Review 200: Port Charlotte PC7

Review 200

1/18/14

Port Charlotte PC7: 61% abv

Background: Port Charlotte is the “branch” of Bruichladdich that focuses on the heavily peated Scotch of their range. Don’t be confused; Port Charlotte is still distilled at Bruichladdich. It just differentiates their heavily peated products from the rest of them. Even more confusing is the existence of Octomore, another peated Bruichladdich made with extremely high levels of peat smoking, which is normally measured in PPMs (parts per million) of phenol content in the barley grain. But enough about that; more on this specimen. In Review 180, we talked about PC6 and the PC series. This is the next in line, being aged in traditional oak casks for 7 years. It is bottled at a monster 61%. This is bottle 23,717 out of 24,000. Let’s give this whisky a good look. 

Straight

Nose: This whisky starts off with a greatly earthy, grassy peat smoke. The smell of fresh cut grass, wood smoke, and mossiness is prominent in the aroma, with a hint of sawdust. There is a large amount of savory flavor and vanilla, with a huge spiciness to it. An almost sweet and tangy meat sauce smell is present here. A notable floral rose note is also noticeable. To add to the complexity, a slightly powdery cocoa smell layers into the aroma. There is a coastal, saltiness involved with a bit of nuttiness and sweet, fresh maltiness.

Arrival: The whisky, as expected starts off with a hot, spicy arrival. It is surprisingly smooth at first, with a peat and spice coming in later. There is a very salty, seaweed-like flavored feel in there. Because of the high alcohol content, there is not a lot that can be observed here before flavor is lost and taking over by the hot alcohol influence. The arrival also has a significantly bready flavor to it.

Body: The body contains a lot of malt, peat, caramel and oakiness to it. There is some chocolatey flavor in here, with some nuttiness so far. The saltiness becomes very big here, in a pleasant way. There is a lot of crispness in the body as well. Tea and tobacco are noticeable in the body.

Finish: The finish has a significant amount of malt and peat to it, while continuing the coastal, salty theme. There is a bitter, herbal taste present in the finish. Tea tree oil and tobacco are present in the finish, with some spices as well, including peppercorn. There is a little yeast that carries over from the arrival.

With Water

Nose: There is a lot of woodiness after adding water, including dry pine wood. There is some vanilla and honey present. The grain flavor is starting to open up in the aroma now. The alcohol has broken loose in the aroma now, making the smell burn much more than before.

Arrival: There is more sweetness in the arrival than before, with some dry, bitter wood. A lot of honey and vanilla is present. The wood is huge in the arrival.

Body: The body presented a lot more malt and nuttiness. The saltiness and tobacco is still big in the body. There is some tannic flavor in the body, with some oak flavor as well. Astringent citrus is present in the body much more now.

Finish: The finish has become very phenolic and medicinal. It is malty and nutty, but ends on a dry, coastal note that is complex and lasting. There is a strong, minty flavor in the finish. It has a fresh, cooling sensation as the whisky dissipates. The peat and phenol last an incredibly long time in the finish. An interesting presence of corn is also present in the finish.

Final Comments: Port Charlotte PC7 is not an outstanding peated Scotch. It is young and brash, displaying angry fists like a drunken sailor might. It lacks the finesse and complexity we’ve seen with other malts, and for that reason it doesn’t jump forward as exceptional. That being said, what it lacks in complexity and tactfulness, it makes up for in pure, unadulterated bravado and presence. It is truly a big malt and a high strength. It is salty and briny, peaty and savory, and is not afraid to strut its stuff. We’ve enjoyed the many glasses of PC7 we’ve had, even if it isn’t what you’d consider “worth the money”. This is where you might cue the montage with sappy music, I suppose. In any case, it should be interesting to see where the Port Charlotte range evolves and how long it will live.

 

Why you’d buy it: You like the big bold peaty stuff and don’t care about the details

Why you wouldn’t: Something like Caol Ila or Lagavulin has just the right amount of finesse

Score: 8.75/10

Review 180: Port Charlotte PC6

Review 180

10/06/13

Port Charlotte PC6: 61.6% abv

Background: Cuairt beatha – the walk of life – I think this bottle is implying that the walk of life includes heavily peated Scotch. I highly support that sentiment. This whisky is of course a single malt Scotch from our good friends at Bruichladdich distillery. Being part of their heavily peated series, it goes under the title of Port Charlotte. Jim McEwan joined the Bruichladdich team in 2001 and started a series of peated heavyweights, called the PC series. PC6 has had exposure to ex-bourbon casks and a Madeira finishing cask as well. The bottle being drunk here is bottle 17,265 out of 18,000. It is 6 years old, as the name (PC6) suggests, and I’m really excited to try it.  

