do not often do, but let’s not go there). Midpalate some candied orange peel, hint of coffee, chocolate and nuts. Loads of cinnamon and nutmeg, but also liquorice. The typical saltiness is now prominently present.

The finish is a battle between dried fruits and salt, with a dry mouth as the end result.

A special Pulteney, that is the least you can say. But I have a bit of trouble with the duality, the lack of balance.

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