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. 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. When the new bottle was first introduced to the market, I had the chance of getting one and enjoyed every moment with it. This year's batch offers a well-balanced profile of malt sweetness, spicy notes and of course the famous peat. Peat is not overwhelming and it doesn't overpower any other flavors. This is a very important thing for me when it comes to peaty whiskies. Does it overpower, does it cover any character, any flavors? 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. Bruichladdich introduced The Port Charlotte 10 yo whisky as the flagship Port Charlotte expression. It’s peated to 40ppm, and drawn from a combination of first-fill American whiskey casks, second-fill American whiskey casks and second-fill French wine casks.

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. Finalists: Linden Leaf 8 Organic Molecular gin, Lind and Lime gin (winner), Geometric Gin (runner-up), Distillerie de Paris Batch 1 gin, Boatyard Double Ginand Citadelle Reserve gin. Buy the Gin of the Year 2021 Tasting Set here. Champagne of the Year 2021

Laphroaig 10 Year Old – One Year Later – Review

I wanted to state this under a separate headline. Bruichladdich offers three different styles. Unpeated Laddie, heavily peated Port Charlotte and super heavily peated Octomore. Unlike the numbers we see on Octomore (which is 80+ ppm), Port Charlotte 10 Year Old is at 40 ppm. This leads me into the scores. The PAC:01 is objectively a score of 6 or even 6.5 from the unique experience and quality of the whisky and flavours, but the price relegates it to a 5.5 or even slightly lower. Seeing as we are not one to split hairs here at Dramface, I will be doing the honorary rounding down to a 5. From my side-by-side tasting here, the 2013 Islay Barley gets you 80-90% of the experience of the PAC:01, for 60-70% of the price. You might rank PAC:01 higher based on your taste preferences or local price however that’s where it’s landing for me against these two other exceptional Port Charlottes. The 10 year old and 2013 Islay Barley are sublime in their own unique way and should be experienced by any peat fans at some point in their whisky adventure. NOSE: I was expecting a bolder nose, but it is delicate and elegant smoke and peat balanced with tropical fruit sweetness. Bits of oak and earth with fudge and sun-ripened oranges. Bits of seaweed and ash with vanilla and sea air. Regardless of whether the Service offers the functionality to contribute, you are solely responsible and liable for any content and information that you create, upload, post, publish, link to, duplicate, transmit, record, display or otherwise make available on the Service or to other Members, such as chat messages, text messages, videos, audio, audio recordings, music, pictures, photographs, text and any other information or materials, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted (“Contributions”). 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!

Laphroaig is no stranger to whisky lovers, especially peat heads. It’s practically a shelf-staple these days and is enjoying a surge in popularity. While much of the distillery’s range consists of NAS expressions and questionable wood finishes, occasionally it shows flashes of the old brilliance it once possessed. Today the focus will be on both of the aforementioned standard offerings, but with a twist: tasting notes from the early pours of the bottle compared to tasting notes from a year later when the bottle was less than ¼ full. What does a little oxidation do to Laphroaig? The first bottle to come from Edinburgh’s Port of Leith Distillery, Lind & Lime gin is inspired by history. Paying homage to Dr. J Lind, who discovered the effect of citrus fruits on those suffering from scurvy, Lind & Lime gin uses lime for flavour alongside pink peppercorn and juniper to balance out its strong, fresh citrus notes. Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates.On the nose: Wood ashes, tobacco ashes, burned leather, extremely faint caramel. Faint iodine and medical notes. There were some serious contenders for this year’s Rum of the Year however, the 2020-release of Mount Gay XO rum came out top (and damn it’s good). This is made with rums matured in a combination of American whiskey, ex-bourbon and ex-Cognac casks for between five and 17 years. The result is a spicy, fruity rum with a creamy, smooth palate. For the sake of consistency, both of these bottles were stored in the same cabinet, inside their respective canisters, in the dark, at room temperature of 21 degrees Celsius and relatively low humidity. The corks remained intact and were never removed from the bottles for a period greater than 5 minutes.