Octomore 6.1

While I’ve been fortunate enough to come across an occasional not absurdly priced Octomore at a bar or as a sample, this was the first bottle I bought. It was pretty well priced, though not on the shelf when I went there. They had to check in the back/upstairs, and took a while doing so, so I really appreciated that.

Octomore 6.1, Islay Single Malt, 57% ABV

Minutia: Made from Scottish barley, peated to 167ppm, aged 5 years in American Oak ex-Bourbon casks. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Burnished, 1.1.

Nose: Strong but light smoke, funk, maritime quality, a bit floral.

Taste: Intense sealike smoke, pepper.

Finish: Smoky, delightfully savory, warms up a bit, fades over long finish.

This is such a great dram to really take your time and savor. The less you are doing in addition to drinking it, the better. It’s not earth shattering, and it isn’t really an everyday thing, but I will be sad when it’s gone. 

Score: 87

2019 Advent #24 - Ledaig 12 Present Future

I’ve become a massive fan of Ledaig since trying the 10, so it’s fitting this is the closer of the 2019 Advent project. The spirit they make is so good, as long as the price is right I’d pretty much buy anything they made without checking reviews and I’d recommend it to just about anyone who isn’t allergic to anything in it. I’ve not yet had a Sherried Ledaig, and even though I speculatively bought this before knowing how I felt about Ledaig I am eager to try it.

Ledaig 12 Present Future, Mull Single Malt, 58.4% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in 2005 and bottled by The Whisky Exchange for the Whisky Show 2018. Matured in a Sherry butt. This is meant to represent a style of whisky coming into favor now and where whisky is trending in the immediate future. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Brown Sherry, 1.9.

Nose: Definite smoke and fruit, some funk.

Taste: Fruity malt, some smoke, big heat.

Finish: Smoke and funk jump out. The heat wobbles in intensity as it all fades over a long finish.

Guess: This was the last in the pool so I knew what it was going in, thus the “blind” in quotes in the title. Next year I’ll be selecting 24 from a pool of n>24 and not looking at what doesn’t get selected to allow all to be done blindly.

I am very disappointed this isn’t really available anymore. Holy smokes is this good. While having this I was thinking it’s what I wanted Bunnahabhain 12 to be, if it had the smoky element this does I’d have liked it a ton more. That has me looking more forward to their peated stuff. This also has me excited that I pulled the trigger on a similarly aged IB Ledaig that was also Sherried and can’t open that soon enough. Can they make anything bad? I’ll keep buying until I find out, but I suspect I won’t ever find it.

Score: 93

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

2019 Advent #23 - Bowmore 9 Sherry Cask

I like Islay and Bowmore so this is definitely something I’m glad to try, but the age and ABV strike me as weird. Maybe the youth of the spirit makes it brash enough to be flavorful? The proof didn’t strike me any particular way when I started trying to try and enjoy as much whisky as I could, but with some experience under my belt I’m glad to be doing this blind to avoid any bias about that.

Bowmore 9 Sherry Cask, Islay Single Malt, 40% ABV

Minutia: Matured in ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Old oak, 1.8.

Nose: Lightly fruity malt. Really nice fresh green apple after a bit. The apple bit saved the nose.

Taste: Vaguely fruity smoke, fairly thin, some heat but little.

Finish: Caramel, some smoke.

Guess: Bowmore 9 Sherry Cask.

As far as guessing, it was this or a Sherried Ledaig, and it sure was no Ledaig. There’s nothing really wrong with it, certainly nothing off-putting, but this is a pricy bottle relative to what it offers. A bit more alcohol and this could be a pretty heavy hitter. To its credit, this is a very easy drinker and a solid choice if you’re looking for something light and enjoy smoke and/or Sherry flavors.

Score: 80

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

2019 Advent #22 - Ardbeg An Oa

I’ve liked the Ardbeg I’ve tried so far and I’m interested in trying the newer NAS expression that’s regular and a bit less expensive than Uigeadail and Corryvreckan. Fortunately we live in a time when certain companies sell samples so you don’t have to find them at a bar or take a risk on a bottle.

Ardbeg An Oa, Islay Single Malt, 46.6% ABV

Minutia: The whisky in this expression comes from a variety of casks including: Pedro Ximenez Sherry, virgin charred oak, and ex-Bourbon casks. There are others involved but they are not mentioned in Ardbeg’s description. It’s vatted in a French Oak vat before bottling. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Amontillado Sherry, .9.

