Category: Islay

Whisky from the Hebridean isle of Islay in Scotland.

Bruichladdich: Octomore Ten Years – Vintage 2008

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Bruichladdich Octomore Ten Years - Vintage 2008

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Nose: Caramel fudge, creme brulee, and golden sultanas. Also the vaguest hints of Christmas cake, and the slightest glimpse of roasted almonds. All wrapped in a soft marine note. Palate: Toffee, burnt cherries, leather, custard, and mixed nuts. There's a constant presence of an earthy-underbrush smoke, but it never really comes to the fore. Mouthfeel: Thick and creamy. Absolutely no burn. Finish: Long and dry. Quite ashy, and a little peppery - but still quite sweet somehow. This is Bruichladdich's third release of a ten year old Octomore, and has been bottled with no colouring and no chill-filtering at 56.8%…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Without a doubt - this is magnificent!

Bruichladdich: Octomore 9.3

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Bruichladdich Octomore 09.3

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Nose: Loads of fresh malted barley, milk arrowroot biscuits, along with apple & honey porridge come first up. Then comes the peat - strangely medicinal for an Octomore. There's also hints of wood shavings, and a faint eucalyptus note. Palate: Raw malty spirit, smokey tea, lemon sponge cake, and soggy hay. Loads of smoke - perhaps a little more ashy and tarry than is normal for Octomore. Mouthfeel: Thick and chewy - it coats your mouth and just stays there. Finish: Long, dry, and smokey. The more medicinal notes return, along with a lingering saltiness. The Octomore of Octomore. The…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Maybe - not sure I'd pay for another bottle though.

Bruichladdich: Octomore 9.1

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Octomore 09.1

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Nose: Soft, malty, earthy. Weet-bix with creamed honey. A touch of burnt gingerbread. There's smoke lingering, but it's only really in the background. Palate: Lots of vanilla, and big on the malt-biscuit notes as well. A little bit nutty, and thoughts of wet grass in there somewhere too. There's also some floral overtones as it passes to the back of the tongue, and wafts of strong black tea turning into a deeply vegetal smoke. Mouthfeel: Soft, creamy, velvety. Typical Octomore - nearly 60% shouldn't be this soft! Finish: The honey hides, and the malt biscuits are now coated in dark…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Absolutely - a solid whisky.

Bruichladdich: Octomore 8.4

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Bruichladdich Octomore 8.4

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Nose: Like a banana sponge cake with lemon & coconut cream icing. A touch of cinnamon, and some earthy notes - with slightly medicinal salty peat overtones. Palate: Coconut, toffee, cloves, and oak spices, battle with old leather, barbequed meats, and iodine. Touches of vanilla and cinnamon throughout. A little bit salty, yet still sweet. Mouthfeel: Mid-weight, oily, almost effervescent on the tongue at first - not any real burn though. Finish: Medium length (which is short for Octomore), salty, spicy - more an impression of the palate slowly dying than any particular flavours of its own. The fourth, and…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Maybe - although a decent whisky, this really isn't my style. You can make one hell of a good BBQ marinade with it though!

Bruichladdich: Octomore 8.3

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Bruichladdich Octomore 8.3

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Nose: Malty, with oodles of honey and vanilla. Smoked meats and canned pears round out the nose for me - apart from the volcanic blast of smoke that is released when you first pop the cork. Palate: If you like smoke, you'll love this whisky - I'm not just getting your usual campfire smoke or peat-bog embers or your charred soot/tar smoke - but all three as separate and distinct flavours in your mouth at once. A little bit spicy and bitter at the front of the mouth - like a mixture of over-roasted coffee and seaweed; it settles down…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

For sure - this is a pretty good whisky.

Bruichladdich: Octomore 8.2

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Bruichladdich Octomore 8.2

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Nose: Red berries, mixed berry jam, plums; sweet, but not sugary - more of the fruit smoothie sweetness than the dried fruits often talked about with sweeter fruity whiskies. Also notes of honey-laden fruit salad with melons, grapes, and apples. Plenty of fresh clean campfire smoke intertwined with all the fruit. Palate: All that sweet fruitiness from the nose has marched right along to the palate. The smoke is now even more present, and has brought with it some BBQ jerky. A little ashy, with just a hint of dark chocolate. Mouthfeel: Thick. Oily. Creamy. Everything you dream a whisky…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Absolutely. This is a stunning whisky!

Bruichladdich: Octomore 8.1

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Bruichladdich Octomore 8.1

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Nose: Fresh citrus, vanilla, quite herbacious. Plenty of smoke as you'd expect from an Octomore, although there's also notes of iodine - which depsite being common with Islay malts, is not a common note for me with Octomore. Palate: Citrus an melons are present, although almost drowned out by big notes of vanilla, and big punching earthy and grassy notes. Plenty of smoke encapsulating the whole thing. Mouthfeel: Mid-weight - which is honestly a bit light for an Octomore. Not a lot of burn despite the alcohol percentage. Finish: Long, earthy, with a perppery spiciness to it. There's also this…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Yes. Probably wouldn't buy a bottle though - there are a lot of other Octomore releases that I like a fair bit more.

Bruichladdich: Islay Barley 2004 – Feis Ile 2010 Bottling

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Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2004 for Feis Ile 2010

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Nose:  Burnt sugar, raisins, dried red berries, vanilla, and burnt fruit cake. Palate:  Both sweet and sour.  Pretty much the same as the nose - definitely heavy on the berries and vanilla.  Also quite a solid malty creaminess enveloping the other flavours. Mouthfeel:  Mid-heavy weight, dry, creamy, with an alcoholic tingle right on the tip of the tongue. Finish:  Pretty long.  Some heat from the higher than average alcohol.  Not as sweet as the palate - some dried cake at the back of the throat.  The finish doesn't last a long time, but the impression the whisky leaves behind lasts…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Absolutely. This is a stunning whisky made even more desirable by its rarity.

Bruichladdich: Octomore 9.2

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Bruichladdich Octomore 09.2

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Nose: Rich, smokey, sweet, and dark. Like opening the lid on a barbeque after you've left a rack of lamb glazed with berry jam on the grill for just a touch too long. Jammy (mixed berries), meaty, and a little ashy. Palate: Straight up, this is quite a dark, closed whisky; with ash, meat juice, some cloves, and pepper, being the mainstay on the palate. Add a dash of water though and you get a whole lot of tart raspberries and sour cherries on the palate. The ash turns more earthy and medicinal - going from barbeque to beachside camp…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Probably - not my favourite Octomore, but still a good whisky.

Ardbeg 10

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Ardbeg 10

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Nose:  Tar.  The predominant note on the nose is definitely tar.  Citrus and salt are also present, as are some notes of dried grass around the edges. Palate:  Crap-tonnes of coastal, medicinal, peat.  Some citrus and vanilla, as well as hints of tar and some charcoal.  Traces of over-brewed black tea floating around at the edges. Mouthfeel:  Not the thinnest whisky, but not exactly a heavyweight - especially for an Ardbeg.  Smooth, and with no alcohol bite. Finish:  Long and punchy.  Plenty of lemon and salt, with an absolute mountain of peat still hanging around. [divider] Ardbeg's youngest age-stated whisky,…

Would I Drink It Again?

Total Score

Probably - I certainly wouldn't turn down a dram, but not sure it beats out nearby rivals, or even other Ardbeg bottlings to ensure I'd buy a bottle.