Port Charlotte OLC:01 2010

Lovely nose. Could have been more mellow.

@teamstasting brambob

One of the distilleries that didn’t leave a very good impression after a initial tasting some time ago, but that I still intend to like. So another secondary comparison-tasting this time with “the Organic”, the “Islay Barley” and the “Port Charlotte OLC:01”. I know this kinda steps out of the line of the regular Bruichladdich bottlings but I wanted to see if I can find something that the regular expressions have in common with the heavily peated ones - basically to find out if the Bruichladdich signature character is noticeable in those peat-branches as well (Spoiler: for me they don’t) I had the regular PC 10y a few weeks ago but I didn’t like that a lot. So I wanted to see how her bigger sister is performing - and how that OLC Oloroso cask style is working. Nose: a nice and mild peat right up front, then very fruity with dark ripe berries (blackberries, black currant, blueberries), intense and vibrant, oily smoothly sweet, banana peel (with that weird dry bitterness when you bite on it), spearmint, a bid of hard cheese rind, burnt apple, a bid of apple vinegar in fact, the peat is not at all ashy or plasticy - it is clean almost subtle and very delicious (but get more intense after a while). Later (and with a drop of water): smoked fatty salmon with a slightly burned brown sugar crust with berry-apple-jam, cherry juice, the nose gets even better a bid into the dram Palate: with it 55% ABV a hot opening, then intensely sweet, fresh dry wood, the peat dominates. Later: sour prickly candy that accidentally were barbecued Finish: surprisingly short and mild, oily sweet and only a bid of peat smoke, which gets a lot stronger yet not unpleasant at all later. Really enjoyable dram. Nicely balanced for sure. Not too sweet and yet really rich. The peat really suits it BUT I really can’t make out any base Bruichladdich in it at all - it is in fact completely different. Islay? Yes for sure. But definitely unique.