Port Charlotte Valinch SHC01 Whisky Review!

A sherry cask-matured Port Charlotte Valinch that I brought back from Islay as a souvenir in late-2018. So you probably won't find a bottle, unless you scour the secondary auction sites. Why am I reviewing it, then? For the same reason that I review most older and/or rarer bottlings when I get the opportunity: because they're outstanding!

Sherry cask matured Port Charlotte is surprisingly difficult to find. The same applies to the distillery's unpeated Bruichladdich spirit, and even more so their super-heavily peated Octomore spirit. Bruichladdich distillery just doesn't use a lot of sherry casks these days, they much prefer wine casks, or other more exotic / uncommon types of fortified wine. And that's largely been the case since the re-opening back in 2001, with a few notable exceptions from the earlier years of "PC" bottlings, although most of those were vattings of both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Maybe the distillery saw the sherry cask shortage coming? More likely they saw a then-untapped resource in wine casks, the use of which they essentially pioneered in Scotch whisky, at least on any major scale. The Bruichladdich team has mentioned that they were not willing to settle for the short-term "sherry seasoned" casks that are relied on by many others, where the cask has been filled with sherry solely for the purpose of being emptied and sold on to the whisky industry. This means that if you do find a sherry cask matured Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte or Octomore, particularly if it's a more-recent official bottling, it'll likely be from an ex-solera cask that has been used to actually mature sherry at a Bodega / sherry house. Which usually (but not always) means it will be American oak rather than European oak, and that it may have held sherry for quite a long time, so the wine has drawn a lot of the wood influence out of the cask, and in turn the cask has soaked up more of the wine. These ex-solera sherry casks will often have a more savoury, dirty, "funky" or "rancio" flavour profile than a sherry-seasoned cask, generally with less wood tannins. These casks are also much rarer than the sherry seasoned casks, and are more expensive as a result.

If you do find a sherry cask Bruichladdich it'll most likely be an expensive limited release, something like a Feis Ile bottling e.g. Octomore Event Horizon, or an older travel exclusive e.g. Bruichladdich 1990/25, or perhaps one of the distillery exclusive "Valinch" bottlings. These hand-filled 500ml bottles are only sold from the distillery shop on Islay, for a very reasonable price, and the level of quality tends to be high. They're usually single cask bottlings, specifically selected by the production team - often Adam Hannett himself - to be sent to the 'laddie shop for thirsty pilgrims to purchase as a souvenir. And that's exactly where this particular Valinch bottle came from, hand-filled by yours truly. This whisky was one of the liquid highlights of my most recent trip to Islay, back in late-2018 (feels more like a decade ago now, though!), despite it having some very serious competition. There are usually two casks available in the shop at any given time, a cask of unpeated Bruichladdich, and a cask of heavily peated (40 ppm) Port Charlotte. The Bruichladdich cask at the time was an enjoyable teenaged ex-bourbon cask, but this Port Charlotte stood head & shoulders above the rest, even having just come from the distillery's famous warehouse tasting which includes three very generous drams - a Bruichladdich, a Port Charlotte and an Octomore - taken straight from the cask. I often take quite a while to make purchasing decisions when surrounded by limited release whiskies, particularly when faced with limited luggage space and a limited budget. But even after trying a few other examples in the 'laddie shop, there was no way this sherry cask-matured Port Charlotte wasn't coming home with me. This is absolutely one of the best examples of sherry cask matured Islay whisky that I've experienced to date.

Despite many peat-heads wishing otherwise, peated spirit and sherry casks don't always get along. Particularly in fully-matured first-fill form, one component tends to dominate the other; either the peat will be dominated by the sherry cask and the whisky loses character as a result, even with heavily peated Islay whiskies. Or on the flipside, the sherry can be dominated by the spirit and the cask influence is barely detectable, particularly if the whisky was only given a short finishing period in said cask. It seems to take very careful cask management, i.e. the right spirit from the right distillery going into the right cask for the right period of time, to pull it off successfully - and those are only the few variables that can be controlled. This is also why refill sherry casks are seen more often with peated whisky; even if the cask's first use was relatively short, the spirit will have more of a fighting chance if it's already been used for maturation. The size of the cask is also important of course, which can be offset by longer maturation. While it isn't explicitly stated, in the case of Port Charlotte Valinch SHC:01 - Bruichladdich shorthand for Sherry Cask 01 - this cask was probably a 600-ish litre puncheon, because the yield for this cask was a whopping 1,134 x 500ml bottles. Said cask was filled in October 2006, matured for 11-years in first-fill sherry cask #2134, and bottled in late 2018 at a hefty cask strength of 62.9% ABV. Obviously being a Bruichladdich product it is non-chill filtered and natural colour. This was also one of the first Port Charlotte Valinch bottlings released in the current packaging, with the stumpy green "smoke grenade" bottles and the plain white labels. The idea with this distinctive packaging was to give Port Charlotte its time in the spotlight, to make it stand out from the pack. It's definitely worked! Let's get to it.

Port Charlotte Valinch SHC:01, 11-years old, 62.9%. Islay, Scotland.

Distilled October 2006, fully matured in first-fill sherry puncheon #2134, bottled late 2018. Non-chill filtered, natural colour, 1,134 x 500ml bottles. 

Colour: Dark bronze. 

Nose: Massively rich & intense. A mountain of salted caramel dark chocolate, burnt seaweed, orange rind, sweet & spicy BBQ'd stone fruit, and sea salt flakes. Salted pork crackling (a.k.a. pork rinds / scratchings), earthy peat, dried shiitake mushrooms, and marmite (salty yeast extract spread). Huge!

Texture: Medium-heavy weight. Massive again, but not aggressive or overbearing. And only a slight touch of heat, well integrated. 

Taste: Sweet & rich BBQ'd stone fruit, think sweet & spicy BBQ sauce with apricot, plum, nectarine, and a touch of peach). Burnt currants, more marmite spread, and loads of salted caramel dark chocolate again. Dried orange slices, earthy peat. Singed raisins, and date syrup underneath. 

Finish: Very long length. Touch of salted BBQ pork, more dark chocolate, singed raisins & burnt currants. Blow-torched orange rind, more shiitake mushrooms and burnt seaweed. Earthy peat comes through with some thick wood smoke, a little smoked vanilla, and more sweet & spicy BBQ sauce. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. But we're very, very close to a 5. 

Notes: What an absolute stunner. This may just be my all-time favourite first-fill sherry cask Islay whisky. The balance between peat and sherry is just about spot on, despite this obviously being a very active (and very tight) cask. Likewise the balance between sweet, funk & smoke. Like I said above, peat and sherry don't always get along, particularly first-fill and fully-matured sherry. So I can certainly see why this cask of Port Charlotte was chosen as a distillery exclusive Valinch bottling. This is an extremely rich, dark, salty, funky dram, and I have no complaints whatsoever. Bruichladdich really knocked it out of the park with this one!

Am I showing a slight bias by scoring my own "liquid souvenir" so highly? Well, maybe, but this review game is always a subjective thing anyway. These might be fighting words, but only Islay can pull off a magical dram like this. I'd offer to share it with you all, but I've shared quite a bit of it already, and to paraphrase an Aussie classic the rest "is going straight to the pool room". Needless to say, if you do get a chance to try Port Charlotte SHC:01, jump on it with both feet. 

Cheers!

Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength Batch 14 Whisky Review!

Laphroaig seem to be pumping out these batches at an ever-increasing rate lately, and it's getting hard to keep up. In fact they're already up to Batch 15 now, so we'd better hurry!

It may get lost in the noise made by other limited releases and "sexier" independent bottlings from the same distillery, and it's never gotten as much attention as the more 'experimental' Cairdeas bottlings from the same distillery. But mark my words people; ignore Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength at your peril! Pricing has barely changed in the last few years, currently sitting at just under 60 Euros on the distillery's website, and it can be found for under $100 USD in America, both of which are an absolute steal. Since this whisky is not imported into Australia by the local distributor (CCA), that doesn't include shipping, which can be 40 Euros depending on your location, and also local handling fees & customs charges. If you're in metro Australia I'd guesstimate a landed total of around $180 AUD once everyone has had their slice of the pie. Yes, there are cheaper cask strength whiskies out there that you don't need to import yourself, and yes, that's relatively expensive for a 10-year old whisky. But this is cask strength Laphroaig, which makes it one of the most Islay of all the Islays. And that's significantly cheaper than most of the equivalent independent bottlings from this distillery, including the "mystery" bottlings that don't explicitly name the distillery. Some retailers do parallel import "Laph 10 CS" into Australia, but you're looking at a minimum of $250 AUD once they've add their mark-ups, which is too steep for this dram in my opinion. So you're better off importing it yourself straight from the distillery, which in reality is just as easy as buying from a local retailer, it just takes much longer to come from Europe - seems to be around a month, in fact!

The recipe is a simple one really, you just take your standard 10-year old expression and skip the dilution and the chill filtration. Sounds easy, doesn't it? It's a shame that many distilleries can't be bothered doing the same! While many release their flagship bottlings at 46%, 50% or at least 43% these days, the differences between the standard bottling and the cask strength version are much more pronounced here. In fact you may struggle to grasp that they were even from the same distillery! That's because Laphroaig bottles their regular core range 10-year old at the legal minimum strength of 40% ABV (unless you're in the US where it's 43%), and it's heavily chill filtered and loaded with E150a artificial colouring. Laphroaig is far from the only offender there, but it's still a massive shame and a huge missed opportunity that they aren't getting with the times. The only positive here is that they do release the cask strength version where many distilleries don't, and we can't forget that Laphroaig 10-year old is the highest selling and most recognised Islay single malt in the world. Still, a 46% version would be great to see, even at a higher price - ignoring the fact that the 40%-er is already more expensive than many of its competitors, most of which are bottled at a higher ABV. Let's not forget that the only two Islay distilleries who still insist on bottling their flagship single malts at the legal minimum of 40% ABV, being Laphroaig and Bowmore, are owned by the same company, Beam Suntory. The other seven Islay distilleries, from the two large Diageo-owned down to the small privately-owned Kilchoman, bottle their single malt at 43% and above, with quite a few going for 46% and above across their entire single malt ranges. Food for thought, isn't it?

Along with the likes of Lagavulin 12-year old, cask strength versions of Kilchoman's Machir Bay, and - provided you get a good batch at a good price - Ardbeg's Corryvreckan and Uigeadail, Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength is one of the best "bang for your buck" official bottlings of Islay single malt out there. Yes there's some batch variation with these Laphroaigs, but that applies to just about every whisky on the market, including those others listed above. Some batches are better than others, but I'm yet to taste a "bad" one, or one that I haven't enjoyed. We aren't told how many bottles are released in each batch, but they don't seem to sell out in any hurry, even after the Europeans and Americans get their allocations. For example, Batch 14 that I'm reviewing today was actually bottled in June 2021, released later that year, and is still available on the distillery's website, along with quite a few other retailers. Batch 13 was bottled in January 2021, while the latest Batch 15 was bottled in December 2021 but was only "pre-released" on the website in the last month or so but has started popping up at other British retailers. While there used to be one batch released per year, the releases seem to be all over the place now. Maybe the disastrous worldwide logistics situation has something to do with that, I'm not sure. But they also don't seem to be selling out as quickly as they have in the past, quite possibly because there are too many batches being released in quick succession. Anyway, let's take a closer look at Batch Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength Batch 14. ABV this time is 58.6%, and it's non-chill filtered and bottled in June 2021, but released in late '21 and still widely available in some markets - albeit by private or parallel import if you're in Australia and the other countries that are unfairly deprived of these monsters. Let's dive in!

Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength, Batch 014, 58.6%. Islay, Scotland.

Matured in ex-bourbon barrels, bottled June 2021 (released late '21), non-chill filtered. Colouring unknown.

Colour: Copper. Colouring could go either way I think, but maybe less than the core range 10yo. 

Nose: Rich, sweet, mega-coastal and peaty. Quite nippy as well. Big oily, muddy, sweet peat, with burning rosemary, and damp moss. Hot ashes, rock pools, and chilli salt. Vanilla cream, toffee fudge & sweet oak. Touches of aniseed, wasabi paste & fried green banana underneath. Black pepper & sweet lemon zest with more time. 

Texture: Medium-heavy weight. Rich, sweet, oily, peaty & medicinal. Touch of heat but milder than the nose suggested.  

Taste: Big aggressive entry with vanilla pod, chilli salt, burnt rosemary, and that big muddy, oily, dank peatiness. Toffee fudge, brown butter & sweet lemon zest underneath, plus a hint of sweet fruit. Iodine and hot cinnamon. 

