Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
A couple of samples of Port Charlotte. I don’t have this as much as I should, and it’s generally quite good. I tend to gravitate towards Octomore and overlook PC, and that’s a shame. I blame Bruichladdich.
Tasted on 3/7/2021, neat in a Glencairn.
Stock image is from Bruichladdich, retrieved on 2021/03/03.
Port Charlotte 10 Year Second Limited Edition
I like that they say this is “Heavily peated Islay Single malt – 40ppm” when, you know, Octomore.
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 50.0%
Age: 10 years old. Bottled on 10/19/2016.
Cask type: Bourbon, Sherry, Tempranillo,French Wine Cask
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 18,000 bottles.
Nose: smoldering wood and peat smoke. Ash. Sweet lemon and melon. Damp earth. Nicely maritime with seawater and seaweed. A touch of diesel. A bit of oak. With Water: pushed the smoke down a smidge. More medicinal now, similar fruit, some vanilla, a bit of cream.
Taste: big smokey peat. Ashy. Black pepper. Seawater. Lemon rind. A bit oily; medium-ish mouthfeel. Iodine. Earthy. With Water: more earthy notes. Similar otherwise.
Finish: a nice burst of peat and ash. Mild pepper. Seawater. Sweeter lemon now. Iodine. Damp, funky earth. Nice length. With Water: A bit more fruit, more medicinal, more oak comes through now.
Summary: Nice smokey, ashy nose with some nice lemon and melon, maritime, and even a few medicinal notes. It’s got a funky earthy quality to it, a bit of damp and decay in there which is just fine. Lots of peat and ash on the palate, with a decently long finish. A few drops of water makes it more medicinal, with a touch more fruit, but it’s pretty similar otherwise. Overall a fairly straightforward, high quality dram. Nicely balanced, though a bit simple. No off notes at all.
This was the second limited edition, bottled quite some time ago. I don’t know if the current version of this is the same, but I hope it is.
Would I buy a bottle? yea, this seems like a reasonable PC to keep on hand at a reasonable price.
Final Score: 87.
Port Charlotte 8 Year (2007) CC:01
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 57.8%, cask strength
Age: 8 years old. Distilled in 2007. Bottled on 08/25/2016.
Cask type: Eau de Vie from the Western Cognac Region
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: very malty. Peat smoke. Ethanol. Lemons, apples. Seawater. Iodine. A bit of earthy funk. It’s quite strong neat and I’m really just getting the big notes at this point. With Water: helps the heat for sure; the ethanol note is gone. Still very malty, peat and smoke are more subtle than the 10yr. Very earthy, like a farm. Seaweed. Bandaids. Coconut. (I feel like I should try this with a Laphroaig.)
Taste: lots of malt. Peat smoke. Something a tad bitter. Astringent. Medium mouthfeel. Quite hot. Black pepper. Citrus, perhaps a bit of raisins, apples. With Water: not as hot. Mouthfeel is a bit thin. Some nuts and raisins with the citrus. Still quite dry.
Finish: malty first, then with some peat smoke and lemon. Seawater. Hot. Iodine. Some earthiness. Long but tails off to a bit of bitter rubber.With Water: not as hot. Malt-forward, the peat and smoke are subdued now. Nice fruits with lemon, raisins, apples. Still getting some bitter, burnt rubber at the end.
Summary: this is pretty hot neat and it’s hard to get anything but the obvious notes. It really benefits from some water. It’s quite malty throughout. The smoke and peat are subdued for sure. Some nice maritime notes, with a faintly medicinal character. Balance feels off and you really have to dig for some of this. There’s a bit of a burnt rubber taste towards the end of the finish which is a shame.
Overall, this is an okay dram but there are many better from Bruichladdich.
Would I buy a bottle? nah.
Final Score: 77.
Comparison
Order: 10 2nd > CC:01
The 10yr has some excellent peat, smoke, ash, and citrus balanced well with sea and medicinal notes. Very good, if a bit simple. The CC:01 is just fine, but not in the same class to me. It’s poorly balanced, has some off notes, and is far more malty than you’d expect.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 