Octomore 6.1 Scottish barley–the new Peat monster?

I’ve been following Octomore since it’s early days a few years ago, when I started drinking more and more peated Islays and was looking for tons of peat. My palate has changed since then, and I tend not to drink that much RAW peat, and usually go for less peaty drams, but I always have a warm corner in my heart for the Octomore. This one comes from Scottish barley (Not so sure that makes it better or worse, but I bet whisky geeks dig that). 167 PPM, as peaty as they go (of course, most is lost in distillation and maturation, so it’s not really THAT peaty, but it’s damn peaty). Octomore X.1 is always followed by a wine finished X.2 Octomore, but this time it seems 6.2 is going to be a travel retail only whisky (very much looking forward to that one too).

Let’s roll:

Bruichladdich Octomore 6.1 ,  57 %  abv, £100

Nose: Sea-spray, mixed with kerosene , tar , wet rope, seaweed on an old fishing boat. Iodine. Islay. Big-time. Add a bit of peppery prickle. Leather and wee zest of a lemon. And it’s just that. Big. And yes, peat is abundant. Too.

Palate: Young. Feisty. Hot. Sweet. Ultra peaty. Getting bitter with earthy peat smoke and cinnamon. Fruits rise on second wave if flavours. Apples. Vanilla. And lemon rind. Chewy malt. It’s BIG!

Finish: Sweet fruit and toasted bread. Peat. Smoke. Lingering, and lingering. I bet it’s going to be there for a few minutes…

To me this is much sweeter than I remembered previous editions although I have skipped 5.1. It’s indeed yummy. And powerful. Not as one dimensional one would think. It’s more than a peat monster per se. if you’re a Laddie fan, and love peat, this one is up your alley (if you can get one, they do sell very fast.). Another cult offering for peat freaks and Islay nerds. Love it.

Score: 88/100

official sample provided by Bruichladdich