Port Charlotte PAC:01

Bruichladdich's Cask Exploration series regularly tightens the ties with French winemakers. Port Charlotte PAC:01 initially matured in American whisky casks and was finished in Pauillac red wine casks. Pauillac is a municipality in the Bordeaux region and home to absolute top wine houses Latour, Mouton Rotschild and Lafite Rotschild. Not a bad perspective for a Port Charlotte whisky! 

Identity Card Port Charlotte PAC:01

• Official Bruichladdich Distillery bottling
• Vintage 2011
• 8-year-old single malt Scotch
• Parcel 1: 6  years maturation in 1st fill American whiskey barrels, 2 years maturation in 1st fill Pauillac wine casks.
  Parcel 2: 7 years maturation in 1st fill American whiskey barrels, 1 year maturation in 2nd fill Pauillac wine casks. 
• Alcohol: 56.1% ABV

Tasting notes

Colour: Gold. Lots of thin tears sticking to the glass. 

Nose: A cool spring barbecue with fruit desserts afterwards. Barbecue smoke intertwined with fruity flavours from raspberry, strawberry and some mint.  Add bergamot, tangerine, and spicy notes from clove and cumin. The smoke comes from coconut briquettes. An antique spice cabinet, honeydew melon, an open bottle of cognac and chocolate covered with marzipan. 
With water: More citrus flavours and a more pronounced mulled wine note. 

Taste: Sweet and spicy mouthfeel. Red fruit coulis and coconut. Chocolate and cherry liquor. Mon Chéri chocolate confectionary. Orange peel and triple sec. Oak and malt remain noticeably present. 
With water: Bittersweet. Balsamic vinegar, grape seeds, orange and sweet apple. 

Finish: A long spicy finish. Spices and smoke mingling with toasted oak. 

As soon as you pop the cor, you know you're in for a treat. Port Charlotte and wine casks are a match made in heaven. The whisky is a positive enigma. Will you drink it on a summer eve and enjoy the fruity flavours or sip the warm smoke on a cold winter's night? 

Don't fall for connaisseurs claiming whisky should not be finished in wine casks. This is a whisky that should be on your radar! 

Sample and picture: Bruichladdich