The latest 7.X Octomore to hit the market is this Virgin oak edition. I’ve read around about this edition after tasting it and it seems “virgin oak” is quite close to the maturation process that was used for the vatting of this Octomore. it did not stay 100% of the time in virgin oak (that is 7 years, mind you- a very long time for a virgin oak maturation since it’s so powerful) . so it seems only 25% of the vatting did spend the entire period in virgin oak, where the rest of the 75% consists of 3 year old fill ex-bourbon cask Octomore, which is then finished for 2 years in virgin oak, then a final 2 year finish in first fill bourbon casks, quite a unique cask profile, right? Let’s get tasting this one!
Octomore 07.4/ 167 PPM , 61.2% ABV , £150.00 
Nose : big mélange of sweet smoke, loads of that, with the same amount of rich oaky goodness. Lots of heavy sweet nectar. Creamy vanilla pods crashing against dried fruit: sultana, apricot and rich milk chocolate, cinnamon. Some brownies too. Oh my. This is thick sweet and so creamy. Delightful.
Palate :big entry here as well with copious amounts of sweet peat smoke, oak, dried fruit, Pepper, earth and leather. Cinnamon gum, mint leaves and more lovely smoke, then back to damp earth, tea leaves and finishing on cinnamon and Clove.
Finish : long, very long. With the lovely sweet smoke, dried fruit, cinnamon Clove and vanilla. Really brilliant.
A totally yummy whisky. On the one hand it’s rich and sweet, with all the virgin oak, sugary, and luscious, and totally adorable, and on the other hand you’re getting the amazing wood smoke, the earthy peat, while not really getting much Lactic notes (if that’s an off note for you). It’s not cheap mind you (all Octomores are not cheap), but it is one of the better Octomores, certainly one of the most interesting ones since Orpheus. BIG LIKE.
I am so glad you enjoyed the 7.4. I just brought the Octomore 7.1 back from London. I had the choice between the 7.4 or the 7.1 but chose the 7.1 in the end. Initial reactions are that it is a great improvement over the 6.1 which I previously had. I will bli neder, have a review on my blog soon.
By the way, my bottle is 208 PPM and yours is only 167 PPM …SO THERE.. Na Na NeNa Na Na!!!