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Aberlour a’bunadh (Batch 36) Review

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Aberlour a’bunadh (Batch 36)002

60.1% abv

Score:  88/100

 

Aberlour a’bunadh is consistently listed in whisky lovers’ ‘top ten’ lists (which are more often that not comprised of twenty or thirty whiskies), so it’s not surprising I get a lot of requests to review more of the batch releases of this expression.

The simple fact of the matter is that this is damn good whisky, and fairly consistent in terms of quality, if not exact flavour profile.  Batch variation is substantial with this dram, and if I’m to be dead honest, that’s a good thing.  Keeps it interesting and shows that there is still some blender’s art happening here, and that these aren’t simply being batched to recipe-like homogeneity.  There’s something intrinsically pure about these releases that wins me over.

As a rule with a’bunadh, one can expect a thick and monolithic sherry monster, redolent in spices, dried fruits and sweetness.  Usually some leather and tobacco as well.  I’ll try to continue knocking out a few more batches here on the site with a bit more regularity in order to show the nuances between releases.  To date…Batch 28 holds a spot in my heart as a favorite.  That was the only release I squirrelled away a couple extra of.  This is a whisky that I simply can’t imagine anyone not appreciating.  More faithful than ol’ Trigger, this is one of my sidekicks.

Batch 36 here, while not my favorite a’bunadh, is still certainly a great dram and better than almost anything in its price range.

By the way…I do take exception to the ignorance on the label (which you can see in the picture above), referring to ‘single cask’.  These batches are in no way ‘single cask’.  Oh well.  Nitpicking now.

Nose:  Rummy raisin and chocolate. Jam covered straw and hay.  Cinnamon raisin toast and bread dough.  Dried fruits, of course, but also some macerated berry notes…with pepper.  Creamy sherry and a touch of eucalyptus.  Light florals too.  Nice clean casks.  Nary a bad butt to be found in this vatting.

Palate:  Thick and syrupy.  Cough syrup too.  Nice fruit notes of plum, blackberry and…dunno…something bold and jammy.  Fudge with black cherry in it.  A little bit of pear or apple skin.  Huge mouthfeel.  Thick and chewy as hell.  Awesome, awesome mouthful of whisky.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Dalmore Ceti 30 y.o. Review

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Dalmore Ceti 30 y.o.Ceti

45% abv

Score:  90/100

 

Paterson really likes his malts bold and uncompromising.  Big sherries…long finishes…a lot of cask play.  All well and good, I suppose, but personally I’d love to see a few slightly more naked Dalmores.  I’m curious as hell to see whether or not this spirit would age gracefully in a simple bourbon cask.

Anyway…here’s another sassy old (read: pricey) Dalmore, served up after 30 long years of slumber.  To be a little more accurate: this whisky spent its first twenty-three years in ex-bourbon barrels before being re-racked into Oloroso sherry butts for an additional seven.  That’s a pretty thick icing on a 23 year year old cake.  Since seven years is a little too long to refer to as ‘finishing’, I’m actually ok with calling it a ‘double-matured’ whisky.

Now let’s pretend for a few moments – just as friends over drams – that this bottle wasn’t priced only for the rawk stars, athletes and CEOs of this world, and simply speak to the details, merits or faults, be they as they may. 

This is Dalmore Ceti, apparently so named for the Kappa1 Ceti star in the Cetus constellation.   Kappa1 Ceti is approximately 30 light years from earth (hence cribbing the name for this 30 year old malt), and is thought to be a candidate that may host terrestial planets.  Awesome.  That will, of course, do us a world of good when we exhaust our resources on this third stone from the sun, and migrate that wee convenient puddle jump of 30 freaking light years!  (I should note…that is also approximately the same length of time that will have to elapse before my wife lets me buy a bottle of this whisky.  Sorry…couldn’t resist.) 

Interesting (if inane and rather esoteric) naming convention aside…I quite like this one.  Dalmore with age and I…we get along alright, I guess.  Younger Dalmore?  For the most part I can take it or leave it, but when the spirit is left to mellow and hibernate for a few extra years, well…there’s no denying some great whiskies are sleeping on in the Dalmore warehouses.

A solid four-figure bottle, this, and limited to 1000.

Do note…I’m going to mention several tropical(ish) fruits in my tasting notes, but this is not what I would consider a ‘tropical fruit’ profile.  If not for the Oloroso re-racking perhaps it would be more in that range.