Nose: Smoky, vegetal. Winey fruit

Taste: Thin, minor heat. Weak.

Finish: Big smoke and pepper. Meaty. Medium.

Guess: Ardbeg An Oa.

This nose was too easy to guess with just 3 options remaining. I’m very surprised at the thin mouthfeel on this. Perhaps I’ve been drinking too much above 55% lately. The finish is very good and really helped this score. The taste was pretty weak, but I’ll be giving this a chance as a bottle to see if that’s consistent.

Score: 85

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

2019 Advent #21 - Bowmore 26 Vintner's Trilogy No. II

This is one of the more exciting ones in the calendar I created. My scores of whisky that spent more time in wine casks than just a finishing have been quite high, and this is pretty hard to come by so I’m glad I was ordering when a sample was available.

Bowmore 26 Vintner’s Trilogy No. 2, Islay Single Malt, 48.7% ABV

Minutia: Matured for 13 years in ex-Bourbon barrels then transferred to former wine barriques for another 13 years.

Color: Brown Sherry, 1.9.

Nose: Fruity, floral smoke. Malty, nutty.

Taste: Thin, smoke, bit of heat builds slowly, as does fruit. The fruit doesn’t build so much as a weirdish flavor shifts into fruit over time.

Finish: Malty, nice smokiness and slight heat and must. Medium, with an intensity on the medium-short side.

Guess: Bowmore 9 Sherry cask.

With the 4 options left, I knew this was a Bowmore, but it was tough to say what. Was it so dark because of how old it was and how much time it was in a wine cask, or was it young and overly colored? Was it thin because it was 40%, or because age had reduced and tempered the ethanol? It was mostly a toss-up, but I guessed the younger one due to the mouthfeel. This is pretty good, but a bit weird, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Not quite worth what it costs, though. Maybe at MSRP, whatever that was, but not aftermarket prices if they’re far above normal shelf price. Historically, I’ve really enjoyed wine casks, so I’m a bit surprised this one didn’t wow me, but it did perform a bit better than Bowmore’s 25 and is about the same age, so that lines up a bit. I think I’d have scored this higher if I knew what it was, so I’m glad this was in the blind group.

Score: 82

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

2019 Advent #20 - Port Charlotte PC 12 Oileanach Furachail

A sample of one of Port Charlotte’s travel retail expressions. They generally make good stuff, but sometimes the travel exclusive expressions are for experiments gone wrong. Let’s see how this one is.

Port Charlotte PC 12 Oileanach Furachail, Islay Single Malt, 58.7% ABV

Minutia: Aged 12 years, I’m pretty sure it saw a Sherry cask at some point, but it’s not explicit on the website. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Old oak, 1.8.

Nose: Smoke. Hot, like red pepper. Something else I don’t know.

Taste: Weird flavor. Gummy candy, indiscriminate flavor. Feels thin almost at times. There’s some heat.

Finish: Malt. Smoke and peat in a big way. Ramps into a fade over a medium-long finish. Bit of brine.

Guess: PC12.

The nose and taste were ok to somewhat interesting, but the finish is superb. You can’t wait to get it out of your mouth, not because it’s gross while there, but because you want that finish again. If only the earlier part of the dram was at that level.

Score: 86

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

2019 Advent #19 - Octomore 7 Rest & Be Thankful

This bottler seems to be considered good, and they sure do price as if they are. Fortunately this sample wasn’t much of a bank breaker and I was able to try it and see for myself what other bottlers do with Octomore spirit. Also the highest ABV I’ve had by far so I’m interested in how I like this with it being over 60%.

Octomore 7 Rest & Be Thankful, Islay Single Malt, 63.9% ABV

Minutia: Distilled March 19, 2008, matured in a Frenck oak cask 200800908, and bottled on May 6, 2015 yielding 316 bottles.

Color: Tawny russet muscat, 1.3.5.

Nose: Smoke, bright/light/crisp quality. Bit appley. Oak, wine, more like oaky wine.

Taste: Funked up smoke of the nose. Low heat/pepper. Concentrated version of the nose, with an addition of spiced wine.

Finish: Heat ramps up right away. Smoke is big and delightfully peaty.

Guess: PC12.

