One of the highlights of this past Saturday's mega tasting at Union Square Wines was the excellent Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch. This lesser known scotch hails from the town of Wick, the northernmost distillery in Scotland. The area is rugged and surrounded by sea, lending a maritime air to their strong collection of single malts. Three scotches were available for tasting, with the well made 12 year old ($40) offering a fine introduction to the brand and representing a solid everyday drinking scotch.The 17 year old ($90) was terrific - a little sweet with notes of caramel. The 17 year old and up scotches are aged in both bourbon barrels and Spanish sherry barrels, which impart a bit of sweetness. The 21 year old ($120) was very good as well, this one aged in American fine oak as well as the sherry barrels. It had a leathery quality and was less sweet and somewhat astringent. For both of these, a bit of water or an ice cube would help open them up.
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