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Release Notes
18,000 numbered bottles in this bottling. Port Charlotte is spirit made at Bruichladdich peated at 40ppm. Matured in Bourbon and Madeira casks.
Royal Mile Whiskies
3rd Party Tasting Notes
Here's the brand new Port Charlotte! We'll also have a glass of the PC5 at hand so that we can compare both.:
Colour: straw (the PC5 is rather pale gold, that is to say darker).
Nose: it's obviously the same make, except that the PC6 is straighter at first nosing, more directly on smoke and less on pears and kirsch. But then I detect something fruitier (apricots, very ripe melons) and a rather distinct vinosity, but I wouldn't say this is 'winey'. Whiffs of peonies, clean wine barrel, then warm butter and mashed potatoes, hot cake... More towards pastries than the PC5, with maybe a little less smoke. Gets more demonstrative with time, more 'raw' (wool, 'clean' manure, porridge, new leather, soaked grain). Other than that it's close to the PC5, with just these added faint winey hints that may (or may not, I have no info at hand) come from time spent in good wine casks. But it certainly doesn't smell like wine-finished whisky as such.
Nose (w. water): now it got much nicer than the PC5. Indeed, it's straighter, all on peat and whiffs of a farmyard in a hot summer day, and without a single winey notes left. The hints of mint and curry that we got in the PC5 disappeared as well. Very, very 'Islay', and an excellent swimmer it seems.
Mouth (neat): again, starts cleaner and better balanced than the PC5 as well as rather more peppery and spicy and, again, less kirschy. But it does need water...
So, with water: still powerful and, again, cleaner than the PC5 (I'm not meaning the latter was dirty of course). More fresh fruits (butter pears) and a perfect peatiness, with also notes of ginger tonic and gentian spirit. Very, very good, maybe marginally closer to the Islays from the south shore than the PC5, that is. And indeed, no winey notes on the palate.
Finish: long, peaty, fruity, very clean, with notes of plum spirit.
Rating? I'd say two points above the PC5, which means 88 points.
09/29/2007 - Added comments - I just learned that this PC6 was partly matured in Madeira casks. Well, all I can say is that it worked well and that it was only relatively obvious to me on the nose that some 'not too vinous' wine was involved ihere. At least we've got the answer now .
Colour: straw (the PC5 is rather pale gold, that is to say darker).
Nose: it's obviously the same make, except that the PC6 is straighter at first nosing, more directly on smoke and less on pears and kirsch. But then I detect something fruitier (apricots, very ripe melons) and a rather distinct vinosity, but I wouldn't say this is 'winey'. Whiffs of peonies, clean wine barrel, then warm butter and mashed potatoes, hot cake... More towards pastries than the PC5, with maybe a little less smoke. Gets more demonstrative with time, more 'raw' (wool, 'clean' manure, porridge, new leather, soaked grain). Other than that it's close to the PC5, with just these added faint winey hints that may (or may not, I have no info at hand) come from time spent in good wine casks. But it certainly doesn't smell like wine-finished whisky as such.
Nose (w. water): now it got much nicer than the PC5. Indeed, it's straighter, all on peat and whiffs of a farmyard in a hot summer day, and without a single winey notes left. The hints of mint and curry that we got in the PC5 disappeared as well. Very, very 'Islay', and an excellent swimmer it seems.
Mouth (neat): again, starts cleaner and better balanced than the PC5 as well as rather more peppery and spicy and, again, less kirschy. But it does need water...
So, with water: still powerful and, again, cleaner than the PC5 (I'm not meaning the latter was dirty of course). More fresh fruits (butter pears) and a perfect peatiness, with also notes of ginger tonic and gentian spirit. Very, very good, maybe marginally closer to the Islays from the south shore than the PC5, that is. And indeed, no winey notes on the palate.
Finish: long, peaty, fruity, very clean, with notes of plum spirit.
Rating? I'd say two points above the PC5, which means 88 points.
09/29/2007 - Added comments - I just learned that this PC6 was partly matured in Madeira casks. Well, all I can say is that it worked well and that it was only relatively obvious to me on the nose that some 'not too vinous' wine was involved ihere. At least we've got the answer now .
Whisky Fun:
An interesting Islay this one - peaty but very sweet. Not so much a typical sherried type of sweetness (I assume this is the influence of the Madeira casks?) but more reminiscent of vanilla sponge cake sweetness. Cupcakes or fairy cakes? A hint of fudge perhaps? With water a lot of the sweetness goes, giving way to white wine notes.:
I much preferred it undiluted. It's a rich, well rounded and very enjoyable malt.
I much preferred it undiluted. It's a rich, well rounded and very enjoyable malt.
Whisky Connosr
Knock your socks off intensity. Wow. Almost numbing. But there is still plenty of flavor to be found. Will have to explore this whiskey further but wouldn't bother drinking anything else the rest of the night after sipping this one.:
Rating: B+
Rating: B+
JS, LA Whisky Society
N: Peat with lots of bread dough and a delicious sweetness.:
P: Not as aggressive as I would think at this age, but still a peat monster.
F: Some initial smoke, long, and tasty.
R: B+
P: Not as aggressive as I would think at this age, but still a peat monster.
F: Some initial smoke, long, and tasty.
R: B+
Chris, LA Whisky Society
The nose is musty, earthy, and smokey.:
Palate is delicious! Very sweet and super-smokey.
Long finish.
This is gentler than PC5, but comparable in many aspects. Whatever Port Charlotte becomes as a standard bottling is going to be exciting for certain. Delish.
Rating: B+
Palate is delicious! Very sweet and super-smokey.
Long finish.
This is gentler than PC5, but comparable in many aspects. Whatever Port Charlotte becomes as a standard bottling is going to be exciting for certain. Delish.
