94 points,"Milk chocolate appears on the nose alongside bonfire smoke. On the palate oak spice blends with wine gum, treacle toffee and ripe pear flavours."- International Wine&Spirit Competition 2021 We were sad to see the fabulous 17 Year Old - a whisky that seemed to be going head-to-head with Chris Hoy for the title of most medal-decorated Scot - disappear from the Old Pulteney range. However, the 18 Year Old is every bit as good. As proven by Gold Medals at the International Spirit Competition 2021 and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2020. Once famed for its barrels of herring, Wick is now renowned for its casks of award-winning single malt. And there's no whisky on the planet quite like the"Manzanilla of the North". The most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland, Old Pulteney is lashed by the salty sea and that maritime influence penetrates deep into the whisky produced there. Their single malt is so good and so distinctive that King Charles has his very own cask - just don't tell Laphroaig or Ballindalloch. Aged in a combination ex-Bourbon (probably Jack Daniel's, Buffalo Trace and Maker's Mark like its predecessor) and Spanish oak (Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso Sherry), Old Pulteney's 18 Year Old offers cracked black peppercorns, creamy vanilla, desiccated coconut, wildflower honey, Christmas cake, charred lemon, honeycomb, dulse, salted buttered crumpets, green apple, mixed peel, butterscotch, crunchy pears, chocolate, Manzanilla and smoked almonds, and lashings and lashings of saline sea spray. Enjoy with fish and chips, Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, or a brisk walk on the beach.£20.71 per 100.00ml