If I hadn’t forgotten there was still an Octomore in the pool I’d have guessed it. I was led there by the characteristic Laddie funkiness plus a presence of peat. The finish is just awesome. It makes you kind of forget about the rest of the experience, which are good on their own. I’m super surprised by this proof, I’d have expected nothing to really come through in the nose. I don’t know how I didn’t really get any burn on the palate for this level of alcohol. What an awesome cask. I can’t say about other releases from this bottler, but I won’t immediately be dismissing them based on high price as this spirit is worthy of it. Note that I think that score is deflated a bit by how much the finish overshadowed the rest. I gave it a 24/25 (which has happened before) but it’s the closest to 25 I’ve had and really just don’t want to give on principle.

Score: 90

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

2019 Advent #18 - Elements of Islay Pl4

This is an interesting one to me. Elements of Islay does a periodic style symbol for each of the Islay distilleries they bottle, and it’s typically obvious. They have a few from Bruichladdich, the Octomore one is Oc, but the Port Charlotte one is somehow Pl. Really any IBs that call the distillery Port Charlotte or Octomore are weird to me, since they aren’t actual distilleries. I think Elements of Islay has a Bruichladdich, an Octomore, and a couple different types of more mildly peated whiskies. I do like that they distinguish the peatedness of the malt used by the distillery, though. Anyway, the distillery is great, their peated spirit is great, and this bottler is well regarded, so I’m excited. Let’s get to it.

Elements of Islay Pl4, Islay SM, 61.2% ABV

Minutia: No information about distillation and bottling dates, but this comes from two Chateaux Margaux casks. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Chestnut Oloroso Sherry, 1.2.

Nose: Intense. Smoky. Musty, briny, smoked fish.

Taste: Briny, smoky fish. Pepper, ramps to big.

Finish: Smoke, peaty, vegetal, salty. Savory.

Guess: Elements of Islay Port Charlotte, forgot the number but PlX.

I think I’m going to start getting these right from now on, or at least very close, due to the amount and array of bottles left in this pool. When I do this next year, I hope I remember to not just rearrange 24 bottles, but just randomly select from what I have, or at least select from a pool of a good deal more than 24. Anyway, another solid hit. This is several in a row now that have really impressed me. As generally not a seafood fan, the smoked fishy part of the taste was just a bit too much for me which hurt its points a bit. It probably also kept the nose down a bit. But boy is that finish strong. If the rest sounds good and the fishy notes are something you actively enjoy, this is a dram for you. The fishy bit is subtle, I will say, but my sensitivity to it probably overestimates its role here.

Score: 87

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:

2019 Advent #17 - Octomore 9.3

One of the more interesting cask breakdowns I’ve seen, I’m happy to be getting around to this one blind and see what the various wines do without any expectations. A low ppm for an Octomore but still more than double most heavily peated malts. 

Octomore 9.3, Islay Single Malt, 62.9% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in 2012 from 100% Islay grown Concerto barley (the X.3 meaning) harvested in 2011 from Irene’s field, Octomore Farm, peated to 133ppm, matured for 5 years in the following combination of ex-American whiskey and ex-French wine casks: 25% 1st fill ex-American, 25% 3rd fill virgin oak, 20% 2nd fill Rivesaltes, 20% 2nd fill Syrah, and 10% 2nd fill Bourbon. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Russet muscat, 1.3.

Nose: Big smoke when you start to nose, intense wine wipes that away, and then they fight for dominance, struggling a bit against the ethanol.

Taste: Strong peat flavor, then some kind of salty fruit bomb goes off.

Finish: Big heat at first. Then vegetal, earthy peat. The peat gets funky as the heat persists, and then it fades over a long finish.

Guess: Port Charlotte or Octomore in a wine cask.

It’s a fairly broad guess, but that’s how it felt. I’m at the part where the amount of bottles left in the pool is small enough that guessing is a but easy. I confused the X.3 for X.4 and was thinking the X.4 would have been virgin oak so I was leaning Port Charlotte, but included Octomore in the guess because it felt stronger than that (peat and ABV-wise). Had I remembered what the cask breakdown was, I’d have gone right to Octomore. This is a really neat dram, and is truly an upward journey. When I like a nose as much as I did this one, I’ve come to expect either a significant dip and a bit of a rise or a steady decline as I proceed through the palate. This is the opposite where each step makes me like it more. If I come across a bottle of this at a store, I’ll be taking it home unless it’s wildly overpriced.

Score: 92

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar: