Octomore 07.4/167 Virgin Oak

When I first started experimenting with non-bourbon/American whiskey earlier this summer my chaperone of all things scotch/Irish/everything else said he had tried an Octomore downtown Chicago with some work friends and deemed it “undrinkable”. I am not sure which edition it was but as my first scotch being Lagavulin 16 and loving it I knew I wanted to reach for an Octomore at some point in my whisky journey. After purchasing this bottle I finally had an opportunity to try it with a group of friends I knew would actually appreciate a mighty Octomore. On first nose and tasting I, as well as my friends, would have assumed we were drinking a bourbon as it was super sweet with little to no peat at all with a definite alcohol burn. I was honestly extremely disappointed as my friend who had tried one prior said this was nothing compared to the monster he tried downtown Chicago. So I took the bottle home and forgot about it until recently. I offered my roommate a dram telling him this tasted like a bourbon and his reaction after a sip was something I really, really wish I had on camera. This was my long way of saying this bottle needs some oxidation before the peat is unleashed. But holy hell, I didn’t know a liquid was capable of the sensations I experienced trying this for the second time. I don’t know if a liquid has ever elicited a fight or flight response out of anyone else other than myself but this triggered that magnitude of a reaction. After calming down and profusely apologizing to my roommate I began to hunt for nosing and tasting notes. The nose is a sweet peat with unmistakable barbeque qualities. Digging below the initial punch I got chocolate, woodsy evergreen sap, and orange. It reminded me of a Ghirardelli brownie mixed with orange flavored oil while baking. I put a cover on the Glencarin for about 20 minutes and after taking a large sniff, for a few moments, I felt like the person in the movies who passes out from the chloroform rag. Tread carefully. The palate is on a level of peat I had yet to experience which really threw me for a loop, not in a bad way, just a challenging way. I would classify this as an ashy smoke as opposed to campfire. The whisky has a spice note to it which I would image is from the new oak. I got some very faint citrus after letting the whisky sit for about 20 minutes. This whisky is the most challenging I have experienced yet. I don’t mean “hard to drink” (although it may be for some) I mean there are definitely notes I am missing here and look forward continuing the experience of the 7.4 Virgin Oak. I will definitely update as I progress through the bottle to present what else may be present. I would not recommend purchasing unless you already love big peat. If you do love big peat this will push your senses to their limits which in my opinion is a ton of fun! 4/5 for now. I feel there are more nuances than what I am finding now but I cannot fault the whisky for me not picking up on them. Will revise once bottle is empty. 4/5 out of sheer ability to acomplish the largest "wow" factor I have had to date.

Packs a peaty punch, but there’s an ocean of stuff going on underneath. Seaweed notes—which was unexpected but awesome.

Had at whiskey down in the Mgm in Vegas great dram would definitely buy a bottle. So different than the 6.3 flavor on the front end that hooked me . Woke up that night still tasting it definitely a favorite