Finish: Very long length. Black pepper & chilli salt alongside that oily, muddy, dank peat. Hot ashes again, then iodine & disinfectant, with a couple of bandaids thrown in for good measure. Thick oily peat & sweet vanilla powering through to the end. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: It's more aggressive than I remember the other recent batches being, although I'm yet to take a close (read: uninhibited) look at batch 13. But this is still a massive flavour-packed Islay monster, one of the big dogs that refuses to shy away from any fight. If you've tried this year's Cairdeas release, 'Warehouse 1", which is very soft & relatively subtle, this is the absolute polar opposite. Huge peatiness & sweetness, with the trademark fudge & disinfectant. That always sounds like an odd combination, and it certainly won't be to everyone's tastes, but if you're an Islay lover it doesn't get much better. In the rankings I'd put this batch 14 above batch 8, and roughly on par with 9, 10 and 12 overall, but not on the level of batch 11. Batches 6 & 7 are still my picks of the numbered batches to date, but we're getting a bit far back there (7-8 years!) for any fair comparisons. 

For the price level, if you're lucky enough to get it for close to the distillery's RRP, Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength is almost impossible to beat. If not for the local customs charges in Australia you'd be paying roughly the same as the local pricing for the standard 10-year old at 40% ABV, and as I said above you'll struggle to pick the two as products of the same distillery. I've already said it many times and I'm sure the result (or lack of) will be the same this time, but I'm going to say it again. Please, CCA & Beam Suntory, bring some of this beast to Australia! 

Cheers!

Lagavulin Feis Ile 2015 Whisky Review!

Another blast from the recent past, and one that I've never tasted. It's a 24-year old cask strength Lagavulin, bottled for the Islay Festival seven years ago. They don't often make 'em like this anymore!

Despite being relatively large releases of 3,000-6,000 bottles, Lagavulin's cask strength Feis Ile bottlings have historically been one of the more difficult to get a hold of out of the eight (now nine and soon to be ten) Islay distilleries. That's because they were one of the few brands who did not sell them on their website or through other retailers, meaning you had to actually go to the distillery shop on Islay to get your hands on a bottle. This also meant that the stock would last for a reasonable amount of time, so if you weren't lucky enough to be there during the annual Islay Festival in May/June but were within a month or two, then you still had a chance of nabbing one as a liquid souvenir. The same applied to the annual Lagavulin Jazz Festival bottlings (2017 reviewed here) later in the year, typically held in September each year. The same also applied to the other Diageo distillery on the island, Caol Ila, and through 2017-2019 both also had distillery only bottlings available from their shops (2017 Caol Ila release reviewed here), all bottled at cask strength. Note my use of past tense thus far in this piece, because like almost everything else, the pandemic has changed that situation. Like most of the Islay distilleries from 2020 onwards, both the Feis Ile and Jazz Festival bottlings of Lagavulin have been available directly from their website, which is perfectly understandable since the distillery was closed to visitors for much of the pandemic; as was the entire island at times. Since the two Diageo distilleries have re-opened to visitors they've been holding back stock of these limited bottlings for their shops, which is a good thing, but thus far they're also still available on Diageo's website, provided you have a shipping address in the British Isles. Whether this will continue in future I can't say, but for me it does take away some of the allure of these releases. Despite my location on the other side of the planet and having had the privilege of visiting Islay only twice thus far, I think these special whiskies and the distilleries are better served by being a reward for visitors to the island. But there are plenty of people who haven't visited or can't visit Islay at all, so giving them the chance to purchase one of these bottlings is a good thing, disregarding the fact that it also makes it easier for the flippers and "investors" to send these whiskies straight to the auction sites...

The Islay Festival / Feis Ile returned in 2022 following a three-year hiatus, while the next Islay Jazz Festival hasn't been confirmed yet. Obviously both last occurred in 2019 in a very different world, so hopefully the Jazz Festival does also kick in again and things can get back to normal, in that regard at least. I haven't visited Islay during Feis Ile myself, and to be honest the idea doesn't really appeal to me - a large part of the magic of Islay is it being a small, calm, remote, quiet island, where you can relax and soak up the scenery and the atmosphere. Forgive me but I'm going to have to quote the Australian classic 'The Castle' (no, not Dunyvaig) here with both "it's the vibe of it" and also "how's the serenity"... During the festival however the island is much more chaotic, being chock full of tourists - quite literally, since all accommodation, flights, ferries, rental cars and taxis tend to be completely booked out a year or more in advance. I'm sure the special distillery events and the festival bottlings would be adequate compensation for those possible inconveniences, but personally I'd rather enjoy the quieter side of Islay since I can't exactly turn around and go again a month later. Having said that my first visit to Islay was actually during the Jazz Festival back in 2017, which seemed much more manageable, but then it's not on the scale of the Islay Festival. Lagavulin is essentially the only distillery that partakes in the activities for this one, and it was previously known as the Lagavulin Jazz Festival. They're also the only distillery that releases a special bottling on this occasion - and those bottlings are not to be missed. That all makes it much more sedate compared to Feis Ile, with the added bonus of there being plenty of live music around the island for those few days. Provided you're a jazz fan, at least!

