Octomore is my kind of whisky.
Big, bad, peaty & powerful.
And like the Steve Aoki song – I felt The Power Of Now.
At 57.3% it fills the mouth with an explosion of smoke sparked off by some surprisingly sweet notes & tasty flavours.
At first I suspected added caramel but no! Bruichladdich are emphatically against such practices. All the flavour results from the maturation in wooden barrels – in this instance ex-bourbon & French wine casks – hence the sweet notes to start with contrasting beautifully with the powerful – 167ppm – peat hit later into the fabulous tasting experience.
A stupendous dram!
Not all my fellow Whisky Birmingham attendees agreed.
One preferred the Port Charlotte 10 Year Old 2nd Ltd Edition at only 50% & 40ppm. which I must admit I found harsher than the Octomore.
We agreed to differ on our findings,
But united on our love of whisky!
Sláinte.
WestmeathWhiskeyWorld 
The sweetness suggested added caramel? I thought that stuff (E150) was supposed to taste bitter & nasty.
LikeLike
Do you seriously think they’d add it to whiskey so much if it was bitter & nasty?
Get a bottle of caramel from any baking shop – put a tiny amount into a glass of water & see what results you get.
Interesting to say the least.
Makes clear water look like a well aged single malt.
Not surprisingly adds a rich creamy caramel taste to the water & gives it some body too.
Now water isn’t whiskey – so there is no direct comparison – but it’s added to change the whiskey certainly for colour – and I’d argue there is a slight taste change too.
I’d rather it wasn’t in the whiskey I’m drinking – and if it is – I want to be told so on the bottle.
I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.
LikeLiked by 1 person