Port Charlotte 10 Year
The distillery of Port Charlotte lies two miles south of Bruichladdich facing Loch Indaal and is where the parent company’s peatier whiskies are distilled. Though the distillery was resurrected some years ago by Bruichladdich, the Port Charlotte 10 year is a recent addition to the stable of offerings. The barley used is from the Shire of Invernes, Scotland’s largest county, which covers parts of the northern Highlands and the Outer Hebrides. Even the casking is particular, with 75% of the maturation happening in first or second fill American whisky casks, and with 25% coming from second fill French wine casks. We assume that since the website does not list the exact American whiskies or French wines, it must mean there are many potential options and thus would be impossible to list for a uniform bottling expression.
Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt
Masataka Taketsuru founded Nikka Whisky in 1934, fifteen years after traveling to Scotland to learn about whisky production. Nikka’s first distillery was in Yoichi and the company now owns seven distilleries. The Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries are where malt distilling takes place and the Nikka Taketsuru, named after the company’s founder, combines single malts from both locations. Nikka currently makes several No Age Statement kinds of whiskies around a similar price point, along with a few more expensive age statement whiskies.
Laphroaig 18 Year
The Laphroaig 18 Year was initially released in 2009 to replace the old 15 year. The spirits business being ever-changing, the 15 year came back as a special release to celebrate the distillery’s 200th anniversary in 2015. We loved it. After only several years on the market, the 18 year was scuttled at the end of 2016 to make way for the reintroduction of the 15 year (again) as a yearly Friends-of-Laphroaig Cairdeas release. While it’s good to see Laphroaig still hanging on to age statements in the current marketplace, the further limiting of its aged stock means the aged offerings we do have available will be harder to find and, in all likelihood, more expensive. If you can find a bottle of the Laphroaig 18 Year, we heartily recommend you pick one up.