Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Heavily Peated 2007 CC:01

This Port Charlotte bottling is a slightly different take on the make. For a start it carries a vintage rather than a simple age statement, but you'll also find an age statement of eight years in the fine print on the bottle and packaging. It was also fully-matured, not merely finished (or ACE'd - additional cask enhanced, in Bruichladdich speak), in French oak ex-cognac casks, which is quite a rare thing in the whisky world. This is where the rather obscure name becomes a little clearer: Port Charlotte Cognac Cask 01 (first release), 2007 vintage. Cognac is essentially a type of Brandy (aged grape spirit) that must be produced in the Cognac region of western France (much like sherry must be produced in Jerez, Spain), and must be aged for at least two years in French oak to legally carry the name cognac. Port Charlotte CC01 was bottled at a cask strength of 57.8%, and like all whiskies from our beloved Bruichladdich it's non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. So we have a vintage and an age statement, plus the full cask details and a totally natural presentation, at cask strength, and it's quite reasonably priced as well.