Scotch Whisky Review #385: Rest & Be Thankful Port Charlotte 13 Year Sherry Oak (2001)

Distillery: Bruichladdich.

Bottler: Rest & Be Thankful Whisky / Fox Fitzgerald.

Region: Islay.

Age: 13 Year. Cask filled on December 20th, 2001. Bottled on August 12th, 2015.

ABV: 64.6%. Cask Strength.

Price: ~€175 after VAT was removed.

Color: 1.0, Deep Copper. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

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Nose: It is nice and smoky, the kind of smoke you get from a barbecue with tons of grilled meats, a Hawaiian barbecue to be more specific. Roasted pig is the main note here, it’s like a super fatty pork just roasting away. Grilled pineapple is the one fruitier note I could pick out, there are some additional tropical notes that I can’t quite pick out.

Palate: It is quite rich from the start with some rich sherry up front. Charcoal grilled fruit notes pop in first, grilled pineapple and watermelon are what I got. Then comes the meats, mainly in something that reminds me much of brisket burnt ends. With a bit of water, it does get a little sweeter with some savory umami ones. Pineapple juice, barbecue sauce, and Worcestershire sauce all come through deliciously.

Finish: Quite Long. Charcoal grilled meats comes through, brisket burnt ends is the main note but there are additional notes of a bit of fatty pork.

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Conclusion: I’ve had a couple of Rest & Be Thankful’s Octomore bottlings and have been quite impressed and looked forward to diving into this bottle, especially considering /u/b1uepenguin‘s glowing review of it. The folks at Fox Fitzgerald must be really well liked by the folks at Bruichladdich because they’ve turned out yet another outstanding bottling here. It’s a tropical barbecue in a bottle with tons of grilled fruits and grilled meats. The nose tells you all of this is coming and the rest of it really, really delivers on that. It’s fantastic and delicious all around and a bottle I’m very happy to have in the cupboard.

Final Score: 94.

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Scotch Whisky Review #385, Islay Review #62, Whisky Network Review #539

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.