Port Charlotte Scottish Barley

Part three of the Wee Laddie tasting set. The third and final whisky in the Bruichladdich tasting set is the Port Charlotte Islay Barley. For those of you who may not be all too familiar with Bruichladdich, let me break it down for you. The Bruichladdich distillery produces 3 different lines of scotch whisky. Anything that is strictly Bruichladdich is unpeated, Port Charlotte is heavily peated, and Octomore (which sadly is not included in this set) is super heavily peated. Just think of it like Ford Motor Company circa 2000. They had 3 brands, all made by Ford. Bruichladdich would be Ford, Port Charlotte would be Mercury, and Octomore would be Lincoln. But I digress. So back to the whisky. This Port Charlotte has been peated to a level of 40ppm, is bottled at 50% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of yellow gold. Sweet, peat, and sweet peat on the nose. Lemon citrus, almonds and almond butter. A big hit of smoky, vinegary BBQ sauce, BBQ ribs and smoked fish, salmon mostly. Fairly salty, maritime/sea air and green olives. A touch medicinal with iodine, but nowhere near Laphroaigian levels. Vanilla, grilled apricots and nectarines, a definite sweetness behind all the smoke. Barley sugar, yellow apples, fruit/spice cake, butterscotch and toffee. A slight minerality and some sawdust. Floral notes with dry grass and a hint of red wine. So far this is the best nose of the 3. The palate is strong and peppery, youthful. Peaty, smoky, ashy, charred oak pulled from a bonfire and doused with sea water and damp earth. Slightly fruity - apricots mostly with some light lemon. Heat at times, not too complex, mostly those peaty notes. Green oak, medicinal and barley sugar. Caramelized/burnt sugar, cinnamon, ginger and graham crackers. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is creamy, mouthwatering and mouth coating. The finish is long, peaty, ashy, slightly fruity - mostly lemon, and dry. I think this one edged out the Classic Laddie for the top spot in the tasting set. It might not be quite as nuanced, especially in the palate, but the peat adds a much needed contrast to the overly malty profile of both the Laddie and the Islay Barley. Still, for my money I’d rather buy a Laphroaig or Ardbeg if I wanted to go with heavy peat. A solid 4 though. Cheers

Nose - Sweet ash, hint of salt, creamy lactic sweetness, cracked black peppercorns, hint of lemon zest Taste - Subtle sweet ash, cracked peppercorns, salt, lactic sweet, gentle smoke tingle just before the swallow, lemon zest Finish - Blast of salty sweet ash just after the swallow, transitions to cracked black pepper & lemon zest Score - 82/100 Final Thoughts - Although they claim Port Charlotte to be pretty heavily peated, it's actually quite gentle in this one. The peat is present, but complements the lactic sweet quality I get from Bruichladdich quite well. It almost comes across as more of a gentle clean ash than any meaty or campfire smoke that I've gotten in other peated Scotch. This is fairly straightforward and easy to sip. Not the most complex, but very classic Bruichladdich with a hint of smoke/ash. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

After recently falling in love with their Classic Laddie, I knew that adding peat to anything that comes from Bruichladdich would be right up my alley. The nose brings the expected aromas of tarry rope, cereal, brine and hints of citrus. Let it breathe a while tho and out come more hints of pepper and bitter chocolate. The palate is super lively, with just a splash of sweetness up front, then all aboard the train to Barelytown. This flavor being so centric you’re figuratively chewing on the malt. (This is a good thing) A rich earthy peat comes next, with more salt and pepper closing it out. Finish brings some warmth from the 100 proof, with some wood tannins showing up beyond the lingering smoke. It’s medium in length and a little thin, but this is forgiven since it was such a beautiful sip. This doesn’t have the cured meat or iodine type flavors you might be used to in some Islays.. it’s more of a clean, barley forward smoker, and it absolutely needs to be on the shelf.

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Scottish Barley 50% abv, Non Chill Filtered and Natural Color   The Port Charlotte line is one that I am familiar with in the Bruichladdich family however the last time I tasted this was back when Jim McEwan was still with them….so that makes me 7 years overdue to get my hands back around some Port Charlotte.   The smell ash and peat as expected honey and green apple. – a fresh or clean smell to it The taste is really hot at first, beyond that is honey and peat.  With a little water it’s really nice the clean peat and honey really stand out.  Caramelized sugar, vanilla apple and some pepper.  The finish is quite long as with most peated whiskies.  Smoke, sea salt, vanilla and pepper.   This PC is just like the ones from the past I remember which is good.  I have yet to try the PC Islay Barley or the PC 10 but I suspect those will be purchased here before too long.  Overall this is a very good peated Islay whisky.    Overall Grade: B

Ok, i hated the Bruichladdich classic laddie. This is another thing. A very different one. This is not as heavily peated as other heavily peated whiskies and it is super pleasant in the palate. Bottled at 50%abv. On the nose is peated but not a super bomb. Its fairly peated, with Grapes, burnt cake crest, plum, heather and "shoe box" notes. Nice. Interesting. On the palate starts sweet with orange, toffee and coffee, to release a spice pepper bomb, with earthy-heathery peat. Aftertaste is long, salty and sulphur. Gunpowder, spent fireworks. Amazing. Overall i originally gave it a 91, but i think that is way too much. 89 over 100 is a good score to keep it in the 4.0.

The nose is a little sharp, but full of sweet fruit, honey and cereal sugar. Maybe a little lemon and then a wisp of smoke and a fair amount of salty peat. The palate is youthful, spicy with vanilla, honey, and light apple or sweet apple. The palate has more peat for me than the nose but also carries a little salt and some bitterness. It coats very nicely and has me trying smaller tastes to just enjoy that feeling. The finish is smoke, peat, char, and then some sweet sugar. This is a solid scotch, but it did not live up to my expectations. With age to take off the sharpness in the nose and the bitterness in the finish, this would be exceptional.