Octomore 11.1

I have a a few Octomore’s over the years. Always they were smokey, ashy and strong/good weight behind it. Also, expensive. This was a sample generously provided by @Pkingmartin. Saturday night pour, watching The Whale. Plenty of downtime to taste, sample, and enjoy. N: Sweet, blue smoke with maritime brine. A meat smoker burning hickory wood infusing spare ribs at the beach in the evening low tide. The aroma sweetness is surprising as more phenols would be expected. Vanilla beans, caramel, apple crumb pie and bitter dark chocolate provide the dessert-infused aroma. Light aroma of rubber bicycle inner tubes with a clean antiseptic scent (Bactine?). Not what I would have initially guessed for an Octomore. P: The texture on arrival is a velvety sharpness. The sharpness wanes and brings forth a sweetness and an earthy snootiness. Caramel apples, butterscotch, orange zest, fresh ginger are at the core. Dark bitter chocolate, rich cigar tobacco, black pepper and jalapeño spice come forward towards the finish. F: The spice keeps the tongue tingling for good length. The palate remains ashy, sweet, citrusy. The beauty is the length. It never ends, and that’s a good thing in this case. O: Of the few Octomore’s I have had, this, to my recollection, is the most subdued. Most have been a punch in a face, phenolic blast. This 11.1 brings a sweetness the counters that ashy, phenolic punch. The strength 59% is nearly unnoticeable. A dram that can be a slow, tasty, enjoyable sipper. Thanks @PkingMartin for the sample. [89/100][Tasted: 8/26/23]

The nose rich with bold flavors starting with sweet smoky barbecued ribs, vanilla creme brûlée and tangerine orange then dark chocolate covered almonds, hay and seaside rocky minerality followed by caramelized apples and grilled peaches that transitions to ginger and gauze bandages with high ethanol burn. The taste is a rich creamy mouthfeel starting with a moderate spice that slowly fades to caramelized pears, sweet smoky barbecued pork belly, vanilla custard and charred orange peel then dark chocolate covered espresso beans, burning hay and seaside rocky minerality followed by sour apple candy and lemon zest that transitions to ginger, black pepper and gauze bandages with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with charred barbecued ribs, light ocean brine, burning hay, sautéed apples and gauze bandages that lingers for minutes. This is an intense peaty dram that is likely not for everyone that requires patience as the nose and palate are overpowered by ethanol until it rests for around 20 minutes which allows for the ethanol to mellow and the flavors to be more discernible. After some rest and a few drops of water, the flavors are bold and rich with smoked meats leading followed by a creamy sweet citrus, light earthiness, hay and ocean brine that lingers long after each sip. At the price of $200+, this is one I'd recommend trying before you buy as I really like it but a few of my friends have described it as a fight club style scotch with a mean peated uppercut that had them tapping out after the first sip.

Nose: peat, fatty meats, cereal, salt, mint, wood funk, powered sugar, molasses, wet hay. At times floral at times sweet. Taste: Hot savory notes followed up with cracked black pepper ans sliding into a lingering sweet finish. Maple, citrus, saline, nutmeg, smoke, iodine, rich fruits, and wood tannins. It might be easier to place what isnt in this glass than what is. Octomotore 11.1 has to be one of the most complex and robust while also enjoyable whiskies ive ever had the pleasure of ownimg. I'm just wrapping up a bottle ive had for ~7 years and every time ive visited it I fond something new to love.

(The Spirits Embassy – The Bruichladdich Virtual Tasting Night, 26 March 2021). Nose: Light peat, fragrant sweet smoke, BBQ, bonfire. Hay and farmyard. Slightly ashy Palate: Very sweet peat, charred oak, saline, sea salt, caramelised fruit, green chilies Finish: Peat, bonfire, saline/salt, dark chocolate chili on the aftertaste 139.5 ppm This is a chewy and complex dram. It doesn't have some of the wilder notes of many of the other Octomores I've tasted previously, but it is a seriously lovely dram!

Nose: Cherries, oak, malt, orange blossom, stone fruit, honey, and peat. Palate: Sweet cream, custard, stewed peaches, brown sugar, layers of peat. Finish: Long, creamy, sweet, peaty with notes of spice. Water opens up the orange and honey notes and tempers the peat; adds in some oak. Compared to the 10.1, the 10.1 has more berry and tobacco, more brine, and the peat is more earthy. The 11.1 is sweeter and has more custard and stone fruit. They’re totally different drams.

Nose: back off from the glass a bit, at nearly 60% ABV and an islay, this one will kick you in the nostrils. Iodine, briny, campfire smoky, kind of like opening a bag of Kingsford charcoal bricketts while standing on a beach. Taste is Sweet and salty, followed by a slight burn from the alcohol, followed by a wave of smoke, charcoal. Oily palate, smoke lingers, gums go a little numb like you just had a sip of absinthe. One of the most interesting whiskeys I've had for sure.