- Old Pulteney’s “Bow Wave,” a 45 Year Old Single Malt and the oldest whisky from the Highland distillery to date, was sold at the Distillers One of One Auction yesterday for a huge £68,750.
- This exceptionally rare whisky exhibits a complex flavour profile alongside the signature maritime tasting notes of Old Pulteney.
- Old Pulteney Bow Wave is a stunning expression, presented in a hand-crafted glass art piece which represents the movement of a ship through crashing waves.
In a monumental moment in the distillery’s history, Old Pulteney’s “Bow Wave’, a 45 Year Old Single Malt and the oldest expression to be produced at Pulteney Distillery in Wick, secured a bid of £68,750 at this years’ Distillers One of One Auction.
Selling for more than double than its highest pre-sale estimate (£20,000 – £30,000) with all proceeds going to charity, Old Pulteney, known as The Maritime Malt, specially created Bow Wave for this year’s Distillers One of One Auction, offering a never-to-be-repeated opportunity to own a piece of Old Pulteney’s history.
Bow Wave carefully matured for more than four decades within hand-selected American oak casks before completing its voyage with a further five years maturation inside a single first-fill Spanish oak butt. Emerging deep golden in colour, Bow Wave has maritime flavours imparted from the northern sea air that laps the distillery found on the Caithness Coast in the Scottish Highlands.
Created with rarity at its core, Bow Wave is encased within an equally remarkable piece of art design by glass artists, Glasstorm. Presented upon a bed of Caithness slate, the bottle is crafted from hand-blown deep blue glass with complex Inciso cuts mirroring the essence of crashing waves, while glimpses of the golden liquid shine through like reflections of a morning sunrise.
Distillery Manager, Malcolm Waring, said: “I am extremely proud of Old Pulteney’s Bow Wave. It’s an exceptional expression, with a wealth of passion, craftsmanship and love gone into its creation. To see it perform so well at the Distillers One of One Auction is so incredible, and to know it’s going to a fantastic cause makes it even more worthwhile.”
The biennial Distillers One of One Auction is held to raise funds for The Distillers’ Charity. This year, the auction raised more than £2.2 million, which will aid in empowering Scotland’s young people to create positive change in their lives and communities.
About Old Pulteney
The distillery was founded in 1826 by James Henderson and was named after the newly developed Pulteneytown area of Wick. At the time it was one (and still is) of the most northerly on the Scottish mainland, and due to a lack of conventional roads, was only accessible by sea. The raw barley was brought in by boat and the whisky was then shipped out by distillery workers who were also herring fishermen.
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