Nose:  Orange zest, apricot and tangerine.  Florals and mild nutmeg.  Cigar or pipe tobacco.  Furniture polish.  Rye bread and saltines.  Some wine-y grape notes.

Palate:  Spicy arrival.  Oranges in behind.  Tobacco notes and chewing on leather.  Sweet green grapes and a lot of dried tannic fruits as well.  Odd, but pleasant sour candy notes.  Some dried potpourri and grass.  Hmmm…a little dry and almost, almost over-oaked, I think.  If not over-oaked, well…a little too much oak influence.  Splitting hairs, maybe, but different enough.  Still very nice though.  Towards the back there are some lovely peach overtones.

Thanks to my mate, J Wheelock for the taster of this one.  Neato.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Dalmore

The Famous Grouse 12 y.o. Blended Malt Review

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The Famous Grouse 12 y.o. Blended Malt004

40% abv

Score:  80.5/100

 

Here’s a whisky that is not going to score outrageous marks or anything, but will certainly hold a bit of a special spot in my dark, shriveled l’il heart.

Any constant readers here will know that the Grouse and I…we ain’t exactly tight.  Both the standard expression and the Black Grouse are bottles I wouldn’t even consider levying on my enemies, let alone pouring for mates.  With that in mind, I concede that I walk into any new Grouse expression with a skepticism and tripidation almost paralleling the optimism with which I embrace new Ardbeg or Amrut releases.  Right or wrong, it is reality, and sort of hearkens back to an expression an old boss of mine likes to use: ‘You are what you’re perceived to be’.  Meaning, of course, that the Grouse, to me, will always be defined by those initial foul encounters, until I can taste enough decent ones to change my overall perception of the brand. 

So…imagine my surprise when I find this 12 year old blended malt (‘vatted malt’, damn it!) is actually pretty damn good.  First things first, there is obviously no grain whisky in here.  This is a polygamous marriage of nothing more than single malts.  With a stable of whiskies including the Macallan, Highland Park, Glenrothes and such to work with, it shouldn’t be stretch to come up with something decent.  And thankfully, that is exactly what has happened.  Finally…one of my least favourite brands releases a whisky I can really get my teeth into.  Nice!

Now if only they’d take some ‘lessons learned’ from this and apply them to the standard Grouse expression.

Nose:  Orange and crunchy red apple right up front.  Prune and chocolate.  Some nice smooth sandalwood notes and a little clean oakiness.  Maraschino.  Could be something with a little age in here, I think.  Nice balance and very surprising.

Palate:  Orange and other fruit mish-mash.  Somewhat bubble gum-like somewhere in there.  There is some malt and characteristics of some sherried malts buried herein (i.e. rich, if underpowered, and bearing echoes of fruitcake, not to put too fine a point on it).  Fades to grains.  While still quite  good, the palate can’t deliver what the nose hints at.  Either way…I’m happy with this one.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Caol Ila Distiller’s Edition 2011 Review

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Caol Ila Distiller’s Edition 2011047

43% abv

Score:  86.5/100

 

Here’s one I’ve tasted on multiple occasions now, and have finally come to terms with.  To be honest, it was the slightly better 2012 edition that led me back to revisiting the last of this 2011 release that I had squirelled away in a wee sample bottle.  Recognizing that there was something kinda special about the 2012 left me thinking back to what it was that hadn’t ticked all the boxes for me with this expression from Islay’s most prolific distillery.

I’m happy to say  the whisky was much better than I recall.  I’m somewhat saddened to say, however, that my initial assessment still stands: Caol Ila 12, the flagship in the range, is a better whisky (and much cheaper).  If we want to get into the comparison game, let’s go one step further.  While somewhat maligned by many out there, the Caol Ila 18 is a sparkling example of a lovely mature Islay malt, and possibly my favorite in the core range.  If you can find it, I’d highly recommend that one as the cornerstone of any love affair you may opt to pursue with Caol Ila.

This Distiller’s Edition is a mature Caol Ila (12 years, I believe, that has been re-racked into ex-moscatel barrels for a final period of maturation (6 months or so, I’ve read).  Though the term itself is occasionally frowned upon by the industry, we call this ‘finishing’.  I think the assumption being, if one reads between the lines, that the whisky is not quite complete without this step.  Undoubtedly in some cases this is exactly the case, where a sweet cask finish can hide off-notes and immaturity, bringing the whisky up to a more easily-marketable finished product.  I have no real issues with the concept, but I’m also not 100% behind it either.  C’est la vie.  If the juice is good…I’ll drink it.

