Our Service is an online platform which provides Members with information (e.g. bottle facts, market-indices, market values and prices) on (mostly) whisky and allows Members to add information to the platform. We do not sell, nor does the Service provide any option to buy, any alcoholic products. Seville orange marmalade, Bay leaf, Jasmine tea, Peach ice tea. Roasted pulled pork smoke, end of BBQ coals, cold ashy peat notes and earthy, wet moss. This is darker, colder and heavier than Whisky E’s fruity peat character and goes through waves on the palate. Then an overlooked concept comes into the game. Currently, 78000 casks are being matured on the island. Why is this so important? Because a good portion of Islay whiskies are actually not matured on the island. After being distilled, whisky is taken to the mainland for its aging process. It is in the same country, but it is not Islay! Since climate conditions are quite different in Islay, the distillery is being very strict about aging on the island. Being Heavily Peated

On the nose: Not smoky so much as it is ashy. Almost unbearably so, and I would consider myself a peat head. My maternal grandmother used to own a hair salon, and one of the old chairs with that bowl-shaped hair drying apparatus on it was once stored in our basement. Being from the 1960s, it naturally had an ashtray in the armrest. That’s what this whisky smells like: metallic ashtray. With time the iodine, band-aid, salt, and brine notes come out but there’s precious little fruitiness or sweetness here. There’s a little charred wood scent as well. An initial fleeting taste of red berries before they’re buried by smouldering peat smoke. Tinges of barley sugar appear at various stages of enjoyment only to be enveloped in peat smoke once again. Then follows a cacophony of strong bitter notes forming a barely sweetened dark chocolate torte with a red berry compote and caramel sauce drizzle with a dark roast espresso as your dessert digestif. At all times, a moderate peppery tingle keeps your attention. As Simon Coughlin, CEO of International Single Malt Whisky at Remy Cointreau states, Bruichladdich gives a huge emphasis on being from Islay. From people working at the distillery to the barley used, you can easily see how important being from Islay is. I did a tasting with The Caviar Company recently and afterward, there were three caviars leftover and thinking of the oysters, which I’ve been craving lately, I decided to give it a go. I’m happy to say that while the PC 10 complimented all three of the caviars on the table it created a truly stunning combination with the White Sturgeon caviar. On the palate, it is creamy and coating, with sweet, dry peat taking on a more tea-like character and throwing up dried herbs such as sage, oregano, dill and wild mountain thyme. Wasabi peas, soy, green peas, German salami, worn leather, smokey bacon peat, gunpowder and flint play with pineapple, mango, toffee banana, lemon oil, clementines and apricots in a delicious cacophony, with vanilla custard, baked salt, boiled sweets and sweet oak following. It’s a brilliant expression that has enough smoke to keep peat heads happy, but not too much to scare off those otherwise inclined. PriceJust delicious. This Port Charlotte 10 yo might be peated and smoky, but it is drinkable and elegant. The balance between the peaty notes and the smoke, sweetness and malt is luxurious and inviting you to try more. We believe to be called an Islay malt brings with it responsibilities – responsibilities to our community and to future generations here. Of nine distilleries on the island we’re the third smallest, yet we are its largest private employer; 80 of our 111 hundred strong team are based here. This means something. The finish lasts significantly longer than either of the other Port Charlottes and is not as easy or traditionally pleasant. Lingering dark coffee ground bitterness and a wet campfire smoke remain minutes after taking your last sip. I enjoy dark chocolate and espresso so these flavours are not wholly unpleasant to my taste preferences but they are surprising considering the red wine cask usage.

That being said, the 10 was much improved of the two, despite the fact that the quarter cask started strong. Upon first opening the 10 year-old I was worried that it would sit on my shelf for years untouched, but it ended becoming decently average as the headspace grew. The quarter cask became a broken and pale imitation of what it once was after roughly the halfway mark. I wonder if there was any difference in filtration technique or cuts of the distillate taken for each of these expressions that might account for these results. In any case, it appears Laphroaig 10 is the best value if you want some longevity from you scotch. Then again, this could all be moot as these results are specific to my palate and could also be specific to these respective batches. Contrary to what this article might indicate, I do enjoy the Laphroaig profile quite a bit, it’s just that flavours which used to be small accents have taken centre stage. It’s almost as if the heavy peat and medicinal components are being used to mask flaws in the distillate or the aging process. Having tried some of the Laphroaig new-make, I feel comfortable saying that the distillate is not entirely at fault. It may be peated a bit too heavily, but it is still a quite tropical, coastal, and earthy spirit. Something is going wrong between the cuts off the still and what comes out of the barrels. From distillate to aging to the people to the bottling, this is a product of Islay. The grain may come from the Scottish mainland, the barrels from around the world, the peat from the Highlands, but the heart of this dram beats Islay. It was crafted, matured and put together by the dedicated people who live on the island and give it its profile, its soul. And that’s why they’re so open about the process and what’s in it, regardless of ingredient origins… it’s an Islay whisky. Oxidation reactions indicate a significant chemical change within a substance. For example, the formation of rust is a common oxidation reaction between iron and oxygen. Whisky in a bottle is not undergoing these sorts of fundamental chemical reactions due to mere air exposure. Whisky is exposed to air constantly throughout most its lifetime, from the grain being harvested, to the mashing process, to slumbering in casks that are not 100% airtight. Yet, there are often clear differences in smell and taste after a bottle has been opened for an extended period of time. So what is going on? The secret is alcohol evaporation. Say hello to the final Scotch in our peated Bruichladdich run: Port Charlotte 10 Years. I did a PC10 review a few years ago, but I wanted to see if more than the bottle got a facelift. And, spoiler, it did. But that’s to be expected with a distillery whose goal is flavor, not consistency.Whiskybase B.V. is the Dutch private limited liability company, having its statutory seat in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and its office at Zwaanshals 530, 3035 KS Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Whiskybase B.V. is registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under no. 52072819. No partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship is created as a result of your use of the Service. On the nose: Far less ashy than the initial pours. In fact, it’s smells much more like actual smoke now. The earthy peatiness is present and the citrus scents are a touch stronger. Less of a lemon pledge, more of a grilled lemon albeit one that has been left on the grill for far too long. An old, wet piece of seaweed and a slight perfume-y note have evolved as well. I think there might be the smell of a fresh cigar in there as well, but that could very well just be my imagination. Actually, at least there’s something a bit different about this release and that’s nothing to do with the whisky itself. It’s about the container that the whisky arrived in. The bottle. A new bottle design, in fact! For Port Charlotte has been given a bit of a facelift, a gentle rebrand, a bit of TLC.

