Another one that had to be finished this year. There were quite some drams left in it so it took me a few nights (not complaining), and the Blind Tasting Competition did get in the way a bit. But, to not build up a backlog of tasting notes, lets get this one out of the way as well!

Port Charlotte was, of course, the more peaty version of Bruichladdich and has been around a little bit longer than Octomore, which is even more peaty. Port Charlotte is at about 40 ppm Phenol, which sets it more or less between Bowmore and Ardbeg. Relatively at 25 and 50, if I’m not mistaken.

The guys at Bruichladdich have been planning on reopening the original Port Charlotte distillery, but since that would be a project from the ground up, and upkeep of the current distillery took bites out of the profit, as well as investments into the biogas plant and such, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. But who knows, maybe with some cash from Remy Cointreau…

Sniff:

Port Charlotte 6

Big on peat and since it’s rather young, rather simple. But what it does, it does well. It’s not too heavy though. Straw and grass, lemon and heather. Some salt spray and a typically Islay feel to it.

Sip:
The flavour is very sharp, even after being in an opened bottle for 4 years. Salt, pepper but still sweet. Spicy with vanilla, heather and oak. The oak comes of as twigs, more than cask, a little more bitter maybe.

Swallow:
Sharp but a little more fruity than on the palate. Lemon, apple, white grapes. Oak and lots of sharp smoke.

Well, in the days I bought this I was much more charmed by heavily peaty drams. I probably wouldn’t buy it if it came out now, but still, it’s a damn tasty dram! The depth is probably going to grow a bit when you start tasting older versions like the PC9 or PC10.

I would have liked the fruitiness from the finish to come out earlier on the palate.

Port Charlotte 6 (PC6), 61.6%, OB, 18000 bottles. Available for € 250 at De Whiskykoning, but I reckon you might find it quite a bit cheaper in auctions.