In the case of the Caol Ila DE, what we ultimately end up with is a malt that is surprisingly rich in smoked sweetness (think BBQ sauce), but by no means is it what we often refer to as an ‘Islay heavyweight’.  Easily approachable, this one, but do take heed…you gotta have a sweet tooth to fully appreciate its layers.  Decent, but not entirely successful in my eyes.  The following year’s edition strikes a more harmonious whole.   

Nose:  BBQ sauce, as mentioned above, and quite sweet.  Smoky, peaty and iodine-rich.  There is a hint of what the evenings smell like on Islay when you walk the streets of Bowmore.  Anyone who has been there will know what I mean.  Chocolate and fresh coffee beans.  Lemon zest and a bit of orange rind.  Toasted woods.  Smoke and char.  Slightly top-heavy actually.  

Palate:  Chocolate.  Oyster sauce.  Ju-jubes.  Smoke and dark earthy notes.  To be honest, the wine notes don’t really help here.  Think wine and perfume meets rubber and smoke.  As expected…apple skins on the finish.  Better palate than nose.  Also a better palate than the later 2012 edition, I think.

Under-powered, though I see the faintest hint of a Port Ellen-like promise here.  Left to mature longer, perhaps this would become what an older PE is.  Nice but too much wine-weighting for my liking, and certainly too little ‘oooomph’.  

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Caol Ila Distiller’s Edition 2012 Review

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Caol Ila Distiller’s Edition 2012141

43% abv

Score:  88/100

 

Well, now.  This was a pleasant little surprise.  The 2012 edition of Diageo’s Distiller’s Edition Caol Ila came right out of left field for me.  Not that the whisky itself was unexpected, you understand (I believe these are annual releases), but the quality of the dram was a treat. 

Rightly or wrongly, I tend to look at the Distiller’s Edition range as sort of ‘surplus to requirements’ for the most part.  I’ve tried a couple that were quite decent, but I find more often than not the marriage of what Diageo dubs its ‘Classic Malts’ with a short period of quirky cask finishing (moscatel, amontadillo, amaroso, etc) feels somewhat contrived and not necessarily leading to an integrated whole.  To be blunt…a couple I’ve tried seem almost concocted by an amateur.  There is a disconnect in there somewhere that leaves me wanting.

I think a lot of these cases this has to do with the decision to mutate a rather delicate spirit in the first place.  It’s kind of like throwing a heavy pack on a scrawny l’il guy and telling him to head for the summit.  The heft is simply too much in some cases.  I’ve tried at least three (and if I recall correctly, a fourth) of these Caol Ila DEs (2009, 2011 and this 2012), and can happily say that this one bears the burden of an extra weighting of sweetness the best of the bunch.  Maybe a shorter finishing time on this edition?  Dunno.  Either way…yep, we like.  Not quite as much as unadulterated Caol Ila, but a worthy addition to the rather slim range available from this distillery. 

Here we have an Islay malt that manages to retain the sweet, citric clarity of Caol Ila, but dresses it up with a little bit of spice, fruit and sweetness.  Good execution, even if I’m not entirely behind the concept.  Grab a bottle of this one if you can find it.

Nose:  Very sweet smokiness.  Peat, as to be expected.  A bit of BBQ sauce (likely via the meeting of smoke and tangy sweetness).  Rock candy.  Iodine.  Citrus zest and juice.  An odd out-of-character jammy note.  Nice balance struck between some very disparate individual notes.  Overall…a rather great nose. 

Palate:  Apple and just the faintest hint of banana candy.  Smoke.  A little barley and sweet wine notes.  Some wet rock (y’know…that flinty, dusty flavour).  Grilled seafood.  Some Granny Smith apple at the back end brings it full circle.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Hazelburn 12 y.o. Review

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Hazelburn 12 y.o.053

46% abv

Score:  86.5/100

 

Mmmm…Springbank Lite.

Settle down, settle down…I ‘m only kidding.  While this may seem like a sound logical assumption, it’s actually quite a stretch.

