Whisky : Port Charlotte MRC:01

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 59.2%

Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon, 2nd Fill Ex-French Wine, 1Y Ex-Bordeaux French Oak

Age : 7 Years

Nose : Meats, fruits, and saltwater collide in a barnyard.  Honey glazed ham, crispy pork fat, sweet candied bacon, and pineapple slices stuffed in a spiral ham.  The layers of meat slowly part to reveal loads of fruits— fresh strawberries, gala apples, and plums.  Things got slowly weirder as stale old hay arrived with rancid pecans, clams casino, tidal pool brine, and oysters Rockefeller.

Palate : Medium bodied with lovely oily viscosity and mild tannic dryness.  Roasted ham off the bone, sweet apple pie, and tangy mountain apples carry this from meat to fruit.  Funky notes from the barnyard emerge on the back end— damp hay, spoiled mangos, and burst overripe mountain guavas.

Finish : Lingering dryness of apple skins and a faint sweet smoke.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Summertime Pig Hunt

Something Better : Benriach 6Y; Duncan Taylor Octave (similar meaty spiral ham, more complexity)

Something Similar : Glenturret 8Y SMWS 16.38 (similar tropical fruit/ham, less barn funk/viscosity)

Something Worse : Bowmore 15Y Fèis Ìle 2018 (similar mango/tropical fruit, less meat, drier)

Notes : This dram was an absolutely gorgeous funky fun time as it veered between rich meat and sweet fruits.  I love Port Charlotte which is probably clear from the generally high scores I have given different distillery expressions and single casks from independent bottlers.  Port Charlotte scratches an itch I have for barnyard and overripe fruit notes that just do not come through in a lot of other distilleries.  It was obvious I had to grab a bottle of the MRC.  Positive reviews on reddit and around the internet only fueled my excitement— not to mention my love for the CC:01, a prior special edition aged in French oak cognac casks.

This was fantastic and it proved very popular a few months ago when we poured it during a local virtual tasting.  It pretty handily beat out the 2019 Special Release of Lagavulin 12, the peated Cragganmore 12, and a Lagavulin distillery exclusive for best of the evening.  Personally— and I believe I may be in the minority here— I would give the edge to a prior Port Charlotte special edition, the CC, over the MRC.  While the CC has less fruit, it has an additional layer of sweet smoke and leather that I adore.  With the OLC now trickling out into retail spaces now, I will be keeping my eye out to see if that also hits the same highs as previous special outturns.