Lochindaal 10 2010 W.D. O'Connell

I was placing an order for some Irish whiskey on a site specializing in that, and they had a new offering from an Irish bottler of their first Scotch, and it happened to be a style from a distillery I was looking to try. As I understand, Lochindaal is not a formal line from Bruichladdich like Port Charlotte or Octomore, but the peat levels fall somewhere in between those two. Here’s my review of it.

Lochindaal 10, 2010 Vintage, W.D. O'Connell, Islay Single Malt, 63.1% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on December 1, 2010 and matured in a 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel numbered 4278 for 10 years and bottled in 2021 yielding 282 bottles. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Deep copper; 1.0.

Nose: Smoke, ash, rubber. Smoke, leather, tobacco. Charred meat.

Taste: Peppery peat. Vegetal. Wood, coffee grounds.

Finish: Hot, dying embers. Burnt syrup. Medium.

This is a nice cask. It does indeed feel in between Port Charlotte and Octomore. But then again, so do Port Charlottes and Octomores. Still, a bottle I’m glad a took a reach on it given its high price for a standard bottle, but this just a bottle of 500ml. Though, since it feels Octomorey, it is about what you would expect to pay for 10 year old single cask. It’s got its own thing going on and I like what it’s got.

Score: 87

Musical Evocation: Alestorm – “Flower of Scotland”