Octomore 07.3/169 Islay Barley

Thanks to Telex for this sample! So I hear this is supposed to be triple the Ardbeg smoke, right?  Not quite.  This is a strange experience from stem to stern.  In the glass there are scents that immediately remind me of baijiu (Chinese distilled liquor, made from a variety of starches, including sorghum) or a barrel-aged gin.  It's botanical, but also very chalky, like kids' chewable vitamins.  The peat is not ashy or smoky as I'd expect, almost like corn tortilla chips.  I do get some pine and rosemary, which may be other manifestations of that heavy infusion of peat phenols.  This dram tastes strange, again reminding me of a barrel-aged Old Tom gin.  It's sweet, medicinal, pine and juniper-infused, and with not as much smoke -- again, a strange lack of smoke.  But then I hit the finish and it billows up, in waves and waves like taking a deep pull from a robusto cigar in the middle of a forest fire.  There's also some sweetness that might come from the Ribera del Duero wine barrels that Bruichladdich uses to age this scotch.  Strange, bemusing, but ultimately not my cup of tea.

This dram was difficult, and no, it wasn't a peat issue. I love peat, and if I could live, work, drink and play in Islay everyday, I would. The enemy of the state here is the Ribera del Duero wine barrel. Now, I know some love it, but it's just not for me. I will try another Octomore expression at some point, but this one was waaaay too "twangy sweet". I like a nice PX or Oloroso cask, but this one .. just has too much grape sass for me. I think I will try and trade the bottle for something equivalent. Only 1 dram poured.

Solid 4.5 on this dram. I didn't find bad the peat to be overwhelming. N: Islay, seaweed, salt, some driftwood. P: perhaps some honeyed wood, burnt straw(?). F: long with the flavor of salted honey. Very enjoyable.