Our Port Charlotte Islay Barley expressions are a direct embodiment of everything an Islay whisky can and should be. Not only is it conceived, distilled, matured and bottled on the island, but the barley harvest for this 2013 vintage was also raised on our home shores in 2012 by seven of our Islay farming partners. Hunter Jackson at Cruach, Ian McKerrell at Island farm, Raymond Fletcher at Dunlossit estate, Donald and Andrew Jones at Coull, Mark French at Rockside, Alastair Torrance at Mulindry and Raymond Stewart at Sunderland undertook the risk of growing in challenging conditions to deliver the barley for this Scotch whisky with unparalleled provenance. This eight-year-old single malt has matured in ex-American and ex-wine casks hailing from the Pessac-Lognan region of France.

“My guard is always up when I see wine in the recipe, but its influence is pretty invisible here to me. Feels like they are really nailing this approach to cask tinkering these days. This is not hugely complex, but it’s clearly Port Charlotte and it’s immensely quaffable. This textural aspect also lends it a feeling of maturity beyond its years, which is pretty clever in my wee book.” – Serge, Whisky Fun