Hazelburn is one of the three streams flowing from the stills at Springbank, Campbelton’s most recognized distillery.  Springbank, as many of you are likely aware, is famous for producing the old school, malt-heavy and mildly-peaty namesake Springbank line, as well as the more heavily-peated Longrow, and finally the virtually (or possibly even completely) peat-free and triple-distilled Hazelburn.  Yes…triple distilled.  Much like you’ll often find in the Lowland malts or Irish whiskies.  Triple distillation generally maketh for a lighter, cleaner spirit, but you’d be mistaken if approaching this one as comparable to an Auchentoshan, Rosebank or Jameson’s.  There is definitely some heft here.

Hazelburn first ran off the stills in 1997, appearing on store shelves, albeit in limited quantity (I read up on this a little while back, but can’t quite recall the number…think it was 6,000 bottles), as an eight year old expression in 2005.  And while that eight year old was a decent drop, we’re now starting to see what Hazelburn is capable of with a little bit of free rein to grow up and stretch its gangly limbs.  Personally I’m a little bit partial to Springbank’s two beefier older brothers, but I can’t help but smile in recognition of a distillery at the height of its craft.  Springbank is doing it all…doing it traditionally…and doing it well.  From light to heavy, all of their malts are imbued with a sense of identity and quality.  Love it.

I hate to get ahead of myself here, but both the Springbank and Longrow expressions are dynamite at 18 years.  I’ll be waiting for Hazelburn to come of age too.

Nose:  Pleasant…very pleasant.  Lightly creamy and grassy.  A little bit of lemon pepper.  A little ginger and some licorice.  A squeeze of sweet  mandarin and tangerine.  Some dried fruits, nuts and woody notes (definitely sherry casking of some sort).  Still seems to be just the vaguest hint of smoke irrespective of the ‘unpeated’ label that is levied on this one (maybe just cask charring residuals?).  Really good already, but so much potential for additional ageing.

Palate:  Pepper and malty cereal notes.  Grass and grains.  Orange marmalade on toast.  The lightest spread of a very fatty milk chocolate.  Toothpicks.  For a ‘lighter’-styled whisky (yet still surprising in its heft), but still kinda old school, Lowland-ish whisky…I quite like this.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Auchentoshan Three Wood Review

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Auchentoshan Three WoodThree Wood

43% abv

Score:  83.5/100

 

I went into this one with a ‘holy hell, what have we here?’ kinda attitude.  The nose was rich and uber-sweet.  Almost the same kinda tooth-rotting olfactory gleeful anticipation I get each time I stick my beak deep into a glass of bourbon. 

Unfortunately, much like I am let down by most bourbons (sorry, bourbon-lovers…just not my preferred profile), first sips of this one were an immediate grounding.  All the sparkle and shine of atmospheric promise hinted at on the nose fizzled into undeveloped potential.  I can imagine this whisky at 20-25 years of age would be an absolute show-stopper.  As it is in the here-and-now…passing grades, for sure, but at the end of the day…its a middling malt. 

It’s a clean drink, as you’d expect from Auchentoshan  This Lowland distillery is generally reknowned for its use of triple distillation, which results in a light and floral profile.  The sherry here in the Three Wood adds a little more depth of dimension, and slightly tames the almost typically 0ver-light bouyancy so prevalent in most ‘Toshans.  I kinda like that to be honest.  The heft is a good thing.  Of the more ‘entry level’ Auchentoshan range, this is second only to the Valinch.

Call me a cynic, though if you must, but I kinda think there may be a little bit of cosmetic work at play here by the lovely purple tint of very sweet sherry.  It’s amazing what you can enhance when working with good Oloroso and/or PX.  This is just a theory however.  Either way…not a bad dram from Glasgow’s distillery.

Nose:  There’s a lovely sweet cherry top note.  Followed by a lot of spice and some vanilla.  Quite bourbon-ish, in its own way.  Juicy orange.  Think along the lines of vanilla cola meets cherry cola.  Cinnamon hearts.  A little fudge.  Clean and fruity as hell.  Very unexpected nose.

Palate:  Woah!  Not even close to as good as the nose hints at.  Immediately tannic.  Into green grass notes.  Still a lot of sherry here.  Almond/amaretto.  Burnt sugar makes it a little…puckering.   Loses a mark or two based on the attack. 

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Auchentoshan

Amrut Greedy Angels Review

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Amrut Greedy Angelsamrut-greedy-angels-whisky

50% abv

Score:  94/100

 

So…let me tell you a couple of stories to begin with.  Get comfortable.  This will be a long one.  My apologies in advance.

