Octomore 2.1 from Bruichladdich - my Festivus/Birthday Present Comes Early!

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My unbelievably thoughtful wife gave me my birthday present last night -

A bottle of Bruichladdich's "Octomore 2.1"

Those who aren't fans of Islay's huge, peat-filled taste might wish to stop reading right here

This is a 5yr old Scotch, bottled at 62.5% Of interest is the number 140 on the side of the black frosted bottle. This refers to the 140PPM of peat phenols. To give you a reference point Laphroiag 10yr runs 30PPM and Ardbeg 10yr is 50PPM.


I only had the tiniest dram last night, but my initial tasting notes are as follows:

Colour- VERY light- think Chardonnay.

Body - Medium. Not thin, but definitely doesn't have the oily "Legs" of some older Islay Malts.

Nose - Peaty, but lighter than you'd expect given the high PPM content - VERY high octane though. The alcohol fumes are practically waving over the top of the malt like a mirage on a hot desert highway. It isn't heavily smoky, more like sticking your nose in a peat bog. Definite hints diesel or fresh vinyl.

1st Taste - BIG and Hot, the high alcohol percentage is very obvious- it leaves the lips tingling.

Huge peat flavour, but not 3x the peat of Ardbeg. Peat taste coincides with the nose- VERY peaty, but not smoky peat, more organic, like drinking a peat bog.

Again there is a petroleum note, a diesel/vinyl essence, maybe coal. There is a sweetness hiding behind the huge peat/petro-chemical monster, not syrupy like mango, but with mango's citrus-tropical zing. There is a light vanilla / caramelized sugar note, and also a lingering Anise bulb or licorice taste.

This is definitely NOT one-dimensional as some reviewers claim.

Finish - Very big, and the ghosts (spirits? ) of the peat and that Anise/licorice vegetable sweetness linger for quite a long time. The alcohol fumes also linger. There is also an smokey-ashy note that comes out in the finish that (to me, at least) isn't a primary component of the flavour itself.

Final review: A very interesting Malt, and one I feel that is very well crafted. It IS very expensive, even with the discounts one can find on it (and thank goodness my wife is an amazing deal-finder).

Would I go buy another bottle of this- it's too soon to tell. I tend to become "haunted" by the Islay malts, even ones that I'm not initially impressed with. My first impression is that it's a fantastic Scotch- but not one I'd re-purchase given the price. That could all change again after a few more wee drams.

ith: