I’ve had Port Charlotte a few times and very much enjoyed it and given how much I enjoyed Bruichladdich without the peat, I couldn’t get my hands on peated expressions quickly enough, for science. It seems that by now Bruichladdich has been producing whisky for their Port Charlotte line long enough that they have a standard recipe and some standard expressions. I was quite happy when they finally released an expression with an age statement that was going to be regular. As soon as I found it near me, I picked up a bottle and couldn’t wait to enjoy many drams of it as I evaluated this branch of what Bruichladdich has to offer.
Minutia: Enjoyed neat in a glencairn. Rested 15 minutes or so. Tiny bit of water also added for comparison as this definitely has the ABV and profile where that doesn’t just make for a weaker dram. Batch number 18/410. This particular offering does not feature a field to input the batch number for recipe transparency, I believe this is due to all bottlings of this expression featuring the same recipe so there is no need to see what exactly is in a specific bottle. In particular this is 65% first fill American whiskey casks (American oak), 10% second fill American whiskey casks (American oak), and 25% second fill French wine casks (presumably French oak). The batch number suggest to me it was bottled in 2018. The barley is all from Scotland in the Invernesshire region. 40 ppm phenol level.
Color: Bright gold.
Nose: Malty, but weird, I am having a hard time placing it. Light citrus in the background. Maybe it’s sweet almond that malty taste reminds me of. Adding water leads to a cheese funk explosion. There’s a hint of dark berry, as well. There’s a medicinal quality, but it is different from what I'm used to in things like Laphroaig. That weird thing I can’t identify is kind of like white socks that have been washed, but a while ago, maybe.
Taste: Thick. Light smoke, tiny bit of salt. Water makes it feel thinner but there’s a stronger vegetal taste.
Finish: Peat. It really comes in here and takes over everything. I get a chocolatey sense on occasion. It’s very powerful for a quick burst, and fades about medium length. It’s a bit sharper after water but remains largely the same.
I’ve known for a while now I like what peat does to a whisky. As I’ve been going through all that Islay has to offer, I was hopeful unpeated whisky from the region would offer something I liked. Bunnahabhain didn’t get quite there and had me concerned about what Bruichladdich would do for me. Despite my preference for peat and reservations after trying the standard, unpeated Bunnahabhains, while the Classic Laddie wasn’t my favorite I very much enjoyed it and I was excited to dig into a peated version of it. The way the peat comes in at the finish here is a fresh reminder after every sip of exactly why I like it. This would be a regular bottle if it wasn’t as expensive as it is. It might be good enough to keep on hand regularly, but not to have every day. I’ve had the odd sample of Octomore in a whisky flight, after this I am eagerly anticipating opening the bottles I’ve managed to acquire.
Score: 92
No comments:
Post a Comment