We tried the new Port Charlotte 2007 CC:01 at a Bruichladdich tweet tasting on April 14, 2016. Check out @Bruichladdich #WhiskyEx on twitter to see some of the other participants’ notes. This particular expression is travel retail only, so keep an eye out for it at the airport duty free shops (also available at the distillery).

Port Charlotte is a range of expressions from Bruichladdich that is characterised by heavily peated malt. The range is a reference to the whisky that was produced at the now closed Loch Indaal distillery (also known as Port Charlotte distillery, closed 1929). Mark Reynier (Bruichladdich CEO) wanted to reopen the Port Charlotte distillery but well things happened and that wasn’t one of them. So the alternative? Make Port Charlotte at Bruichladdich.

So what’s with the unusual naming of this particular expression? Well the 2007 refers to the year of distillation, CC presumably refers to Cognac Casks, and I suspect “01” refers to the this being the first in a line of expressions from Cognac casks. So it’s a pretty cool code that defines a lot of the provenance of this whisky. Seeing as how Bruichladdich have been pretty modern with their transparency, craft/origin ethos, and marketting, this naming fits right in. Being a systematic being myself, I like it.

For more info see the article about this expression at the Bruichladdich site.

Distillery: Bruichladdich

Age: 8 years old

Cask: French Oak (insinuated to be ex-Cognac casks)

ABV: 57.8%

Price: ~£63 as seen on the Bruichladdich site

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