Port Charlotte 14yo Hidden Spirits 55,5%

PORT CHARLOTTE 14YO HIDDEN SPIRITS 55%

Peat stop

After the Waterford 1st Cuvée, it’s time to taste another whisky. This one is from Islay, more precisely from Bruichladdich distillery, and it has been bottled by Hidden Spirits. Let’s try this Port Charlotte 14yo!

Colour: Gold, green lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Obvious stable scents at first. Hay, sweat, fodder. These wild smells are surrounded by a creaminess, something on fresh milk and rancid butter. There are some bread accents too, bread dough especially. Colza/olive oil. A subtle smokiness in the background underlined by candied citruses. A true camphory touch. A solid saltiness. Hints of dry chestnut too. What a monster. If you’re a peat nerd, that’s the perfect one for you. If you’re not, well…fasten your seat belt! 

Palate: Wet hay, smoky pulled pork. Very rich texture. Did they put some butter in the alambic during the distillation? Medicinal aromas, something that reminds me of the balm used to heat muscles. Delicious buttery/pastry notes, mainly on croissant and almond pie. Still few generous smoky notes. Wow! 

Last Notes: Still very buttery.  A delicate fruitiness on marasquin cherry and tinned plums. Massive leather smells. Liquid hay. Very focused on stable scents again. This nose is as dirty as it’s fascinating. Back on the palate, I feel more smokiness and saltiness. With the very rich texture, it reminds me a lot of smoked salmon flesh. And that’s delicious! It ends on bbq ribs aromas and the smokiness that I tasted in the mezcal that I tried previously. Bang! 

Well, I can’t lie. This Port Charlotte 14yo is a wild one. You love it or you hate it, there’s no in-between. A massive peated whisky, very rich, very drinkable, and full of complexity as well. 

My very subjective note: 89+/100

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