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 4 years overdue to get my hands back around some Port Charlotte.
The smell is 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 good peated Islay whisky. I can usually find this one around $70 which is a bit out of whack in my opinion. I like this whisky but $70 and you are now competing with Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength, Kilchoman Loch Gorm, Ardbeg Oogie and the annual Laphroaig Cairdeas releases. Perhaps these aren’t fair comparisons as PC isn’t a direct competitor to those whiskies but for the price I would look to those as a better value. Prices certainly vary so please keep this in mind. If you can get this around $50 you should buy it. If I could find it at $50 or below I would keep it stocked in the bar year round. That said – this is good and I enjoy it.
Overall Grade: B
