Octomore 07.3/169 Islay Barley

Spice and full flavored, still very smooth

I put my nose into the glass and inhaled. Then I jerked it away. “Got damn. What the hell is this stuff?” I went back for another sniff. Then again and again and again. -Sour barley -Melted rubber -Singed nose hairs. (My own) -Telephone pole -Used World War I gauze. -Peat, certainly, yes. If someone stuffed peat into a tube sock and beat you with it. I gave up after that. Typically a whiskey will settle down after three or four smells and give up its more subtle nuances. Not this whiskey. It wasn’t giving up shit. I was dumbfounded. Stupefied. A bit freaked out, to tell you the gods’ honest truth. And I LOVE it. You gotta work to appreciate this one. Gotta pay your damn dues. But if you can get there, you have found something very special indeed.

They say you always remember your "first." It was a little over a year ago during a business trip to South Africa. An intentional day-long layover in London was planned with a solitary destination in mind: Milroy’s of Soho. A whisky-lover's Mecca. "I have the palate of an 80 year-old cigar smoker," this Islay girl explained to the gentleman behind the bar. I don't think he believed me at first. We wended our way thru Laphroigs and Bowmores and another Gaelic distiller my Italian ear would surely mangle. When I proved myself capable with those, he made the fated introduction. It was my first Bruichladdich. With a 169 PPM level - almost four times the peat of a regular peated whisky - he explained their Octomore is the most heavily peated in the world. My hopes were high. How could this not be the dram...of my dreams? As per the scant amount remaining in the bottle, this love affair is certainly one I'll always remember... ...and will always return to. Nose: Sweet but not treacly. Vanilla. Caramel. The smoke, I was surprised to discover, is not overwhelming. Palate: Layered. Honey. Then a shot of pepper and black licorice that slowly wraps itself around the tongue. With a blanketing of cool earth soon to follow. Finish: Long. Satisfying. Intense. Just like the most memorable relationships. And that smoke? It burns, to be sure. But in a good way. Finishing off into a smooth linger. A very good finish indeed.

Holy. Peat. Smoke. At 169ppm the smokiest whisky I’ve tried. Despite this, and despite being bottled at 63% ABV, this Octomore 7.3 was surprinsingly accessible. Sweet, fruity, salty… smoky… the Spanish Wine barrel finish is quite obvious. Perfect from the nose to the finish. And this one finishes… I’ve got no words for this… I goes right to the top for me.