Whisky : Port Charlotte 2007 CC:01 (8 Year)

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 57.8%

Cask : Cognac Casks

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Home

Nose : Complex bouquet of sweet, savory, and spice: sweetness of candied dried lemon peel, savory like well oiled leather, spice of cracked black peppercorn. All of these notes are rounded out by an undercurrent of medicinal iodine. I struggle to define this nose, but it’s immensely inviting and promising every time I pour myself a dram.

Palate : Opens up with a savory, balanced, and oily sweet smoke along with hints of pipe tobacco. Complementing the smoke is the tangy brine of pickled ginger or sweet potato. The dram is undeniably malty and overtime offers up sweeter notes of perfumed vanilla and orange blossom.

Finish : Long and sweet finish with warmth and smoke radiating across the palate like the final embers of a dying fire.

Score : 8

Mental Image : Sitting in a high back leather chair while the last sweet smelling coals cast off their fading heat.

Something Better : Port Charlotte 13 Year Rest & Be Thankful (more intense savory earthy notes)

Something Similar : Westward Single Malt Rum Cask (similar savory tobacco/leather notes & spice, no iodine/brine)

Something Worse : Bastille Single Malt (greater cognac influence, no peat, less intensity)

Notes : This was my first Port Charlotte and it was top of my list of ‘souvenirs’ to pick up while travelling internationally. If I had any doubts about buying an otherwise new scotch, they were washed away at the Whisky Bar in Singapore Changi Airport, where my wife and I sampled almost every whisky on my souvenir list. Of all the drams we tasted, the Port Charlotte Cognac Cask stood out and immediately became a ‘must buy’. From the nose to the palate to the finish, it was a delicious dram. It had all of the bold, smokey, briney, peaty notes that we love in an Islay. While I’ve found cognac casks to be very hit or miss, in this case the sweetness of the cognac cask really helped round out the savory smoke of the base spirit.. Whenever someone asks for a good Retail Travel Exclusive-- this is the first malt that immediately jumps to mind.

Though it is no longer available in Duty Free Shops (unless you pass through a really dusty one), I have seen it still available online. At the time of writing I have not tried the new Port Charlotte 2009 MC:01 which replaced the CC:01 as Bruichladdich’s Port Charlotte Travel Retail Exclusive bottle. I will admit to having already bought it though, on nothing more than our excellent experiences with Port Charlotte bottles.