Bruichladdich has been pushing the sense of locality and terroir with their NAS offerings lately, and this Port Charlotte is no different, made with barley exclusively from the island of Islay, something the Peat Project we tried a few years ago didn’t claim, and a variant of the Scottish barley used in the Classic Laddie we recently had. The grain was harvested in 2008 from the farms at Coull, Kynagarry, Island, Rockside, Starchmill & Sunderland, then distilled that December before being aged on the shores of Loch Indaal. You’d strain to find a more local dram.
Littlemill 25 Year
Littlemill was a lowland distillery founded in the 18th century and, like many distilleries, saw various transitions of ownership throughout the twentieth centuries. A point of interest is that, unlike other lowland distilleries, this spirit was made from a highland water source, along with peat from Stornoway and Perthshire. Closing for the last time in 1997, the building burned in 2004. Loch Lomond Distillery, the final owners, decided to make an offering of 1500 bottles from 10 of the remaining casks distilled in 1989 and 1990. The scarcity of this whisky will surely cause the price to escalate further as it becomes rarer.
Dalwhinnie 15 Year
Like several distilleries, Dalwhinnie was started in the late 19th century and, though facing some bumps along the way like a short suspension of production during WWII due to barley restrictions, has remained in near constant production. Dalwhinnie also supplies a good deal of its output (90%) to the blended market. The distillery was briefly run by a firm from the United States in the early 20th century until Prohibition when it was sold back to Scottish owners. Dalwhinnie claims to be the highest distillery in Scotland, located in the Grampian Mountains and draws its water from Lochan-Doire-Uaine or Lock of the Green Thicket. The village of Dalwhinnie from whence the distillery gets its name, is located near the town of Strathspey and comes from a Gaelic word meaning “Meeting Place.” This Dalwhinnie 15 is one of only three expressions from the distillery, and the only one with an age statement.