I will be taking a look at the 4 new Octomore 10.x editions, starting with the first two.
This time Bruichladdich chose not to up the ante with more PPM and more peat, but quite a low (relatively for Octomore, ok?) PPM of under 110 as opposed to previous editions which contained more than twice that amount (8.3 for example with over 300 PPM).
Octomore 10.1 , 107 PPM , 5yo , 59.8% ,£125
info: Distilled from Scottish barley in 2013, Deliberately stripped back to an ex- American oak maturation, aged just 5 years old, the .1 edition exposes the structure and presence of the Octomore spirit.
- Malted to 107ppm
- Distilled in 2013 from the 2012 harvest from 100% Scottish grown concerto barley
- Matured entirely on Islay for five years
- Full term maturation in 1st fill american whiskey casks from Jim beam, heaven hill, buffalo trace and Jack Daniels
- Bottled unchill-filtered and coloring free at bruichladdich distillery, 59.8% alc. / vol
- Limited to 42,000 bottles
Nose : soft vanilla and toffee, caramel candy, buttered oven cooked apple, slightly peated but very gentle for an octomore.. Light sweet smoke, wet hessian and a hint of Berries engulfed with seaspray.
Palate : ash, bitter coffee, mocha, smoke, quite dry with charred wood, big and feisty not as gentle like the nose… Salty and earthy.
Finish : dark chocolate, earthy peat, espresso, mocha and traces of vanilla.
Conclusion: Die hard ex-bourbon profile, bitter, vanilla and quite bare and earthy.
Score: 85/100
Octomore 10.2 , 96.9 PPM , 8 yo , 56.9% (Travel Retail)
info : Building on the structural brilliance of our super heavily peated spirit, this Octomore 10.2 edition has spent the first four years of its life in fresh bourbon barrels, before being moved into exceptionally high quality, and incredibly rare Sauternes casks.
- Malted to 96.9ppm
- Distilled in 2010 from the 2009 harvest – 100% scottish grown optic and oxbridge barley
- Matured entirely on islay for eight years
- Originally filled in to first fill ex-american whiskey casks for 4 years then recasked into sauternes wine casks for 4 years
- Bottled unchill-filtered and colouring free at bruichladdich distillery, 56.9% alc. / vol
- Limited to 24,000 bottles
Nose : sweeter and fruitier with big syrupy sweetness. Ripe blood oranges and nectarines, leather and sweet peat reek,sweet smoke and spearmint.
Palate: spicy and sweet on entry with sweet chili, pepper, oily and chew-able with oodles of sweet nectar,and orchard fruit. Peaches, apricot all in smoldering sweet smoke, a nice oaky touch as well.
Finish : orange marmalade, sweet smoke, oak, burnt caramel, mint,candied kumquat.
Conclusion: The Sauternes casks really augmented the distillate and added a very nice sweeter, more complex and lovely edge. I like this one better. Not a bad idea for a gift or something to buy when flying out.