Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2011

Nose: pear, peat, banana Taste: banana, peat, brine, apple, vanilla Finish: walnut banana bread with salt/brine. Long herbal finish. Good whisky. Really like the PC but prefer the 10 year.

Having this right after its unpeated counterpart and man this is absolutely my jam. Shares a similar nose with hay and mild barnyard funk but the phenols kick in quickly. The taste follows through on the nose with an explosion of smoke and a sweet, musty peat. The peat stays with you until tomorrow, which is exactly how I like my islay drams. It’s like licking an ashtray.

NOSE: peated- but not so hard, caramel, but of sweetness, leather, nail polish, smoked meat, plum TASTE: nicely peated, fruity, vanilla, caramel, nuts, leather, tobacco FINISH: long lasting, sweet, nuts peated That is great whisky, after the Laddie, this is even better! There is so much beside the smoke! Great!!

The Bottle: I love this thing. The green glass with the grey/white/gold is very "apothecary". It feels nice and solid in the hand and looks good on the bar. Some useful information about the spirit within and a minimum of marketing fluff. In the Glass: Light straw. On the Nose: If you are familiar at all with Bruichladdich's standard offering, you can sense the pedigree here from the off. There's the barley sugar sweetness and some fruit notes nestled within the peat. The peat here is more akin to a Laphroaig than an Ardbeg, so more mineral than smoke. Quite pleasant all-around. You couldn't tell that this is bottled at 50% abv from the nose alone, there's no alcohol bite or harshness. Taste: Sweet, measured arrival with a strong peat development. The smoke makes an appearance on the finish, even though it's missing from the nose. It doesn't finish overly dry or astringent, which a lot of younger spirits are wont to do. This is a very well constructed expression; with none of the individual flavors standing out from the others. A few drops of water won't hurt, but do be careful as the nuance would drown quite easily. All-in-all, this is a great peated offering from Islay. It's the cute girl next door to the brawlers from Ardbeg and Laphroaig. Well-worth a look.

Very smoky