Now and again, I manage to get my hands on a single cask bottling release. Be it via WhiskyBrother and one of their special single cask bottlings or when friends travel. The Whisky Brother releases are legendary, and I am waiting with bated breath for what is coming out from them this year.
Back to today’s tasting; at the end of 2016, John came home with this bottle of Port Charlotte 10 year old Special Reserve Private Cask Scotch whisky bottling. It is a 10 yo release matured in Sherry casks. John received it as a gift from one of his colleagues. FC knows how much we love whisky and arranged this bottle for us.
Bruichladdich is situated on the beautiful Islay and is known for 3 different styles of whisky. They are bottled as follows: Bruichladdich is the unpeated release, Port Charlotte is peated to a hefty 40 ppm, and Octomore, the heavyweight, peated to an enormous 131 ppm. Bruichladdich is owned by Remy Cointreau.
The Village of Port Charlotte lies just south of Bruichladdich close to the shore of Loch Indaal. There stand the ruins of LochinDaal Distillery that was in operation from 1829 to 1929. The Port Charlotte brand pays tribute to this now silent distillery.
I invited Emily from the Whizzky App to join me on Twiter, to taste this limited release. Emily loves whisky as much as I do, and it is a great privilege to share a dram with such a special lady in the whisky industry.
Also Read: Armorik Millesime 2002 whisky
The Port Charlotte Special Reserve is a 10 year old single malt whisky aged in a sherry cask. This bottle is from Cask no 852, and it was distilled 15th October 2003 and bottled 5th March 2014.
REGION: Islay
ABV: 50%
COLOUR: Dark golden syrup colour
NOSE: Peat, sherry, smoke, salt and ash. Dark chocolate and after adding water, there are notes of smoky bacon with cranberry sauce.
PALATE: Ash, earthy peat, Lindt Orange Intense and Salted Caramel chocolate, sherry, vanilla, halva. After adding water to soften the alcohol, there are more sweet noes with hints of cinnamon and liquorice.
FINISH: Long and lingering with notes of ash, citrus, smoke and earthy peat. Quite spicy
RATING: EXCELLENT
An enjoyable, rich, bold and complex dram. The Port Charlotte is not for the faint-hearted. You need to spend some time to appreciate the peat notes. This Port Charlotte is the perfect marriage between the peat and the sherry. Two different elements that work together as an excellent team.
Also Read: Laphroaig PX Cask whisky
Let's change things up. This past weekend, we celebrated a special memory by opening some…
Continuing with my notes from the Loch Lomond distillery visit, I'm diving into the Loch…
Chivas Regal 12 vs Glenfiddich 12 year old whisky: a battle of two iconic drams.…
My husband John is a frequent traveller. Recently, he brought home the Ardbeg Smoketrails Manzanilla…
Over the years, I have explored a variety of affordable whiskies, including releases from India…
Looking around my whisky room, I was in the mood for an uncomplicated side-by-side comparison.…
View Comments
Looks and sounds like a great Port Charlotte! A really nice find- good work John :)
Thanks for the kind words on our releases, we are expecting something any day now, and we have a big-hitter arriving in a few months :)
Hi Marc, I am very curious about the big hitter that will be arriving. Can't wait to see what it is. Thank you for stopping by. Jeannette