Back in 2015 the Islay Festival would've been particularly busy, since both Ardbeg and Laphroaig were celebrating their 200th anniversaries at the time, with massive celebratory events and special tastings taking place to suit. Lagavulin celebrated their 200th birthday the following year in 2016, but they didn't phone it in with their release in 2015 either. Their Feis Ile bottling was a 24-year old, with 3,500 bottles released at a cask strength of 59.9%, very high for the age. Both the Feis Ile and Jazz Festival bottlings are usually hand selected by the legendary Iain McArthur, the Islay native who has worked in the whisky industry for over 50-years - actually starting out at Port Ellen Distillery prior to its closure. Iain also runs the phenomenal warehouse tastings at Lagavulin, where samples are drawn straight from casks in front of you in one of the distillery's dunnage warehouses. Those tastings are a bucket list experience for any fans of Islay whisky, and are not to be missed. For this 2015 Feis Ile bottling the casks selected were "triple matured", meaning the whisky was initially matured in American oak hogsheads (meaning ex-bourbon casks), then Pedro Ximinez sherry butts, and then "oak puncheons", which I'd take to mean refill puncheons. It's certainly worth mentioning that at 23-24 years of age this is still the oldest bottling that Lagavulin has ever released as a Feis Ile or Jazz Festival bottling. Most of the limited release Lagavulins, at least those with age statements and/or vintages, are around 13-19 years old, while oddities like the 37-year old and 2021's 26-year old Special Release are insanely expensive, and older examples of Lagavulin have exploded in value on the secondary market over the last few years. But let's not compare today's primary or secondary whisky pricing to 7-years ago or we'll all end up in tears! This review is a snapshot into the recent past, only for posterity's sake. Let's see what it tastes like!

Lagavulin Feis Ile 2015, 1991-2015, 59.9%. Islay, Scotland.

Distilled 1991, "triple matured" in American oak hogsheads, PX sherry butts, and (presumably refill) oak puncheons, bottled 2015. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 3,500 bottles.

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Sweet, rich & peaty. Loads of salted caramel, masses of drying seaweed, and a little clean soil. Further in a big oily, dank peatiness, sea salt, and a touch of dried lemon. Orange zest, raisins, white pepper and a touch of herbal honey. More time brings out fried bacon and pine forest. 

Texture: Heavy weight. Rich, oily & dense. Sweet & peaty, fatty too. Warming, but no harsh heat at all.

Taste: Big oily, peaty arrival that builds into black pepper, thick & oily peat smoke, and salted caramel. Seaweed, orange zest, and raisins again, and soft oak. Bacon again but it's overcooked now, dry & crispy. Brine and a little oily boot polish around the edges. 

Finish: Medium-long length. More salted caramel, seaweed, overcooked bacon and raisins. Sea salt, orange rind (not just the zest here). Touch of grapefruit, printer toner, and a little sweet oak. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Monster old Lagavulin! This Feis Ile bottling really has everything an Islay lover could want in a Lagavulin, with some extra raisins and oak thrown in for good measure. It does hide it's advanced age at times, particularly with that big peat influence, but it's important to note that the distillery used a higher peating level in the past before switching to 35 ppm in the mid-1990s, which could be partly responsible for that. But then it's also mostly refill casks, and the 60% ABV probably helps with that too, not to mention the sheer volume of flavour that is in this dram. Whatever the reason, it's definitely working for me! There is a noticeable cask influence, which is a rare thing for a Lagavulin really, particularly in the 12-year old where the level of cask influence is almost undetectable - in a good way! In this 24-year old I'm thinking that the raisin, orange and of course the oak notes are probably down to the PX sherry casks in the mix, but it's all relatively subtle, this is no sherry and/or oak bomb. That's all kept in check by that beautifully powerful & peaty spirit! Based on smell & taste I'm guessing that all of the casks involved were refill casks, which is certainly good thing with any Lagavulin, but even more so with one this old. 

This is a brilliantly put-together dram, with character for days and masses of flavour.  An older, but no less peaty, blast from the (recent) past! What a treat! Big thanks to the generous owner for the sample that made this review possible. Special stuff!

Cheers!