Straight

Nose:  Mmm. The smokey, intense, fragrant smell of peat never fails to excite me. This one is intense in vanilla, an interesting fruitiness, and a smell very reminiscent of pancake syrup. There is also an odd savory note that expresses itself on the top of the glass after some time in the glass. It reminds me slightly of a raw New York strip right before it’s slapped on the grill, which sounds like something you might not want to smell in a whisky, I realize. Don’t worry; it so subtle, you probably wouldn’t even notice. There is an assortment of berry fruitiness that is coming through prominently. This isn’t a dry smelling peat smoke, like you get out of Kilchoman. It is a thick, honey-sweet smoke that doesn’t overwhelm the senses, unless you’ve never smelled a peated Scotch that is. Baked apples with caramel are sort of a secondary notion in the nose. There is an earthy, herbal sense to it that sits in the background of some of the more dominant smells. Toasted nuts and fried bread are noticeable…fried bread, syrup, toasted nuts, and earthiness. Well, this whisky is obviously a funnel cake that’s been dropped on the ground (just a joke). The nose doesn’t display a challenging complexity, but it does have a diversity of flavors.

Arrival: The arrival starts off mellow enough, before quickly becoming excessively hot. If you’re looking for flavor without having added water to this whisky, look quickly. This will numb your tongue before you blink. The peat is assertive up front, but with a sweet, syrupy arrival parallel in prominence. It seems as if the Madeira is pretty dominantly asserting itself up front. Along with some honey, there is a slight citrus bite and some notes of fruits, but they don’t hold a candle to the intense battle the peat and Madeira are having up front. There is an earthy, slightly tobacco-like flavor in the arrival.

Body: The body banishes the initial sweetness, letting an earthy, grassy, and peat-like flavor to dominate. In the body, there is a really intense, but odd sort of quinine flavor that becomes apparent quickly and then dissipates. The body is probably the least eventful part of the whisky.

           

Finish: The finish is lasting, with the peaty, tobacco, and herbal flavors dragging through until the bitter end (ha ha). There is some slight peppercorn, with mild suggestions of sweetness showing dwindling signs of existence. There is orange rind present in the finish, for certain, and some mint and fluoride flavor as well. There is almost a piney, woody intensity in the finish that seems slightly like gin, without the extreme flavor. The finish is very diverse and interesting, without a doubt

With Water

Nose: With a little bit of water, notes of citrus start developing. The syrup-like sweetness has backed off a bit and to some extent, so has the peat. Maltiness is more prevalent, and some intense woodiness and ash smell has developed. There is still a level of sweetness present in the form of soft fruit notes.

Arrival: The arrival has lost some intensity, allowing the drinker to actually take some time and reflect on the taste (a nice feature). It is still peaty, in a zesty fashion, but has a basic element of marmalade sweetness to it. It is extremely earthy on the arrival now.

Body: The body actually takes a less intense and dry approach this time around, with some interesting lemon candy flavor coming through, with slightly floral elements complimenting it. It is better-rounded with water. There is vanilla present as well.

           

Finish: The finish is very much a reflection of how the body transformed after adding water. The balance changes, with the peppery dry/hot mouth feel still existing, but not completely destroying the taste buds. Much of the same flavors are present, with the smoky peat seeming to even out into a pleasant blanket of thick flavor on the tongue. That being said, the finish has become less complex and less eventful. At 61%, I would have guessed it to be a little more forgiving on the complexity side, but just playing with the water to whisky ratio could fix that.

Final Comments: PC6 is an expensive dram, to be sure, especially at the young age of 6 years old. I can’t say it isn’t an experience, and the  Madeira cask finish is very well done in this case. Bruichladdich has produced a ton of fantastic malts, before and after McEwan. This particular malt isn’t a mind-blowing combination of complexity and uniqueness, but I believe it is does pretty well. The nose is inviting and different, and I think for a whisky this young, Bruichladdich does a good job of using the vibrant youth of the grain to make an exciting, yet enjoyable and tolerable malt. The million dollar question, or at least $125 question, is whether or not this is worth the buy. It is hard to say whether or not $125 is justifiable. It seems overpriced for value, but at 61%, at least they aren’t shorting you material. I guess I would say, if you enjoy peated whisky and are running out of “new” alternatives, the PC series won’t treat you wrong, but maybe the Peat Project, their newly released Scotch, will do just the same thing for you.

 

Why you’d buy it: You like the adventurous expressions by Bruichladdich and “want to catch them all”

Why you wouldn’t: It is hard to run across this bottle anymore, and you’ve tasted Peat Project

Score: 8.5/10