Octomore 06.1/167 Scottish Barley

Had a quick taste of this at the Baltimore Whiskey Festival. It was much more balanced than I expected with vanilla and a wonderful mouth feel balancing the well-stated peat.

Although this is undoubtedly a "peat bomb," with a staggering 167 phenol parts per million, what's so surprising about this lovely dram is the complexity on hand. On the nose you get, sure, ash and smoke and peat, but there are also floral notes to be found and a pleasing honey and vanilla sweetness. I also detect a lick of sea salt as well. That dance between the warming smoke and the delicate sweetness is repeated on the palate before being overtaken by an impressive smokiness that never becomes overbearing. Despite the high ppms and the 57% ABV, this is a very easy drinking spirit. It's like someone tossed a honeycomb onto a peat fire. Delicious.