Octomore 06.1/167 Scottish Barley

Wow just wow. Unless you try this you will not understand how good this is. I like it over Lagavulin 16 And Ardbeg Uigeadail. My wife got this for my birthday and Father’s Day that happened to be the same day this year. It’s amazing stuff.

Peaty and smoky nose, with fresh undertones of citrus, blackberries and apples. Peat and dark chocolate taste, with again those blackberry flavors. Full, rich and smooth The finish is fantastic and long, with tobacco, chocolate, and dark oak notes.

After coming down off the highs of two rich Armangnacs this on first taste was disappointing however adding water really opened it up. As SH said vanilla, coconut, butter and more. It really is a lovely dram on the palate and lingers long on the side of the tounge. Now a couple of caveats. It says it's the peatiest dram...hmm that I just do not get. I suspect it's a case of measuring the peat levels of the barley then distilling it in a number of ways which miminise the end result. Although as PBM mentioned a while back there comes a point your palate really just doesn't notice additional pbm levels (I just noticed two acronyms with two separate meanings!). I think where this one falls short a bit for me is i'm not a fan of the more lighter acidic peat type drams I prefer the rich full bodied Lagavullin 16 or Laphroaig 10 / Lore approach. The aftertaste is less than the mid taste. It does carry with a nice warming glow but nothing spectacular. Still if you are a fan of this peat style I can see why you would rate it so highly it is excellently blanced and executed on the mid palate. I'd rate this 3rd after the Black Art 4 1990 and Octomore 10 yr Dialogos. 4.25 - 4.5.