The world knows the book "Whiskey Bible" mostly since 2015. Although it had been published in many editions before, it was not until that year, when the author awarded the heaviest weight of "whiskey of the year" to a Japanese whiskey, that it attracted a lot of reports, allowing the book to break the circle with Japanese whisky.
The author of the Bible seems to have touched the traffic password, and has never let the "whisky of the year" land in Scotland again.
Looking at the "Whisky of the Year" in the years before 2015, the results are actually decent, and most of them are awarded to large groups, such as LVMH's Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, and Pernod Ricard's Ballantine's.
So when 2012's "Whisky of the Year" landed on an obscure bottle of whisky, the book also caused a small industry shock — and this wine is The Old Pulteney.
Nestled in the coastal city of Wick in northern Scotland, Fuultney is one of the highest-latitude wineries in the world. Vic was once a famous fishing port, rich in silver herring and golden whiskey, hence the name "The town of silver and gold".
The boom in business activity brought about by the boom in the fishing industry led to a surge in demand for whisky, but at that time only whisky came to the city by sea and some local bootlegs were available for drinking. It wasn't until 1826 that James Henderson officially established the legal distillery Old Pulteney. The town of Vic was early known as The Town of Pulteney, and its place name was derived from Sir William Johnstone Pulteney, then president of the British Fisheries Association. So Fuultini is probably the only winery in Scotland named after a character.
Time passes, the vicissitudes of the mulberry field. The fishing industry in Vic Town is gradually depressed, and the once prosperous fishing port can no longer see the bustling scene of the past. As a result, many of the fishermen who depended on them turned into winery workers, and their descendants no longer inherited the family business; some fishermen fished during the fishing season, and worked in the Futteni distillery during the fishing season.
Like most of its peers, Futney has experienced several changes of hands and discontinuities, the longest lasting 20 years. After the resumption of production in 1951, there were not many products launched independently, and to drink Futney's single malt whiskey, you could only buy works occasionally launched by independent bottling companies.
But this did not affect the praise of the winery by discerning people, and the famous British host and writer Tom Morton even said: "Futney is the most underrated whisky in Scotland." ”
It wasn't until 1995 that the distillery began to focus on promoting its own brand of single malt whisky. And with the brand, it must have its own personality and tone, And The tone of Futney is just in line with its own tradition of more than 100 years - marine style whisky.
If you want to say it again, it is a slightly salty, sea breeze-like smell.
It has long been a matter of opinion as to where the salty taste in whisky comes from, but because it is more common in wineries located by the sea, some people believe that this is a trace of the sea breeze in the wine. Although I don't know whether it is true or not, this is very much in line with the location of Futtenina in the fishing port town.
In addition, The Fortney Distillery has a uniquely shaped jug-type still, which does not have the "swan neck" commonly found in the industry, but instead has a neck that takes onion ball shape. The shape was not intentional, and it is said that at that time, due to the height of the stills, the distillery had to remove the swan neck.
Unexpectedly, this creates the unique flavor characteristics of Fuultney whisky: during the distillation process, the alcohol vapor can be directly returned to the lower part of the distiller and re-distilled, making the wine more aromatic and full-bodied. Not only that, but the "wine gourd" has also become the symbol of the distillery, and the shape of the bottle, which is now highly recognizable, also imitates its unique distiller design.
The malts used in the winery are almost always dried by sea breeze, and the non-peat-baked malts and uniquely shaped stills give the new wines a complexity that no other winery can match while carrying an iconic marine atmosphere. During the ageing stage, the liquor is transferred to bourbon or shirley barrels in seaside warehouses and slowly "breathes" the coastal air.
Stuart Harvey, chief bartender at Inver House, says that the sea breeze over the years always affects the flavor of the wine barrels. During the stormy season, the waves always wash through Futteni's cellars by the sea, and the air is filled with salt, which will be absorbed by the barrel along with the water.
In 1997, The Fortney Distillery released the official 12-year single wheat, followed by several higher vintages; in 2012, Fortenny was named the world's best whisky by the Whisky Bible for 21 years, and immediately ushered in an order wave, and finally turned from "undervalued whisky" to become widely known.
Let's take a look at Futney's core range of whiskies:
This 12-year-old Futney single malt whisky is an entry-level piece, but the performance is not ambiguous. The pronounced sea breeze and salty aroma of bourbon barrels greatly enhance the layering and complexity of the wine, as well as the flavor of citrus fruits, which are soft on the palate.
In addition to being a great net drink, this wine is also very suitable for direct meals, especially with chicken, fish, seafood and so on. Won the Gold Medal at the 2019 International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) and the Silver Medal at the 2020 International Spirits Challenge (ISC).
Next up is The Fuultini 15-Year Single Malt Whisky, which has more depth and complexity in flavor, uses non-condensing filtration and increases the alcohol content to 46 degrees, making the wine stronger and fuller. Aged in bourbon and Spanish oak barrels, it balances the stylistic characteristics of both barrels, with aromas of fresh fruit and cream to preserved apricot flavors from shelly barrels.
It is said that The product that was one order higher than 12 years before Forteni was 17 years, but the high vintage original wine inventory was urgent and replaced by this 15 years instead of 17 years. Thankfully, it's only the vintage and price that have dropped, and the quality is still excellent, and the wine soon won the Gold Medal at the 2019 International Spirits Challenge (ISC) and the Gold Medal at the Scotch Whisky Masters that same year.
Then there's the highlight, Forteni 18 years — because this one is seen as the successor of Futney for 21 years that year. The wine ages in Bourbon barrels and then passes to the Spanish Euroso Sherry barrels. With soft aromas of green apple, cream cookies and chocolate, you can feel the full body of the wine in the mouth, and the aromas of apple, citrus, dried figs and chocolate are intertwined, giving the taste buds a great sense of satisfaction.
The wine won the Gold Medal at the 2019 International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) and the following year at the World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) in San Francisco – still a big winner for the 21 years it has been discontinued.
Finally, it should be emphasized that traditional Fuultney whiskies do not have a peat flavor, as they don't think a good whisky must have peat, but to satisfy whisky lovers who are obsessed with the "Sea Breeze + Peat" flavor combination (such as in the next!). They also added a peat-flavored vintageless piece to the core collection, Huddart Single Malt Whisky.
Strictly speaking, the malt that makes this wine is also not peat, but it is aged in wooden barrels containing heavy peat whiskey, thus absorbing a small amount of peat aroma, combined with the sea salt flavor of Futney itself, the overall performance is quite excellent, and it is particularly suitable for pairing with foods such as bacon and barbecue. The wine also won the 2020 International Spirits Challenge (ISC) Gold Award.
Finally, on the eve of the Lunar Year of the Tiger, Fortenny has launched the "Fufu Shengwei" Gift Box Set for Chinese consumers, which contains a bottle of Futney 12-year-old whisky and two whisky tasting cups, which are festive and grand, and the gift is suitable for self-use.
【Drinking Molecules】 is a self-media operated by Huang Shan, a wine columnist, aiming to popularize wine knowledge in an interesting way.