Port Charlotte

This is the next peater in my sequence of peaty whiskies. Great way to wind down the year. Will I end it with Douglas Laing's Big Peat Christmas edition? Probably not. Let's enjoy the peaters while they last. This one comes courtesy of NF, who's practicing temporary abstinence from alcohol as a spiritual discipline (shortly after she bought this one). Port Charlotte is Bruichladdich's peated offering, between the Laddie and the Octomore in peat levels.

Port Charlotte 2007 CC:01 (abv 57.8%)

Colour - hay-ish

Nose - White wine, smells like a Chardonnay. Fairly sharp and sour. A note of sea breeze, followed by lemons and seaweed. Soy sauce and mustard. Smoky, of course. But not overwhelmingly so. Unripe plums. A dusty leather book cover. Honey, to soothe the soul. Mm. I could sniff this for a long long time. With water: A lot more restrained. Loses the white wine notes. Dusty still. Maltier. Peat tunes up and smoke tunes down.

Palate - Ouch ouch ouch. 57.8% hurts. But. Lots of good stuff going on. Smoky and sooty upfront, with a light bitter, charred note lingering throughout. There's some fruit behind all that smoke and peat, for sure. Asian pears, unripe plums, a bit of lemon. A touch of butter. This feels young-ish, which is about right, given that it's been matured for under 10 years. Very oaky - lots of wood tannin, wood varnish. Mm. Yes, more varnish than tannin. Quite classy, I think. Like having barbecued fruit beside a beach that's on fire. With a side of smoked fish. Sounds about right. With water: Still the alcohol burns. Mm. More umami, I think. Smoked fish and a touch of roast meat. Oak becomes less prominent. More pepper, clove, maybe a basil leaf in there somewhere. I think it tasted better without water, with the oak standing out. Feels like French oak, like a Chichibu I had once. But water mutes what made it special, and it becomes a normal peater. Still good, mind.

Finish - Peppery, woody. Drying, tannic. Smoky. That smoke's gonna stay with you for a long time. With water: More pepper and mint. Just as dry.

Overall - Was saying that the woodiness of this reminds me of a Chichibu I had once that was single cask of French oak, and voila, this is also matured in French oak! Is that classy woodiness from the French oak? Has to be, right? But for people who like their whiskies sweet and easy, this will be tough, like chewing your furniture. The wood supplements the peat to give the overall feel a slight bitterness, but I think it just about hits the spot, as far as bitterness goes. Many thanks to NF once again for the sample! The alcohol burns a bit, with or without water.