Octomore 14.2

First Fill Spirits

Very balanced with a bit of funk and sweetness

This one is a bit of a puzzle to me. For Octomore, the smoke and peat is not really as strong and hit you in the face as I expected. If anything, the wine finish is more apparent than the insane peating. The color is deeper and the sherry and wine finish can definitely be seen. On the nose, I get damp stones, moss by the seashore, really crisp malted barley. I also get a whiff of mint and maybe some hot mustard or horseradish. Tasting it, I get some sea salt, some definite heat like white and black peppercorns. I get more mint and some sweet herbs like tarragon. The peat is really a lot more mellowed and subdued than I'd like from Octomore - I definitely get some dry smokey notes and vegetal funkiness, but it's not nearly as raw as it's been in other bottles of Octomore that I've had. I get semi-sweet sherry funk from the aging - oxidized nutty flavors and an edge from the wine casks. It's not bad by any means, but I was hoping for more raw peat. The sweet herbal flavors are a question I can't quite seem to answer. The finish is long - it seems to be all over the place - salty, smoked fish, smoked wood, sherry nuttiness. There is some dry rolling smoke, but I've definitely had much smokier whiskey. Also get some of the malted barley and some raisins and medicinal flavors. At first glance, it's not my favorite Octomore, not raw peat, hang on for dear life, but it's shaping up to be something pretty nice. I will need to revisit it as the bottle ages and opens up a bit, as I just popped it open and this was my first pour.

Evokes: mulled wine and Christmas. Beautiful red orange color. Vanilla lingering on the palate along with some sweet berry notes.