Rating: B+
Adam, LA Whisky Society
It seems the Port Charlotte has mellowed a bit over the past year. There's still extreme peat here, but it's not as overwhelming at the PC5, and for what this whiskey is, I want to be overwhelmed. More sweetness this year, and reasonably well-balanced. I hope they continue to release this each year, it's going to be fun to experience it as it ages!:
DW, LA Whisky Society
The Distillery: Bruichladdich
| Established: 1881 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Bruichladdich, Islay, Argyll, PA49 7UNI, UK |
| → website |
In the new Millenium
The Bruichladdich distillery lies on the north shore of Lochindaal (directly opposite Bowmore), which made it the westernmost distillery in Scotland until Kilchoman was officially opened in 2005.
The overwhelming succes that Mark and Jim have had with the bottlings they released from these old stocks is a perfect illustration of the crucial role of careful cask selection; Bruichladdich was transformed from an ugly duckling into a swan. Well, I"m sure clever marketing also helped.
Apart from the traditionally lightly peated spirit that is still produced under the name Bruichladdich, two more heavily peated malts are being produced at the distillery. A heavily peated (40 PPM) malt under the name "Port Charlotte" (the name of the village two miles south of the distillery) is being produced since October 2002 and they also have an even more heavily peated (80.5 PPM) malt with the name "Octomore". This is the name of another silent Islay distillery in the area, situated in a farm next to the warehouses of the old Lochindaal distillery. The original Octomore distillery was closed in 1852, three decades before Bruichladdich was built. However, a link with the past remains; Bruichladdich uses spring water from Octomore farm.
The Bruichladdich distillery was mothballed again in January 1995 and sold in 2000 to a consortium of twenty five different shareholders that operated under the name "Bruichladdich Distillery Co. Ltd.".
Driving force behind the purchase was Murray McDavid"s Mark Reynier. Together with other seasoned professionals like Jim McEwan (formerly of Bowmore) they managed to get the production started again in May 2001. Although that new spirit probably won"t be widely available until well after 2010, the new owners also acquired a lot of maturing stocks that were laid down by Invergordon and JBB / Whyte & Mackay.
Bruichladdich was constructed in 1881 by Robert, William and John Gourlay Harvey. Members of the Harvey family remained owners and shareholders until 1929 when the Bruichladdich distillery was mothballed.
In 1938 Bruichladdich (also known as Bruichladdie) was sold to Hatim Attari, Joheph W.Hobbs and Alexander W.Tolmie. And the distillery kept changing hands like a hot potato. In 1952 it was sold to Ross & Coulter Ltd, who in turn sold it to A.B. Grant in 1960. Invergordon Distillers acquired Bruichladdich in 1968 and expanded the number of stills from two to four in 1975, before selling it on to JBB / Whyte & Mackay.
Until recently Associated Scottish Distillers also offered a so-called "bastard" bottling of Bruichladdich under the name Loch Indaal or Lochindaal. This bottle was named after the old Lochindaal distillery located East of the village of Port Charlotte, which used to have its own distilleries. Lochindaal operated until 1929 when it was dismantled. Its warehouses are now used to store the Port Charlotte malt. Until recently Bruichladdich was the only surviving distillery on the Western peninsula, but since the new Kilchoman distillery was opened in 2005 by proprietor Anthony Willis the number of western Islay distilleries doubled.
And the future looks bright for the friendly people of Bruichladdich. With the new bottling plant that was opened in 2003, Bruichladdich can now bottle its own malts on site, providing some much needed employment opportunities on this relatively remote part of Islay in the process. It"s much more convenient for Bruichladdich as well; before they opened the bottling plant they shipped tankers full of spring water from James Brown"s farm at Octomore to the mainland to dilute the whisky from the casks to 46%.
2000 - At the start of the new millennium the Bruichladdich distillery is bought by bottler Murray McDavid. Reports say that the price of the distillery was 6,500,000 GBP at the time - including maturing stocks.
2001 - The driving force behind the purchase of the distillery was Murray McDavid"s Mark Reynier. Shortly after the distillery was obtained by the new owners, Bowmore"s Jim McEwan was called in as production director.
2006 - The first bottling of Port Charlotte is released; a more heavily peated brand of the Bruichladdich.
2012 - On September 3rd the distillery is sold to Rémy Cointreau.
Trivia:
- For their first new bottlings the new owners used extremely lightly peated barley of 2 PPM.
- William Harvey (the father of the Harvey brothers that built Bruichladdich in 1881) was the owner of two other distilleries; Yoker and Dundashill.
- Bruichladdich distillery is open to visitors all year, Monday to Friday. Tours are available at 10.30am 11.30am and 2.30am (and at 10.30am on Summer Saturdays).
- Bruichladdich is one of almost two dozen malt whisky distilleries that were founded over a century ago during the "whisky boom" of the late 19th century and which have managed to survive until this day. The other survivors include Aberfeldy, Ardmore, Aultmore, Balvenie, Benriach, Benromach, Bunnahabhain, Craigellachie, Dalwhinnie, Dufftown, Glendullan, Glenfiddich, Glenrothes, Glentauchers, Knockandu, Knockdhu, Longmorn, Tamdhu and Tomatin.
from Malt Maniacs
The Owner: Rémy Cointreau
| Established: 1724 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Avenue de Gimeux |
| → website |
Rémy Martin, a wine maker from the Cognac region founded the business in 1724. It was acquired by Andre Renaud in 1924. Through various acquisitions the company took ownership of champagne brands such as Charles Heidsieck and Piper Heidsieck, Mount Gay Rum. In 1991 the company changed name to Rémy Cointreau. Since then the group as acquired the Bols and Metaxa brands. On September 3rd the group acquires Bruichladdich distillery on Islay.
from Various