Port Charlotte 10 Year Old Heavily Peated

I've tried a few different Port Charlottes now and have generally been very impressed. This is the latest version of the 10 year old, which looks as if it's going to be a permanent fixture - we shall see . . .

Thanks to @Wierdo for the sample. Review is neat.

Nose - Strong hit of peat and creosote - there are nods to the 'stable' type peat of Ledaig here for me. Some creamy barley and lemons, juice and rind, with some salty/coastal elements.

Taste - Juicy and creamy mouthfeel with a big citrus and creamy barley hit. Ash and smoke as it develops.

Finish - Some mild tannins with the ash and some sherbet lemons hanging in there.

With water - More creosote on the nose and perhaps enticing a little more sweetness from the grain on the palette, but it does the mouthfeel no favours at all. Better neat.

Simply put, it's good, but it's not amazing. It's been a relatively cold and wet day here and the warming peat is welcome for sure but I think I definitely preferred the older (NAS but not really NAS) HP version over this. It all works fine, and the quality is certainly there, but it just seems a little, well, underwhelming and one-dimensional - which could be a plus for some 'big hitting peaters' but not here. Ultimately, I think there are better peated options for less £.

I'm a huge fan of the Port Charlotte series from Bruichladdich. It is the brainchild of the legendary Master Distiller Jim Mcewan and is an experiment in cask exploration.

Port Charlotte sits in between the mildly or non-peated standard range and the highly peated Octomores. The PC spirit was laid soon after the distillery was re-opened thanks to the foresight of independent bottlers Murray McDavid. Jim Mcewan, who had worked at Bowmore since he was 15, was hired as Master Distiller and Production Director.

Under his guidance the PC series was born in 2001. The aim was to release a cask strength whisky every year from the time it reached five years of age. And so PC5 was the first in the series.

Now up to 11 the PC range has accumulated quite a following and for good reason too. No chill filtration, artificial coloring and served at cask strength this is a throwback to the days when there was no wifi and whiskies were hand made.

The PC 11 is titled Eòrna Na h-Alba which is Gaelic for Scottish Barley. Yes, you guessed it, all barley used in the making is Scottish. The spirit has been matured in Oloroso sherry butts and walks a lovely line between sherry sweetness and Islay flavors.

My sample is from a brand new bottle and served at 59.5%

Nose: Quite salty. Lots of coastal sea air. Lemon. Peat. Hint of smoke. A little sour. Wet wood. Black peppers. Macaroon cake. Coconut. Caramel. Takes time for the nose to adjust. The fumes are super strong. A couple of drops of water opens it up quite nicely. What's not to like?

Palate: Smoke. Chocolate. Coffee beans. Peat. White pepper. Black peppers. Fish oil. Classic Islay flavors working well with the sweetness of the Oloroso. Adding a couple of drops makes it more palatable and creamier. Coffee comes out stronger as does the oak.

Finish: Cold cuts. White pepper. Oak. Chocolate.

This is not a beginners whisky by any standards due to the high strength and fairly strong peat levels. Takes very well to water, though. Can't wait for the PC 12!

The PC11 Eòrna Na H-alba has just been released, but were are trhing the 2012 release of the PC10. The PC10 was the last one to be released under the old stewardship, before Rémy Cointreau took over.

The nose is again surprisingly sweet. Sugared apple skin, hazelnuts and even apple sauce. The whole is wrapped in sweet peat and tobacco leaves. Hints of soot and mint. Very, very pleasant. Adding water makes the sweetness take a bow to the more typical stable scents. Still lovely!

It is very spicy on the palate. Loads of peat, pepper and tar. The second tier brings back all the sweetness. Apart from the aforementioned fruit I also get some sand cookies and white fruit. Honey too. It evolves from smoky and spicy to warm and sweet. Even after adding some water, turning the peat a little sharper, it remains sweet.

The finish is long, warm with loads of honey versus salt at the death.

Grand PC that chases away the darkness on these winter nights.

This one comes in a very pretty can with an even prettier bottle. No filters, no paint and at 46% this is a nice example of standard. Matured for 10 years in Bourbon and Sherry casks and the colour is just beautiful, reddish gold.

Nose: Tropical fruit, especially mango, roasted nuts, sweer vanilla, meaty peat and some mild sunflower scents After a few minutes I get white bread and pipe tobacco smoke in the background too, really wonderful nose:)

Palate: Big sweet peat,bre barley and thick smoke, not medicinal like Laphroaig or Lagavulin, no iodine like notes here, but round and sweet. Also very nice spicy yellow pepper in the arrival, Its BIG. It develops into cashew nuts, buttery croissants, charred oak, strong black tea and cherryliquor

Finish: Peppers! its quite hot at 46% but in a nice way. No burn, but a charming warming glow. creamy barley, nutty vamilla flavours and fresh oak and a little smoke return and linger for a while with fine wet seasalt in the end.

This is whisky that is completely my taste, absolutely wonderful! This bourbonny peated smoker with some sherry undertones hits the spot and its one of my favorites now. Its medium expensive at €48,- but worth every drop/penny. Should be quite available-ish, but I had a hard time finding it.

Time to write a review again, last months I was just busy drinking the stuff without thinking about it too much.

Well, this week I finally made an order and besides several bottles of wonderful Bourbons I wanted to get something peaty. I was very close to get the Ardbeg TEN but finally made an impulse buying and snapped the new PC10 heavily peated.

Tonight I tasted it in comparison to my sample of Ardbeg Uigeadail which I see as a great malt.

The PC10 has a light amber color and looks a bit murky, somehow like 100% apple juice. I wouldn't think of this while looking at a bottle of whisky to be honest, but after nosing I got this context.

The nose is awesome. It offers really light smoke and is in general very sweet. I get the smell of apples (oh wonder) and bananas. I can't beliefe this stuff is hard liquor with 46% ABV. Just want to take a thirsty swig but gladly I am able to keep contenance. There is no alcoholic bite at all. The nose is fresh and has some citrus aroma.

Compared to the Uigeadail this is similar with the light smoke on the nose. But besides that the Uige is on the dark side with deep fruits, sherry and sweet caramel while the PC10 seems to be the jedi knight (Hi Mark :D). After a while I wasn't able to distinguish the flavors and was reading some tasting notes. And the association of mint and eucalyptus makes sense for the freshness of this nose.

On the palate you realize this is from Islay, the peat is omnipresent. The body is quite light especially when you compare it to the Ardbeg which is really oily and full bodied. I enjoy drinking the PC, it warms really nice and is dangerously quaffable. Finally there is a hint of briny sea air.

The finish is long with peat and very little bitterness (wood/chocolate). For the Uige I get the sherry influence all the way from the nose to the finish. I heard the PC10 is finished in sherry casks too but in my opinion this appears vanishing subtle.

I am not unhappy that I bought this bottle instead of the Ardbeg TEN. Especially for that price tag I can recommend you to give it a try. The nose is just great, the palate delivers rare islay-style.