
August 2, 2016

Little duets, Lochindaal vs. Port Charlotte

Specialty Drinks have just released a new bunch of ‘Elements of Islay’ bottlings, including an intriguing Ln1. Which stands for Lochindaal, which is some quasi-experimental peated Bruichladdich. There’s some new ‘Ar’ too, but we’re very curious at WF Towers, and with whisky, curiosity never killed any mouser… So it’s going to be the Ln first.

Ln1 (62.5%, Elements of Islay, first fill bourbon, 2016)

So this is Lochindaal, a peated malt by Bruichladdich that sits somewhere between Port Charlotte and Octomore as far as smokiness is concerned (50ppm in the malted barley). The name Lochindaal's been used in the past by third parties for both Bowmore and Bruichladdich, but this is different. Colour: straw. Nose: rather aggressive at first nosing, which is normal at this strength, and then more and more mentholy and medicinal. There’s smoke, antiseptic and camphor just everywhere! Some leaven too, but let’s not go too far, it needs water… With water: smoked grass, garden bonfire, and more camphor and eucalyptus. Would love to know about the cut for this. Mouth (neat): a feeling of sucking some smoked lemon bonbons. Some green tea and grass in the background. Very powerful, with a sweet side. With water: swims extremely well, like most ‘un-wine-ed’ Bruichladdichs. You can literally drown it and bring it down to 30% vol. it would still swim. Wonderful combo with wet clothes, diesel oil, iodine, and indeed quite some lime and camphor. Finish: very long, with a fatness, and yet a lightness that’s brought by the lemony side. Very grassy aftertaste, with some coconut coming through with water. Comments: absolutely excellent, perhaps just not flabbergastingly complex. More Lochindaal please! SGP:467 - 88 points.

So, let’s find a Port Charlotte, just to check the peat level ‘in the glass’. Oh and why not a sherry monster for a change? I remember those early private sherry bloodtubs with much fondness…

Port Charlotte 10 yo 2003/2013 (63.1%, Scoma, sherry hogshead, cask #617, 290 bottles)

Yes a total monster, most probably. Colour: office coffee. Nose: Very sulphury, but I think there’s ‘good’ sulphur (matches, guns) and ‘bad’ sulphur (ard-boiled eggs, cooked cabbage). It’s the former situation that’s occurring here, with also notes of coal dust (or, as I sometimes say, brake pads after the Nordschleife), used fireworks, charcoal, ashtray, bitter chocolate, liquorice… This is quite spectacular, but sometimes they don’t swim well when the sherry’s ‘like that’. Let’s figure out… With water: magic. Sake, cigars, soy sauce, umami… It gets very ‘Japanese’. Mouth (neat): gives you some kind of wafer when unreduced! Bang! I get some heavy smoky liquorice, but other than that, it tends to numb your palate, so, quick… With water: wonderful sherry/peat combo. Leather, tobacco, strawberry jam, cassis bud tea, marmalade… Perfect. Finish: very long, with a bitter/leathery side that works to perfection here, and a sweeter Campari-like aftertaste. Comments: big, fat, and excellent. SGP:567 - 90 points.

(and hvala, Tom)

Check the index of all Port Charlotte I've tasted so far