Bruichladdich's Newest Scotch Is a Nuanced Experiment in Cask Maturation
Bruichladdich Distillery has earned a reputation for pushing the boundaries of peated Scotch whisky via its Octomore and Port Charlotte collections. And while Octomore—which just released its 15th trio of bottles—tops the world when it comes to that boggy and smoky flavors, Port Charlotte showcases nuance. Case in point, SYC:01, the latest edition to the brand's heralded Cask Exploration series.
On Islay, life isn’t all bogs, mires, and decaying organic matter. It’s also lush green hills, shockingly turquoise water, and white sand beaches, as well as golf courses, distilleries, and sheep. Lots of sheep. With Port Charlotte SYC:01, the distillery showcases what happens when you take beautifully peated whisky and experiment with cask maturation and finishing.
Port Charlotte SYC:01 is bottled at 54.4 percent ABV and malted to a smoky 40 phenol parts per million (PPM, which is used to measure peat character). It features a 2013 Port Charlotte spirit that was first aged in a combination of first-fill and second-fill bourbon barrels. Then, in 2018, the spirit was re-casked into first-fill Syrah wine casks. It's the first time the distillery has used this kind of cask. After four years in those French wine barrels, the spirit was re-casked into refilled bourbon casks.
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Bruichladdich Distillery is known for having a plethora of wine casks on hand, with around 200 different varieties currently under the distillery’s guardianship on Islay. In this case, the Syrah casks were sourced from a French producer specializing in organic and biodynamic wines. The bold red wine casks impart rich red fruit notes and layers of delicate spice to the final single malt.
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“To have a wine cask inventory of this scale and variety is quite extraordinary,” says Adam Hannett, Bruichladdich Distillery head distiller. “We scour the globe to find the best wines available, and this in turn leads us to the highest quality oak and unparalleled flavor.
“With Port Charlotte SYC:01, the immense influence of the Syrah casks is clear to see," Hannett says. "It’s a balancing act to ensure the oak and the peat smoke work in perfect harmony, and our versatile Port Charlotte spirit has worked amazingly well with the rich fruits and spice from the cask. The result is a multidimensional single malt whisky and something new and unique for Port Charlotte.”
On the nose, the whisky delivers rich fruits, intense peat smoke, caramel sweetness, and Syrah-soaked oak. The palate finds barbecued peat and smoked oak, punctuated with candied peel, fresh mango, and brown sugar. Another wave of smoke and Islay Sea air lingers on the finish, along with a hint of coconut and cocoa powder.
This is the seventh release in the Port Charlotte Cask Exploration series. Port Charlotte SYC:01 is priced at £110 per bottle (about $120) and can be purchased at selected specialist whisky retailers.
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