Tastes

Nose - Gentle smoke, baked apples, golden raisins, hint of warm salt, hint of apple saltwater taffy (w/ water) Smoke almost disappears but otherwise the same Taste - Gentle charcoal/campfire smoke, sea spray, candied apple, bit drying, golden raisins, sweet habanero drying heat (w/ water) Less sweet, fruity bitterness turned up a bit, otherwise the same Finish - Very drying, light fruity bitterness, apples, golden raisins (w/ water) Same Score - 81/100 Final Thoughts - This one had a nice nose, gentle smoke balanced by some salt & fruity/creamy sweetness. The cask influence is fairly subtle in this one as I don't get strong cognac vibes, but rather a more fruity apple creamy custard vibe from this. Add in some salt and a hint of campfire smoke, and it feels like an apple custard, but without the creaminess. Hints of golden raisin are present, but it comes in and out and this drying lightly bitter vibe dominates. Feels a bit hotter than the proof might suggest but a bit of water helps tame that, but I think it elevates any fruity bitter notes in this one. I think this one is best neat or with only a few drops of water, I think I tried to proof this one down to about 50% and the bitterness came out a bit much. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Probably not another NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Peppery campfire smoke, machine oil, sweet black peppercorns, earth, sea spray, menthol? (w/ water) Reduces the smoke a bit, adds a bit of lemon but mostly the same Taste - Hot peppercorn ashy smoke, salt, earthy, light lactic sweet, mouth numbing (w/ water) Ashy sweet smoke, earthy, salt, black peppercorns, ash, creamy sweetness, hint of golden raisins, bit of lemon Finish - Heat, fuzzy tingling heat, campfire smoke, Szechuan tingle/burn, salt, generic sweet (w/ water) Lingering salt, earth, ash, lemon Score - 75/100 Final Thoughts - Holy crap this had some heat on it. This 62% felt more like hazmat. Nose hid the proof very well and it felt like it was just a bit muted, notes of black peppercorns and pleasant ashy smoke, bit of black earth/dirt to round things out a bit. Once it hit the palate, you get a burst of black peppercorn ashy smoke, followed by lots of heat and a bit of salt and generic sweetness and then the TV static feeling all over your mouth. This was quite hot and water is definitely needed to proof this down a bit. Water helps reveal some fruit in this and frankly without knowing that there is 25% PX influence I would've never guessed that was there. This feels mostly ex-American whiskey to me with some sort of weird lactic fruit. This felt so good on paper, but maybe just not meant for my palate. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Sweet campfire smoke, lactic sweetness, cracked black pepper, lemon vanilla custard, sea salt (w/ water) Rounds everything out a bit but reduces the black peppercorn vibe Taste - Intense campfire smoke, sea spray, sweet vanilla, sweet smoked cheese, cracked black pepper, light ash, hint of sweet smoked meats, almost like a cracked black peppercorn honey smoked salmon (w/ water) Smoke is reduced, increased sweetness, lactic sweet, almost smoked vanilla/honey simple syrup sweet, smoked cheese, salt increases on backend, lightly metallic Finish - Lingering salty campfire smoke, smoked sweet cheese, sweet cream, black peppercorns (w/ water) Same but less black peppercorns Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - This one was interesting as I got to experience Octomore at its "purest" by not having any strong cask influence on the base spirit. It's quite sweet and had the lactic "funk" I typically get from Bruichladdich, but something about this just felt like this was a bit on the sweet side. This felt like the interior of the barrel was retoasted so that it was coated with sugar crystals or something as this felt quite sweet like a maple or honey smoked salmon, where there was a bit too much sugar to start and the end product was a bit more on the candied side versus a glaze. It was good, but a bit extreme on the sweet I think. If there was any way to improve this, I'd say that it was better overall without water, but a bit hot without. Sadly, the addition of a bit of water removed the interesting black peppercorn aspect of this and somehow made it taste sweeter. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Batch 1 / 65.41% Nose - Quite hot initially, hint of dill/mint, cinnamon, cloves, caramel, faint hint of dried apricot/peach (w/ water) Much more vibrant, quick apricot followed by dill/mint up front followed by a wave of caramel & sweet drying leather Taste - Very drying, dark dried apricots, habanero heat/tingle, cinnamon, drying sweet leather, caramel (w/ water) Dried apricots, sweet drying leather, caramel, "generic rum vibe", cinnamon, dill/mint stem bitter Finish - Lingering sweet caramel, sweet leather dryness, dill/mint stem bitter/dryness, apricot, drying sweet leather (w/ water) Same Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - So not sure if they used less active apricot brandy casks or if older rye just doesn't take on fruity casks as much, but this definitely had less cask influence than the NAS Seagrass. It also felt a bit hot and water really helped this one out. This was still very much a rye even if tasted blind, but like the NAS version, the apricot brandy dominated followed by the Martinique rum and frankly I wouldn't even know there was any Madeira influence in this. This did have a nice sweet leather dryness that was a bit nice, but due to the proof it got a bit distracting at times. This one is best with a bit of water and is good, but I don't think it justifies the 4x price premium over the standard Seagrass. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Batch 4 / 59.92% Nose - Dried apricots, candy peach gummy rings, sugar cane, molasses (w/ water) Less fruit, more caramel, cinnamon, more toasted sugar cane Taste - Dried apricots, rye spice, hint of dill/mint, caramel, fresh pressed sugar cane juice, grilled pineapple, lightly drying (w/ water) Fresh apricots, sweet oranges, gentle dill/mint vibes, grilled sugar cane, grilled pineapple Finish - Apricots, caramel, molasses, lightly drying leather (w/ water) Same Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - This is a prime example of where the finishing casks really stand out in the final product. The apricot brandy really dominates this, but the rum and Madeira help balance it out a bit. There remains a bit of the nice dill/mint vibe I typically get from most rye whiskies as well as a tiny bit of that rye "bite" or spice. This was just all around super unique and just really vibes well with my palate. My personal preference with this is to add a bit of water as it brings out these grilled pineapple notes as well as this sweet grilled sugar cane notes (like from those grilled shrimp paste covered sugar cane sticks) that's just super unique. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - I tried it at a friend's place & it convinced me to buy this bottle NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Dark toffee, almost burnt, dark chocolate, hint of salt, wisp of smoke, black pepper, light tannic red grape skin vibe, sweet lactic funk (w/ water) Much more vibrant, smoke is a bit more apparent, smells juicy yet dry Taste - Sweet dark toffee, light tannic red grape skins, salt, lactic "funk", buttery caramel, sweet smoke, golden raisins, red berries (w/ water) Adds much more fresh red berries, black peppercorn skins, less dark toffee vibe Finish - Lingering ginger tingle, caramel, golden raisins, gentle red grape skin tannic (w/ water) Less tingle/heat, fruity caramel, juicy red berries Score - 94/100 Final Thoughts - There's so much going on here and it's amazing. On the nose it feels like almost burnt caramel, but in a very good way. It's like a super dark toffee with dark chocolate, but at the same time, there's this very juicy grape/raisin vibe, with this tannic red grape skin tannic feel. It's all very strange, but works amazingly together. This transfers to the palate too where you get this dark sugary, buttery caramel vibe, but mixed with this tannic red grape skin, but also juicy fresh berry vibe. It feels like you took a bit of dark chocolate, dark treacle toffee, red grape skins, and fresh raspberries and somehow blended all the flavors into one cohesive drink. This is all sorts of delicious from start to finish. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - I might grab another NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price. Whiskey Network Review #765

