I’m in too deep at this point for Bruichladdich.
The prices have been going up, there’s always three more Octomores around the corner that I don’t need, and every so often they offer one of the few whiskies from my birth year… except it’ll cost me this month’s rent and my wife said we’re not allowed to be homeless for whisky.
Sorry all, guess I can’t bankrupt myself to taste whisky that happens to be from the same year I was born.
Thus my friends were nice enough to split a bottle of Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 12 2007 Maltbarn with me. I say “nice enough” but frankly I think they just wanted cask strength Port Charlotte that was aged in wine and sherry casks.
Also it’s from Maltbarn, which we’ve had good luck with.
So we have the medium peated malt from Bruichladdich that was put into some fun casks. Did it work? Let’s see, shall we?
Price: $280.00 CAD
Region: Islay
Vintage 2007
Bottled: 2019
Cask types: Wine & Sherry
Number of bottles 112
Abv: 61.6%
Colour: 10YR 8/8
Nose: Goldenrod, sultanas, spiced pear turnovers, hot cross buns
Sweet grassy, fruit, and cinnamon/butter driven notes. You crack this when the leaves change, or as those of you from tropical locations know it… Uh, a normal day but the calendar changes.
No issues at all. This is my season. Pumpkin spice chafes from my skin like so much dandruff and I look amazing in tights.
Taste: Cinnamon, sulphur, raisin, brown sugar & butter, honeydew
Fall Spice and a bit of some cask sulphur. And it’s going to be a bit depending on how much you can handle sulfur. I like it. You may not.
Here it works. Adds to the heat, balances the sweet and fatty aspects. May not be your thing. I used to drive past a sulfur mine once a year, so it’s like being a kid again.
Finish: Caramel, sulphur, raisin, cinnamon buns, dark chocolate, BBQ ribs
Long finish, more burn, simpler butter but lordy I want chocolate, cinnamon buns, and BBQ ribs as one of my final meals. Heck, if I start eating all three at once now, it’ll become my final meal eventually.
Water opens up the finish to that level of complexity that Port Charlotte delivers so well. Just amazing.
Conclusion: Solid, nice Port Charlotte with strong flavours and an awe-inspiring finish. Take some time if this is poured for you. I won’t lie: I’m not jazzed that the price on these is increasing. It’s no surprise as they are really tasty.
This won’t be as amazing as earlier releases or as easy to find or all that. But it’s still a beautiful contender for really good whiskies, and barring my last thought on it, you should grab it if you get the chance.
The caveat: If you’re not great with sulfur, it has a bit to it. That may turn you off a tad. Personally it was only there when I first started on it versus the whole time. I’ve had worse sulphur based drams.
87/100
Scotch review #1453, Islay review #387, Whisky Network review #2147
tomoderawhisky.ca 