How far would you go to get hold of your favourite Scotch? In the case of Charles Patter, an 800-mile round trip by plane to purchase a £32.49 bottle of single malt.
Charles, 67, left the staff at remote Pulteney distillery in Wick slack-jawed in surprise when he turned up earlier this month – having flown there by private plane from North Coates airfield in Lincolnshire, close to his home.
He took the opportunity to enjoy a distillery tour, bought a bottle of Old Pulteney 12-year-old – priced on the distillery website at £32.49 – and was home in time to sample a pre-dinner dram the same evening.
‘I first sampled Old Pulteney whisky at a party, and loved it so much I decided to make a special trip to Wick to pick up a bottle,’ Patter told the Old Pulteney blog.
‘I like a dram of good whisky before dinner, and Old Pulteney is my favourite – it’s really smooth and palatable.’
Old Pulteney senior brand manager Margaret Mary Clarke said the entire distillery team were impressed by Charles' efforts.
She added: ‘Old Pulteney has always been a whisky associated with adventure, but usually of the maritime kind… There will be something extremely special about enjoying a dram from that bottle, knowing that Charles really went the extra mile to buy it in person from the distillery team.’