Nose - Light charcoal/black pepper smoke, light salt, golden raisins, salt cured plums (w/ water) Bit more vibrant, less plum, more salty parmesan rind, cracked black peppercorns Taste - Salty sweet smoke, saline, salt pickled plums, gentle black pepper heat, light sweet lactic "funk" (w/ water) Ashy smoked meat sweet, salted sweet smoked meats, pears, almost teriyaki like sweetness Finish - Lingering gentle heat, light lactic funk, sweet pickled plums, saline (w/ water) Dry ashy smoke, sweet savory/meaty salmon jerky vibe Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite the strange beast as it felt like two different pours once I added a bit of water to the pour. The nose was quite hidden on this one and only really opened up after I added some water. What's really strange is that I got this sweet salty preserved Asian hard plum vibe from this without water and once I added a bit of water, it completely disappeared. The plum was replaced by this sweet teriyaki meat/salmon jerky vibe. I guess it's good that you get two vastly different experiences from this one, but it just wasn't really up my alley. Compared to the 10.2 I felt like this one felt much more savory sweet smoked meats and I couldn't really distinguish that this might have been a sauternes finish. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Probably not NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Sweet smoke, black pepper, sweet teriyaki "meat" jerky, saline (w/ water) less "meaty" and more fruity Taste - Sweet ashy smoke, sweet golden raisins, black pepper, saline, lightly sour lactic/sour grape "funk", savory sweet smoked meats (w/ water) Sweet "dry" smoke, more peppery, salt, golden raisins, white pepper tingle, lactic sour "funk" is more apparent at the tail end right after the swallow Finish - Lingering white pepper/ashy sweet, sweet golden raisins (w/ water) same Score - 94/100 Final Thoughts - I'm not entirely sure if I just really like things out of Bruichladdich or if they just have the perfect peat for my palate as even their Octomore, which is supposedly some of the highest ppm levels of "peat" doesn't feel too overly so to me. I think it's such a clean peat in addition to their spirit which, to me, has this unique lactic "funk" along with salt that just hits my palate just right. Everything about this is just the right amount of sweet + savory for me without being overpowering. Maybe it's the fact that this is a slightly older Octomore or maybe it's the fact that it's had some sauternes influence, but this just hits most of the buttons I just like. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Cinnamon, cloves, caramel, hint of minty dill, sweet green grassy vibe (w/ water) Same Taste - Cinnamon, clove, brown sugar, hint of mint/dill (w/ water) Same Finish - Light bitter clove sweetness, gentle cinnamon brown sugar (w/ water) Same Score - 80/100 Final Thoughts - On the nose, has hints of that minty/dill rye vibe I get. Lightly dark/woody clove vibe with brown sugar sweetness. Nothing amazing, but at the same time nothing really off putting either. This feels like it'd be good to sip on when you just want a nice "spicy" rye but I feel like this would handle a manhattan or basic old fashioned pretty well. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Sherry Cask 4575 Nose - Feels a bit hot, lots going on here, dried apricot, candied ginger, dried apple rings/orange/pineapple, fresh papaya, honey (w/ water) Reduces the heat, but otherwise mostly the same Taste - Bit hot, candied ginger, Hawaiian POG juice in a gummy form, dried pineapples, hint of dried persimmon "funk", super ripe papaya "funk", lightly fruity bitterness, orange zest (w/ water) Honey, dried tropical fruits, caramel, raisins, adds a bit of spicy milk chocolate Finish - Lingering heat, tropical fruits, persimmon/papaya "funk", unripe bananas (w/ water) Lingering warmth, tropical fruits, less "funk" Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - So this was a bit of a surprise to me as it was all over the place right after I poured it. After a tiny bit of rest, a plethora of dried & fresh tropical fruits emerged and added to the complexity on the nose. Felt a bit hot on the nose without water and it accurately translated so on the palate as well. This was a nice mix of fresh & dried tropical fruits with a bit of this fruity "funk" that I usually get from fresh papaya or dried persimmons, but I think some people might get as sulfur. I'm not typically a huge fan of this, but it somehow works pretty well here. This feels oddly tropical and a bit of water helps reduce the funk and accent the fresh & dried tropical fruit vibes I get from this. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.