The first of these tales took place many years back, when I was a feisty, snotty little thing still in high school and wrapped up in the early throes of teenage rebellion.  I was taking a creative writing class at the time, and an optional one at that.  A mate of mine and I would sit in the back of the room, lobbing spitballs and sneaking out here and there when we could get away with it.  The thing was…I could get away with it.  The writing came naturally to me; I always turned in my work on time; and the teacher, for whatever reason, liked me.  At one point though, when she asked me to stay after class, I figured I’d finally run her patience into the ground (or she’d finally tied the wasps’ nest of spitballs back to my friend and I).  Not so, however.  Instead she proceeded to tell me I would be getting full marks for the class and that for the rest of the year I could write whatever I wanted.  Effectively a blank cheque, due to her belief that what I was turning in was light years ahead of what she was getting from the others in the class or expected at this level.

I tell you this not in narcissism (indeed I feel very uncomfortable drawing the analogy in public)… but simply to illustrate a point.  The reality is that I’m pretty damn close to awarding Amrut that same blank cheque.  And I don’t feel a damn bit of discomfort at that.  They’ve released expression after expression of such uniformly high quality that I simply don’t expect to encounter a subpar release from the distillery.

Those of you more adept than others at reading between the lines will recognize this for what it is: a disgustingly overt and somewhat gauche bias.  I love Amrut.  This is not unconditional love, however, it’s merely a well-earned ackowledgement of a great distillery at the height of their creative powers.

Moving on…

The second story is much more contemporary.  And topical, I might add.  Several months back, a few mates and I gathered over many a dram of Amrut (and other whiskies too) with Mr. Ashok Chokalingam of Amrut fame.  Ashok is the global ambassador for the brand.  He’s also a really nice guy who I immediately took a shine to, and would now call a friend.  Anyway…over the course of the evening we hit upon the topic of maturation in the unforgiving Indian climate, and the rate of evaporation (or ‘angel’s share’) that Amrut was accustomed to dealing with.  I believe 12% per annum was the figure Ashok mentioned.  One of the guys made a comment to the effect of ‘damn greedy angels’ or something along those lines.  Ashok kind of blanched before pleading with us not to share what he was about to reveal.  He said he had to let us know now, just so we weren’t under the impression a few months down the road that he had cribbed our idea.  He turned his cell phone to us and displayed a mock-up label for a new Amrut expression called…you guessed it…’Greedy Angels’.

Since that day I’ve been dying to get my hands on this, the oldest whisky ever released by one of my favorite distilleries.

Now finally turning to the present…

Just days ago I met Ashok over a couple pints and a quick bite here in Calgary.  He had a little box of  treats for me, and this was just one of the samples he had brought along.

For any of you still hanging in there after my long winded lead-in…let’s get on to the drink…

Greedy Angels was released in late 2012 to celebrate the 60th birthday of the brand’s chairman, Mr. Neel Jagdale.  The 142 (or 144?  I’ve seen different numbers published) bottles produced were all that remained of two full casks mellowing in the sweltering conditions of Bangalore.  An incredible loss, on the one hand, but on the other…an incredible gain for the whisky world in what did remain.

Nose:  It is simply mind-boggling that this is an 8 year old whisky.  If I was told that this was a 30 year old Scotch, I wouldn’t argue.  There are notes in here that simply have no business being picked out of an 8 year old malt.  Mandarin and white pepper.  Quite some dried fruit, very tropical in nature: dried mango, dried pineapple and dried apricot.  A little ginger.  The omnipresent Amrut zestiness and baking spices.  Wow, what a melding of wood and spirit.  Give this one a lot of time.  It deserves it.

Palate:  A lot of orange, pineapple and other tropicals.  Some very drying fruits, not dissimilar to a somewhat tannic fruity tea.  There’s something kinda dark and brooding here too.  Maybe like a thick vein of tart syrupy-ness.  There’s a lot of wood influence, but it has definitely been put to good use.  In fact…I can see the oak being a little too heavy for some drinkers.  Not too heavy for this guy, however.  And interestingly…I can’t get my head around the impression that there is something almost Talisker-like in this palate-profile, though it is certainly more tropical than a mature Talisker.

Now…woe is me, I know, living in Alberta where we have a great whisky market, privatized liquor sales and decent prices, but I’m still gonna bemoan the lack of access to this whisky.  Canada received NO allocation for this one.  I am a massive Amrut fan, and desperately want a bottle of this on my shelf.  If anyone can help me out…I’ll be eternally grateful.

