Old Pulteney

Founded in 1826 by James Henderson, the Pulteney Distillery lies close to the south of Wick, which was the herring fishing capital of Europe in the 19th Century. Up to 1000 boats used the port, which was named Pulteneytown, and the distillery was only accessible by sea. This meant that the whisky had to be exported on boats, so the workers also moonlighted as fisherman, often shipping in the barley at night. The Pulteney distillery remains the northernmost distillery on mainland Scotland to date, and is one of the few located in a town centre. The capacity is just 1 million litres annually, and there are both official and independent bottles available.