Bruichladdich is a bit unique in that there is no prescribed recipe for each release, no single way they have to make any given label. Instead, they distill, age and blend to make the best whisky they can from any given vintage or age range and their best result gets put out. A, slightly, inconsistent profile that’s consistently good. Toffee and vanilla fudge. Wasabi peas, soy, green peas, German salami, worn leather, smokey bacon peat with gunpowder and flint. Dried herbaceous notes of sage, thyme and dill. A touch of the medicinal with boiled sweet syrup and balanced peat. Still that fruit but more clementine, lemon oil and other citrus. Whisky F – Lagavulin 16-Year-Old

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, the remainder of the Terms shall continue in full force and effect. This is one improved significantly but the bar was low to begin with. From off-putting to average. Score: 5/10 Laphroaig Quarter Cask – One Year Later Review In the mouth: Still thin and almost watery but much less hot than the first pours from the bottle. Salty, ashy, and medicinal are still the dominant flavours but there is certainly a much stronger sour lemon-lime flavour that has come out over time. The seaweed flavour is also much less raw and vegetal, more salty and “cooked” if that makes sense. The Whisky Exchange once again invited whisky fans from far and wide to become the judges for the internationally recognised award, Whisky of the Year 2021, which saw the peated Islay Scotch come away with the title. ‘Whisky of the Year’ Competition Billy Abbott and Dawn Davies of The Whisky Exchange Let’s have a peaty start to tasting notes for 2021 with the Port Charlotte 10 yo single malt whisky. After the dramatic year that was 2020, I want to start this year on a high note. Start as you mean to continue. Port Charlotte and the Bruichladdich distillery is no stranger on the blog.

Anyone who’s taken a peek at my cellar would guess Laphroaig is my favourite distillery. I have more bottles from them than from any other whisky producer at the moment. The 10 and the Quarter Cask have been mainstays on my shelf for a many years, but there is no denying that the distillery profile has undergone significant changes. There used to be a much stronger, sweeter, and richer fruit component to the tastes, and the peat smoke wasn’t so acrid and ashtray-like. The end result is that the water:ethanol ratio in the bottle increases over time, slightly diluting the whisky and causing the oils to separate a little bit more. It’s similar to adding a few drops of water to the whisky in your glass, except instead of increasing the water volume we are decreasing the ethanol volume. Either way, the ratio of water:ethanol has increased. This can reach a critical point where too much ethanol is lost and the contents of the bottle can taste “flat”. Just like some whiskies can take a little water better than others, some can handle ethanol evaporation better than others. Let’s have a look at how well Laphroaig stands up to the process! In my last review, it was noted that a comparison of tasting notes for Laphroaig 10 and Laphroaig Quarter Cask had been in the works before my laptop gave out after exactly 11 years of service, literally to the day, and taking my work with it. At last, the time has come to finally redo that piece. Unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise, your use of and membership to the Service are exclusively governed by Dutch law. We shall first try to settle any dispute over a dram of whisky. Disputes that cannot be settled over multiple drams of whisky shall be solely submitted to the court of Amsterdam, The Netherlands unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise. Moving through the layers of flavor source we hit what’s possibly the single biggest source of flavor: the casks. Depending on who you talk to they’ll quote ranges from 60-80% of the ultimate flavor comes from the cask. Me, I think it’s far more complicated than some cookie-cutter answer can give and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to the question.

Recently I reviewed the Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 and that review is the root of this deeper dive. My source of truth for flavor profiles and the information in it will be expanded here as we dissect, and play with, this fantastic whisky. Breaking Down Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10