This special edition of Bruichladdich's heavily peated Port Charlotte line was made with barley from 6 farms on the island of Islay: Coull, Kynagarry, Island, Rockside, Starchmill and Sunderland. The barley was all harvested in September of 2008, peat smoke dried to 40 ppm, and distilled in December of the same year. It aged for 6 years in a combination of used American and European oak before being bottled in 2015 at 50% abv, without chill filtration.
The nose is surprisingly soft and fruity for a heavily peated whisky. The smoke is there, but it is eclipsed by juicy pear, apple, lemon zest, vanilla, and cereal notes. The toasty oak beautifully backs up all the fruit. On the palate, this largely remains the case, with fresh apple, melon, and biscuits up front. The peat is a bit more aggresive than on the nose, but it is a sweet peat, with a caramel-like edge to it. Beautiful example of a peaty whisky that still manages to put the fresh barley character front and center.
