Last month, just a few days after releasing online exclusive Port Charlotte 16 Year Old for the virtual Fèis Ìle festival, came the next member in the PC cask exploration series, the Port Charlotte OLC:01.
We had MC:01 and MRC:01 (Marsala and Bordeaux respectively) and now comes the OLC:01 a 9 Year Old Port Charlotte which was distilled in 2010 and bottled earlier this year after being finished in Oloroso Hogsheads.
This is a major release with 30,000 bottles (at 55.1%) in circulation so it’s wildly available if you want to buy one after reading the review.
Bruichladdich Port Charlotte OLC:01 (55.1%, £90/€96.90)
Nose: Potent and lively, sweet smoke drifts, peat, dried red berries, vanilla, lactic note that disappeared after a few minutes, honey. After left to rest for a few minutes some smoked meat, cured meat, also maltiness and if you wield some wild imagination you could smell there haggis in berries sauce. After a few more minutes more sherry sweetness, more dried fruits and it’s nicely balanced. With a few drops of water the peat is tamed and there’s even more sweet fruits. Continue reading
Nose: Punchy, sweet dried dates and figs, toffee, caramel, sultanas, somewhat sour vanilla, hazelnuts and cinnamon, butterscotch and pudding. With a few drops of water it’s gaining fruitiness (green shade) and gummy bears sweetness. 
Nose: Lemon salad (is there such a thing? lots of different kinds of lemon here!), vanilla pods, dough, floral, honeycomb, a bit of limestone dust.
Nose: Maritime bonanza, salty, brine, minerality and sea breeze. Vanilla, honey, hay, lemonade, lemongrass, soft smoke, cured meat and grapefruit juice. Lovely. 
Nose: Honey, springtime blossoming meadow, gentle oak wood spices with a dash of white pepper, cereals, au naturale almonds, marzipan. Very fresh and lively with floral tinge. 
Nose: vanilla, bit of honey, a lot of malt notes, spelt bread, sourdough, a bit of rye as well. But it’s not all malt here, there’s floral perfume. baked pears, gingery, some mint and pine freshness. the textbook definition of breakfast dram. 
Nose: Sweet, lots of vanilla, slightly farmy peat but it goes un-farmy with time. Malt, lemon-y, coconut meat, a dash of honey. After a few minutes a very gentle red fruitiness with wee peat smoke. 
Nose: Sour fruits with a touch of nuttiness, honey, sweet barley, caramel and toffee. Then a bowl of fruits – pears, peaches and apples with sweet berries sauce, After a few minutes it develops a more nutty profile with cinnamon, cashew and almonds and eventually becoming herbal. 
Nose: Sweet, honeyed fruit, minerality, nutty with nutmeg and hazelnut – love that effect of Palo Cortado casks), limestone and green grape peels. After a few minutes there’s a floral side to the nose with white roses petals and citrus blossoms and eventually also getting tropical fruitiness. Very rich, enticing and balanced Palo Cortado influence. 
Whisky Gospel 