Port Charlotte
In 1828, Laird Walter Frederick Campbell founded the village of Port Charlotte on Islay, naming it after his mother, Lady Charlotte Campbell - a year later, a distillery of its own was built there, operating for a hundred years until 1929. The site then lay dormant for decades, until Mark Reynier and Simon Coughlin of Murray McDavid acquired it in 2000 alongside the neighbouring Bruichladdich distillery. With the help of industry veterans Duncan McGillivray and Jim McEwan, a new, intensely peated whisky line emerged under the historic name from 2001 onward - peated to around 40 ppm phenol, making it considerably smokier than unpeated Bruichladdich, though not quite as extreme as the later Octomore.
Content: 0.7 Liter (€78.56 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 1-3 business days
Code: PFINGSTEN26
Content: 0.7 Liter (€107.13 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 1-3 business days
Content: 0.7 Liter (€85.70 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 1-3 business days
Content: 0.7 Liter (€159.99 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 3-6 business business days
Content: 0.7 Liter (€285.70 / 1 Liter)
Available, delivery time: 1-3 business days
Does the Port Charlotte distillery still exist?
The original distillery in the village of the same name operated from 1829 to 1929 and no longer exists today - modern Port Charlotte whisky is instead distilled at the neighbouring Bruichladdich distillery, which revived the historic name as its own peated line.
How does Port Charlotte differ from Octomore?
Both come from Bruichladdich, but Port Charlotte is peated to a considerably more moderate 40 ppm phenol compared to the extremely smoky Octomore (sometimes over 200 ppm) - a kind of middle ground between unpeated Bruichladdich and the radical Octomore.
Flavour profile
Taste: Bold, smoky and peaty with a maritime note, complemented by vanilla and tropical fruit notes from cask maturation.
Recommended enjoyment: Neat at room temperature, an ideal entry point for anyone who finds Octomore too extreme.
Start with Port Charlotte 10 Year Old.
Facts and figures
Village of Port Charlotte founded 1828, historic distillery 1829-1929. Site acquired 2000 by Mark Reynier and Simon Coughlin (Murray McDavid). New production since 2001, first bottling 2006. Peating level approx. 40 ppm phenol.