Octomore 2009 Edition 06.3 5 yo

 

 

 

64°

Distillery : Bruichladdich

Bourbon Casks 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2014

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 258 ppm

 

 

 

The 3rd version of Octomore's 6th Batch is also the very first to be made entirely on Islay, from harvest to bottling (that said, I believe the malting is done on the main British island). Peated at 258 ppm, it was the most peated whisky of all time at the time, but this record was beaten two years later by Octomore 08.3. It should be noted, however, that the peat is not as high as that in Octomore. Aged exclusively in Bourbon casks, it highlights the purity of the distillate and the specific characteristics of Islay barley. 18,000 bottles have been released.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The pine forest on a September evening. It's a bit cool, which is why you can smell iodine. Eucalyptus leaf split in two. And now it's the tide, the kelp, the foam. Some seaweed. Coarse salt. Dense earth, thick roots, chalky, slightly muddy. A touch of ether and camphor. Then it softens. Resin, fresh bark, just torn from the trunk. Dried fruits, figs, grapes, bananas. With the addition of water, the fruits are slightly more intense, but so is the ether. Crushed yellow plums, slightly fermented. Bandages, disinfectant. At the end it becomes grassy. Fresh chicory. On the palate, still very woody, thorny, spicy, pepper on the tip of the tongue, a dash of vanilla and gravel, pine cone, hazelnut. The finish is hard to recover from, sweeping you away like a violent tidal wave, with tart tatin sprinkled with vanilla in retro-olfaction. Green chilli, braised peppers. Mirabelles. Cloves.

 

In Short, 

This is one of the very best Octomore of the 3rd series. The quality of the distillate is not distracted by superfluous wine casks. The addition of Islay barley gives the distillate a real identity. The result is a superb bottling whose only flaw is the price, which is as violent as the finish.

Score : 91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                            The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Chile