Doug Allan to launch the first short film

Old Pulteney partners with Doug Allan to launch the first short film for its new brand campaign ‘Rise With The Tide’

We’re thrilled to announce underwater explorer and Blue Planet cameraman Doug Allan as the first partner in our new campaign, Rise With The Tide. 

As one of the world’s best known and respected cameramen, Doug Allan specialises in wildlife filming, particularly underwater. His 35 year career has seen him work on over 65 films and documentaries to date, including the renowned Blue Planet, narrated by David Attenborough. His award-winning work includes eight Emmys and four BAFTAs – most recently, the BAFTA Scotland Outstanding Contribution to Craft Award in 2017. An outspoken ambassador for protecting our oceans against the effects of climate change, his life has been shaped by the sea, starting from the moment he tried on his first diving mask and learning to dive in Scottish waters.

To launch the campaign, we invited Doug to our Highland coastal hometown of Wick to swap stories with Distillery Manager Malcolm Waring, and to learn how embracing the sea’s power has led him on an incredible journey – all captured to create the first short film in the new Rise With The Tide series.

The film explores Doug’s best moments and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, diving into the beauty of the UK’s coastline, and opens up about the significance of patience, an important virtue when working with nature. Often shooting for days or weeks at a time, he recognises that the biggest rewards in life only come one way – with patience – something Old Pulteney is familiar with too.

Speaking of the new campaign, Doug Allan said: “Working with Old Pulteney has been a real pleasure – a wonderful insight into how the sea not only shapes our environment and our wildlife, but also our whisky. I was struck by how much the team at Pulteney Distillery view the sea as a silent partner in their whisky making. The passion from Malcolm and the team at the distillery was evident, and I quickly understood how much respect they have for the sea – it’s made them who they are. So, it’s no wonder they want to highlight its life-giving, awe-inspiring power.

For me, giving wildlife photography a try has given me everything I could have hoped for in life – from adventuring into the unknown underwater, experiencing the excitement of befriending wild animals and witnessing them in their natural habitat, and exploring vast tundra in some of Earth’s most extreme conditions – what a journey it’s been.”

Malcom Waring, Pulteney Distillery Manager said: “Meeting Doug was like meeting a kindred spirit. He understands perfectly how the sea can be embraced for the betterment of people, place and product, and that’s a value we hold dear here at Pulteney. The sea is absolutely a part of everything we do… we’re known as The Maritime Malt for a reason. Our collection has a beautifully fresh, briny quality to it thanks to our casks aging in the sea air – and it’s been that way since the beginning, when our hometown really came into being thanks to the herring fishing industry and really, thanks to the sea.”

Old Pulteney’s story has been inseparable from the sea since our first barrel was filled in 1826 – it’s embedded in the taste and is viewed as a silent partner. The new campaign brings this maritime heritage to the fore, recognising the importance the sea plays in not only the creation of Old Pulteney whisky, but in the lives of so many throughout the world.