The third whisky review of the month is of a malt that is considerably younger than the previous two (a Strathisla 30 from G&M and a Bunnahabhain 33 from Whisky Doris). This Port Charlotte was distilled in 2002 and bottled from a single bourbon hogshead in 2010, a few months shy of its eighth birthday. The bottler again is Whisky Doris. I purchased it not too long after it was released and it has sat unopened on my shelves for almost a decade and a half for no good reason. I opened it in November and took a large sample with me to Delhi to both drink there and review. Here now are my notes.

Port Charlotte 7, 2002 (63.5%; Whisky Doris; bourbon hogshead 1171; from my own bottle)

Nose: The usual lactic notes off the top: scalded milk, parmesan rind. Big phenolic smoke too, of course, of course, along with sweeter coastal notes: shells, rotting kelp. Some apple as well. With some air some cream emerges. More cream with a few drops of water and the smoke expands as well. I think this might need a little more water as it still hits my nostrils hard. Yes, a second splash and it’s now just mellow enough: big smoke and cream still and some of the lemon from the palate emerges as well.

Palate: Comes in with sweet, ashy smoke, with the phenolic wallop arriving as I swallow; the lactic notes are far less pronounced here. Hot but not unapproachable; decent texture. The smoke picks up some char as it sits and the whole gets sweeter still. The cream emerges here as well (or rather, the scalded milk turns to cream). With water there’s some lemon in the mix and a lot more salt. More water and it’s a lovely mix of smoke, lemon, cream and pepper.

Finish: Long. The smoke crests and picks up some bitter notes and then some salt. As on the palate with water; the bitter notes turn to cracked pepper.

Comments: Pretty good at full strength but even better with water (especially after the second addition). Will experiment with the next few pours from the bottle and see if I can figure out the optimal amount to add.

Rating: 88 points.