I won’t kick and scream too much here, but I will beg a little…

Ashok…please continue to age some of your Amrut stocks.  We WILL pay the premium for this whisky.  It’s that good.

Job well done, folks.  This is a winner.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Times Whisky Club

The Famous Grouse Review

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The Famous Grouse122

40% abv

Score:  67/100

 

There’s a reason I smuggle a flask into each year’s company Christmas party.  That reason is The Famous Grouse.  And no…that does not mean that I am clandestinely sneaking the Grouse into the event in my coat pocket; it means I am usually discreetly (*) sipping Ardbeg while the ‘scotch n’ soda’ crowd merrily glugs their Grouse.

Honestly.  I can’t drink this stuff.

In my heart of hearts I know it’s not that bad of a blended whisky.  I mean, c’mon…all those bonny Scots cannae be wrong, can they?  Just so we’re all on the same page…please take note that this is the best selling whisky in all of Scotland.  Incredible.  Now…it’s no secret that those of us with some of the blue and white in our blood are…uhhhhh…rather acutely financially aware…but I’d like to think that there is some inherent appreciation out there of the whisky for its own merits and not simply an adoration for the supermarket sales sticker.

I gotta say though…to me…in its simplest deconstruction, this is a bland, generic caramel flavour meeting a bit of malt and a faint touch of smoke.  And y’wanna know why I think it really grates on me?  Simply because I know that this has a backbone built on Macallan and Highland Park (with a hefty helping of Glenturret, among others).  Really?  Really?!  You have Macallan and HP to work with and this is the best you can do, Edrington?  That’s like Brad and Angelina having ugly babies.  In principle, it seems so far-fetched as to be borderline impossible.  Somehow though…exactly that has happened here.  Macallan and Highland Park have had ugly babies.

Nose:  Malt heavy (notes, that is, not actual malt whisky ratio).  Loud grains.  A bucketload of cloying caramel.  A solid whiff of smoke and some floral notes.  Orange peel.  A little like cheap leather and old wood.  I’m sure there’s a bit more in there, but that’s really all you need to know.

Palate:  Lightweight (through low ABV), but still sits too heavily.  Caramel and barley.  Cheap cigar.  Syrup and just an absolute f*ck tonne of sour off-notes.  Shudder.

(*) How discreet can you be really, when a cloud of smoke and peat reek emanates from both your glass and pores?

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Port Charlotte The Peat Project Review

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Port Charlotte The Peat Project176

46% abv

Score:  82.5/100

 

Make up your minds, folks.  Make up your minds. 

I am, incidentally, speaking to the good people at Bruichladdich (whom we really do love here at ATW), who can’t seem to make up their minds just as to the facade their moderately peated line-up should finally settle upon. 

Years back, it started out as Bruichladdich 3D…later morphing into Bruichladdich Peat…further evolving into An Turas Mor..and now, finally, we have The Peat Project coming in under the Port Charlotte moniker.  To be clear: this is NOT the same spirit packaged under different pretenses.  Each of these is a personality in its own right.  Some better than others…none bad…some very good indeed. 

The Peat Project falls sort of middle of the pack in terms of my own personal level of appreciation.  Well made, and beautifully presented (inherently and aesthetically), but a little toothless in relation to some of its contemporary siblings and obsolete ancestors.  This sounds like a rather negative spin, I imagine, but it’s really not meant to be.  It’s more a ‘damned by reputation’ kinda scenario.  I’m almost measuring this one against potential and past successes.  Knowing what the output has been and could be, I can’t help but continue to hold the brand up against high markers.

Either way, do rest assured that this is a safe purchase.  You’re not being fleeced for your pay when laying down for this 40ppm bog juice from arguably Scotland’s most respectable distillery.  The price is more than fair.  The malt…more than fair.

Nose:  Sharp and salty.  Smoking rubber.  Peaty, but not overly so.  Lemon Pledge.  A bit of sea water.  Almost a chlorine note.  Touch buttery (as is most ‘Laddie).  A sweet candy note.  Barley is young and alive.  Too young, actually.  Best way to describe this one: spirity.

Palate:  Man…I would guess this a Kilchoman if tasted blind.  This is a YOUNG whisky.  Smoke (ahhh…but of course).  Quite some tar.  Barley cereal notes.  Neat mix of lime and ginger.

This is far too light for a PC.  Still more than decent, but not up to snuff against the rest of the Port Charlotte releases (including the rather restrained Port Charlotte 10 at 46%)

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt