Malt Fascination

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.

A very difficult one today. We’ve ventured into the realm of whiskies that diverge from the  typical distillery style, so it’s probably only going to get harder and harder from now on.

Sniff:

Auchentoshan 16, Finest Bourbon Matured

Very grainy and dry with a bit of alcohol bite on the nose. Bread, cookie dough, croutons. I think I even get a incredibly small hint of smoke. The kind that can come from cask charring as well as peat. Fried lemon zest too, if such a thing exists. After a while I get a hint of balsamic vinegar, chicken stock and salt.

Sip:
Dry with loads of cereal. Some alcohol burn, vanilla and pastry. I don’t find many flavours, but the ones I find I kind of like.

Swallow:
Fairly sharp at first but mellows rather quickly. Again, lots of cereal and grain. Cookies, bread, wood spices, allspice (more or less the same, I know) and a little bit of spiciness.

For me, it’s impossible to pin down what it is. I don’t have any semblance of an educated guess, so I went for a distillery that I usually associate with a very grainy, cerealy profile: Deanston. I picked one from the Whiskybase list at 53.4%, 19 years old.

It turned out to be Auchentoshan 16, ‘Finest Bourbon Matured’. Before, I used to live this dram. Yes I had it before, and even more shameful, I have it sitting in my cupboard. I rated it at 80 points on the rather weird 100 point scale. If I tasted it from upstairs, I guess it would have been higher, for old time’s sake.

Another day, another sample. Yesterday I caught up a little bit by getting the ABV almost spot on and being not too far off on the age issue. Unfortunately, the region and therefore the distillery as well were off, so 49 points for me, out of 100.

Just under half isn’t too bad though, last year the winner had just under half of the possible amount. I just need a few good scores 😉

Sniff:

Auchroisk 15, Creative Whisky Company

Another bourbon cask, I guess. Not as juicy and fresh as the one we tasted yesterday. Vanilla, burnt caramel bitterness. A sweet mix of spices and fruit. Some oak as well, but too defined.

Sip:
Dry and greasy at the same time. Caramel again, with wood, some sweet dry grain. Chaff as well, dry baked apple, cinnamon, ginger, bread crust, tree bark and something waxy. The waxy bits gets my mind running.

Swallow:
Sweet spices, lingering and slightly spicy with bread crust and wood. The waxy thing is back again.

The flavour profile, while I like it, can be dozens of distilleries. The waxy thing feels like beeswax and candles, which sends my mind in the direction of Clynelish. Without any doubt (or lack of other ideas…) I searched Whiskybase for anything sort of recent and decided to go for a bottling for a liquorshop in Leiden from 2011.

It turned out to be an Auchroisk 15 at a bit higher ABV than I guessed (no points there). And another +/- € 60 whisky added to my wishlist. I really like this stuff, and it shows good depth and great flavours.

Available at some shops in Germany, according to Whiskybase.

Another day, another sample. I was hoping to score some points to more or less get back in the race again. I felt a bit shite after missing out on the first two days. Not that those would have given me much, but still.

Sniff:

Scapa 19 – Chivas Brothers Cask Strength

Thick, burnt vanilla and white oak. First fill bourbon cask if there ever was one! Grass, caramel, creme brulee, cloves and a sirupy sweetness that all tie this together in a delicious whisky. Juicy fruit as well.

Sip:
White pepper for spiciness. The alcohol is fairly strong. Freshly cut grass, appel, pear, and after that dry oak and it gets a bit more spicy. The sweet spices that often accompany a bourbon matured whisky pop up a bit later if you let it swim long enough.

Swallow:
The finish is crisp and freshly sweet. Nice and spicy as well. It goes gentle rather fast but then lingers on the vanilla and toasted oak. A thick palate and really at the end a hint of glue.

A good bourbon matured whisky if there ever was one. I really like this stuff! The difficult part is the bourbon cask is rather prominent and does hide a bit of the distillery profile. The thickness of the wood influence, along with the crisp fruity notes sent me in the direction of Balblair. I looked around on Whiskybase to see what their cask strength bottlings have been like recently and chose the ‘Bottle your own’ to go with.

It turned out to be a Scapa 19yo, bottled for the Chivas Brothers CS range. 61% abv, 1993-2012. 49 points for me for being real close to the age and ABV. Good stuff!