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Release Notes
Hot on the coat-tails of Jim Murray's humongous score for the PC6, here's the latest version of Bruichladdich's Port Charlotte. Can it be even better this time around?
The Whisky Exchange
3rd Party Tasting Notes
PC5 was youthful and fruity (86) and PC6 was bigger and fuller but also just a tad winey on the nose as it spent some time in Madeira casks (88). Greatest of news, PC7 is 'more traditionnal', that is to say partly bourbon and partly sherry matured (thanks Arild).:
Colour: gold.
Nose: much more spirity than the Laddie of course, thanks to the very high alcohol. We do get coffee (as often in high-strength whiskies), pears and smoke but that's pretty all. Nothing unusual, let's add water...
Nose (w. water): now we're talking! Extremely organic, all estery notes having vanished, with a big smokiness and big both farmy and coastal notes (from wet dogs to clams - excuse us dogs and clams). Also quite some freshly ground black pepper, walnuts and just hints of car dashboard polish.
Mouth (neat): strong, very strong. Fructose, salt and apple peeling but that's all.
Mouth (w. water): the peat and the smokiness are very big now, almost a bit acrid. The whole is much less fruity than PC5 and 6 but also better integrated, with also more salt and just hints of butter pears.
Finish: very long, peaty, liquoricy and a tad gingery.
Comments: it is extremely clean and rather fat at the same time. It's probably a little less exuberant than PC6 but also 'sleeker' in a certain way. Which we appreciate mucho!
Rating: 89 points.
Colour: gold.
Nose: much more spirity than the Laddie of course, thanks to the very high alcohol. We do get coffee (as often in high-strength whiskies), pears and smoke but that's pretty all. Nothing unusual, let's add water...
Nose (w. water): now we're talking! Extremely organic, all estery notes having vanished, with a big smokiness and big both farmy and coastal notes (from wet dogs to clams - excuse us dogs and clams). Also quite some freshly ground black pepper, walnuts and just hints of car dashboard polish.
Mouth (neat): strong, very strong. Fructose, salt and apple peeling but that's all.
Mouth (w. water): the peat and the smokiness are very big now, almost a bit acrid. The whole is much less fruity than PC5 and 6 but also better integrated, with also more salt and just hints of butter pears.
Finish: very long, peaty, liquoricy and a tad gingery.
Comments: it is extremely clean and rather fat at the same time. It's probably a little less exuberant than PC6 but also 'sleeker' in a certain way. Which we appreciate mucho!
Rating: 89 points.
Whisky Fun:
Color: Golden Straw:
Nose: Starting on the signature Laddie nose. PC or not PC, this is Laddi-Land. The well known "Condensed Milk" kind of fruity sweetness. Then after a second we dive deeper into Peat-Land:Whoa! We're in Islay that's for sure. Amazing mingling of Peat Bogs, Smoke, Ashes, peat fires, and some camp fire (have you ever been to the boy scouts? , this kind of fire, yeah!) and also some rubber tires. I call this Sweet and sour.. Wonderful nose. One cannot ask for more.
Palate: The palate is continuing what the nose had promised. The Condensed milk is gone, but is replaced by sweet smoke, Burnt sugar. The Peat is omnipotent here, and is very much ashy. Many similar notes to the 3D3 I've previously reviewed, but with more intensity and power (due to the much higher ABV). The ashes are mingling wonderfully with the sweet smoke, Burnt sugar, and also some rubber tires. In 3 words: Sweet, smoky and spicy.
Finish: Very long and luxuries finish : Peat, Smoke, Burnt sugar (bitterness) , Dark chocolate and Spice (Chilly) are playing for endless minutes on your entire palate. I dig this.
Conclusion: This is not a dram for those who do not appreciate peat, and very strong and mascular malts. For a peat head like me, this is peat heaven, very comforting and the extra ABV (61%!) is noticeable and gives that extra punch. I do like it more than the 3D3 (but not a whole lot more) . I am very keen on trying the other PC releases. Port Charlotte distillery is still not operating, but PC is live an kicking. If you enjoy "in your face" peated malts, this is one to have handy on your whisky Shelf.
Nose: Starting on the signature Laddie nose. PC or not PC, this is Laddi-Land. The well known "Condensed Milk" kind of fruity sweetness. Then after a second we dive deeper into Peat-Land:Whoa! We're in Islay that's for sure. Amazing mingling of Peat Bogs, Smoke, Ashes, peat fires, and some camp fire (have you ever been to the boy scouts? , this kind of fire, yeah!) and also some rubber tires. I call this Sweet and sour.. Wonderful nose. One cannot ask for more.
Palate: The palate is continuing what the nose had promised. The Condensed milk is gone, but is replaced by sweet smoke, Burnt sugar. The Peat is omnipotent here, and is very much ashy. Many similar notes to the 3D3 I've previously reviewed, but with more intensity and power (due to the much higher ABV). The ashes are mingling wonderfully with the sweet smoke, Burnt sugar, and also some rubber tires. In 3 words: Sweet, smoky and spicy.
Finish: Very long and luxuries finish : Peat, Smoke, Burnt sugar (bitterness) , Dark chocolate and Spice (Chilly) are playing for endless minutes on your entire palate. I dig this.
Conclusion: This is not a dram for those who do not appreciate peat, and very strong and mascular malts. For a peat head like me, this is peat heaven, very comforting and the extra ABV (61%!) is noticeable and gives that extra punch. I do like it more than the 3D3 (but not a whole lot more) . I am very keen on trying the other PC releases. Port Charlotte distillery is still not operating, but PC is live an kicking. If you enjoy "in your face" peated malts, this is one to have handy on your whisky Shelf.
Connosr.com:
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