Whilst hunting for my #100 taste, the Port Charlotte CC:01, I came very close to giving up the hunt to find a bottle. In my despair I looked for any closely comparable bottling that had spent its full maturation in Congac casks. I could find none. Two that did stand out to me though were the Chivas Regal XV which is purportedly finished in Grand Champagne Cognac casks (I suspect for about five minutes); and then this recently released Balvenie 16 French Oak (…about 15 minutes). At around AUD$350 for a bottle down under I was not going to buy one. But snatching up a 30 ml sample. I was all in. A week later I bagged the PC CC:01. How serendipitous indeed. I have always liked Balvenie well enough and recently they do seem to be putting out some fairly interesting releases with various ‘story elements’ to them. Although I am yet to try more than the Caribbean Cask. This rendition is apparently the product of 16 years in American Oak with an unspecified finish in ex Pineau des Charentes French Oak. This odd liquid was entirely new to me but is apparently an unfermented grape juice, mixed with Cognac eau-de-vie and then matured in French Oak barrels. Huzzah I rejoiced. A high end cognac finish perhaps worthy of filling the then unfollows PC CC:01 hole in my tastebuds/heart. N: Off the bat is a strong apple cider, possibly even apple cider vinegar. It’s quite powerful as an acidic-sweet opener. A little ginger becomes apparent before I find a tiny hint of nuttiness. Eventually the honey-malt permeates through. There is something vaguely sour in here as well, but overall it is sweet and bold. Oakiness presents itself after a sip. P: Creamy, thick and slightly oily texture. The oak has imparted a wooded chardonnay butteriness that carries with it woody spice, lashings of honied malt and sticky candied fruit sweetness. In a single word this is: rich. The oak is well measured, it stays away from the musty and astringent over oaked notes that are so easy to introduce with European oak. As this sits I find a really beautiful and delicate perfume note, imagine lavender scones, its just a feint hint of flowers. The reasonable proof kicks a little with pepper heat. F: Short-medium. Nutty-vanilla. Quite drying, with a little toasty malt and pepper yexit. Adding a few drops of water calms the bite, and allows some of the American Oaks vanilla influence to come through on the palate and softens the sweetness on the nose a little. First things first. The PC CC:01 did not prepare me for this. No, this isn’t peated, but the effect of the pseudo-Cognac casks on this liquid is much sweeter and much more oaky for having spent comparatively the tiniest fraction of time in French Oak. These two Cognac cask whiskies are incomparable. The classic malty, honey, and unobtrusive flavours of Speyside are here and they do work well with the sticky fruits and woody creaminess. But, this is bordering on being an after dinner desert rather than a classic whisky. At least to me. The end of my dram and I am finding I don’t have a clearly defined stand out flavour. Perhaps I’m being too harsh, perhaps not. If that floral-perfume note that flittered in and out of existence was ever present then this would be on my purchase list. Without it though, for me, this is very interesting and only just above good. Now pass me the monkeys shoulder. [In keeping with the French Oak Casking we have here a Limestone from the Eocene (53 million years old) of Aisne, France. This limestone is packed with the (giant) shells of the single celled organism Nummulites Laevigatus, a marine foraminifera]. Distiller whisky taste #102