Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2009

Age: 6 years Distilled 2009. Bottled 2015. Alcohol: 50% Paid: $60 $60 for a 6 year old unpeated Scotch? It takes some kind of confidence to not go the NAS route. Its contents must be good. And it is. Imagine the greatest pizza you have ever tasted. It better have good dough. That dough is so good, maybe you wonder how the dough would taste on its own. Well, if that pizza is Octomore 6.3, then this is its dough, pure and unpeated. This whisky has a simple idea, and it delivers on that idea. The highlight here is the malt, proudly grown on Islay. They name the farmer and the farm, as a way to show that this product has been cared for by Bruichladdich from the soil to the bottle. What you get in the dram is maltiness at its best: creamy oatmeal, butter and cereal. This is the best of the Octomores, stripped of its armor of peat; revealing the delicate and decadent body behind the monster. If only it was cask strength! MARK: 89/100. Recommended purchase!

Color: light golden Nose: floral, honey, vanilla , toffee Palate: full, salty, light oily, spicy Finish: salty, full Overall: smell of this one is so wonderful, nonetheless the taste is just soso

$45 with Tax, another Virginia ABC Closeout Gem! Non-chill filtered, 50% ABV and no coloring added, this one is growing on me. It is young, only 6 years old but once its tamed with a little time in the glass and a bit a water there is a ton going on in this malt. Sweet, spicy... is Salted Smoked Toffee a flavor? Excited to see what its like when I get towards the bottom.