Octomore 14.2

Number 3 in the countdown to 300, and the obvious next step from Octomore 14.1. Straight into the glass, and something is clearly drastically different from what came before; what is in store for me here… N: Wow, that hits different. This is overwhelmingly winey. After almost ten minutes in the glass there is still a wall of red wine. Sherry, dried fruit and maybe some marzipan or turkish delight that I can’t single out. A hint of black pepper. With enough effort I think I find some raw very mulchy peat and ashy-sulphur. (The nose here is uncomfortably close to a Berry Bros and Rudd Sherry Cask I very much disliked). The malt brilliance of Bruichladdich is lost to me and I am wounded. P: Yikes. What is this?! Sweet and tannic in complete disharmony. Bitter burnt coffee, seaweed and heavy stony minerality. Menthol and aniseed. The somewhat briny, mineralic ashy smoke is buried under a wall of sweet wine. F: Medium. Sherry, waxy-oak. Beach pebble and ash. A fairly liberal watering (four drops into half a dram) draws more sulphur out of the nose but with it a hint of dry barely and tannic spice. The palate kind of doubles over in pain, the smoke billows forth and its cool and maritime, but then a strange rose, wet cardboard and prickliness develops against wine and sherry that just wont settle down. Ooph. Bruichladdich, seriously?! What have you done here? I don’t get it. I realise that Octomore is experimental, pushes the envelope yada yada. But really? Sweet and smoke can work, yes. But it is also really easy to balls up. Not everything has to leave the editing room floor. Some things should be chalked up to experience and allowed to fade away. I realise I have little right as a rank amateur to call out one of the finest distilleries anywhere in the world, but come on guys this is not anywhere close to the excellence I, and I am sure others, would expect from you. It’s weird, jarring, and doesn’t work. Be better than this. Distiller whisky taste #298 [Pictured here with sparkly chunk of ruby fuchsite schist from the westernmost part of the Archaean Dharwar Craton in Karnataka, India. This delicious rock is predominantly fine grained green fuchiste (a chromium mica) with poprhyroblasts of reddish corrundum (rubies). Rims of kyanite altered to fine white quartz and muscovite rim the rubies as coronas. This rock was formed from potassic-siliceous fluids infiltrating high pressure-temperature zones of metamorphism that were busy transforming thick piles of marine muds and silts during the early Proterozoic]. Bruichladdich running scores Classic Laddie: 4/5 Bruichladdich 18 re/define: 4.75/5 Black Art 10.1 29 y/o: 5/5 Port Charlotte 10: 4.5/5 Port Charlotte CC:01: 5/5 Octomore 14.1: 4/5 Octomore 14.2: 2.75/5

Adam Hannett, has selected casks that have previously held Oloroso and Amarone – with the distinct sweetness and nuttiness of this combination creating an exceptional single malt. Hailing from the renowned wine regions of Spain and Italy respectively, the spirit is then brought together in French oak, adding remarkable depth and complexity to the single malt. Octomore’s signature peak smoke notoriously pairs well with Oloroso sherry casks, with the influence of the wood adding a robust, savoury flavour to the final spirit. The oak from the Amarone casks also has a significant impact on the spirit, imparting rich, red fruit notes - giving structure and cohesion to the 14.2. BARLEY PROVENANCE: 100% Scottish grown Concerto barley MALTING: Super Heavily Peated DISTILLATION: Distilled in 2017 from the 2016 harvest AGE: 5 Aged Years MATURATION PROFILE: First fill Oloroso hogsheads (40%). First fill Amarone casks (16%). Second Fill Amarone casks (44%) PHENOL LEVEL: 128.9 parts per million (PPM) Tasting notes: Colour: Deep Amber Nose: Leather, prunes, red currents and malted barley come to the fore, followed by toasted oak and hints of cinnamon, green apple and black pepper. Waves of smoke and distinct red fruits follow, complemented with cereal notes of malt and porridge. The peat smoke is dry and brooding, with a hint of burnt heather and subtle pipe tobacco from the oak. Palate: The influence of the European oak is unmissable, with a touch of dryness balanced with the vibrancy of wood spices, smoked oak and roasted coffee. Barbeque sweetness and a crack of black pepper is complemented with rich fruit cake and dried fruits. A drop of water opens the smoke and fruity sweetness from the wine casks, bringing a beautiful balance as notes of apple and pear grow with the dram. Finish: Smoked malt, smouldering oak and sea salt settle on the finish as Octomore’s signature earthy smoke lingers.

This one is a bit of a puzzle to me. For Octomore, the smoke and peat is not really as strong and hit you in the face as I expected. If anything, the wine finish is more apparent than the insane peating. The color is deeper and the sherry and wine finish can definitely be seen. On the nose, I get damp stones, moss by the seashore, really crisp malted barley. I also get a whiff of mint and maybe some hot mustard or horseradish. Tasting it, I get some sea salt, some definite heat like white and black peppercorns. I get more mint and some sweet herbs like tarragon. The peat is really a lot more mellowed and subdued than I'd like from Octomore - I definitely get some dry smokey notes and vegetal funkiness, but it's not nearly as raw as it's been in other bottles of Octomore that I've had. I get semi-sweet sherry funk from the aging - oxidized nutty flavors and an edge from the wine casks. It's not bad by any means, but I was hoping for more raw peat. The sweet herbal flavors are a question I can't quite seem to answer. The finish is long - it seems to be all over the place - salty, smoked fish, smoked wood, sherry nuttiness. There is some dry rolling smoke, but I've definitely had much smokier whiskey. Also get some of the malted barley and some raisins and medicinal flavors. At first glance, it's not my favorite Octomore, not raw peat, hang on for dear life, but it's shaping up to be something pretty nice. I will need to revisit it as the bottle ages and opens up a bit, as I just popped it open and this was my first pour.

Octomore 14 Series Tasting, The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 21 February 2024. Whisky #4 Nose: A surprisingly soft nose for an Octomore with intrusive wine aromas overtaking the core cereal and citrus presence, and even overshadowing the peat-reek. The wine is almost reminiscent of port or PX sherry and has a dried fruit quality that is a bit odd. Not unpleasant, but … odd. There’s a grape marc or rosewater presence, too. Dilution dials back the red wine notes and lets the cereal through but also reveals a whiff of gunpowder (sulphur!) and cold ash. Palate: Very winey on the arrival – grotesquely so. Amarone wine all over the place, masking everything relating to the distillate. This has way too much cask character for my liking. Adding water develops cardboard notes along with some hard spices initially, with an amplification of the smoke notes and some sweetness later. Finish: Medium/Long. Red berries, red wine trailing into mud. Hmm, this is probably my least favourite Octomore. The “.2” expressions have always been inconsistent and this one is just a mess. I have had had some pleasant “.2”s but generally it’s the bourbon cask expressions or the Islay barley “.3” experiments that capture my attention. I’m giving this the lowest rating I’ve ever given to an Octomore, and I think I’m being a bit too generous. It is still just barely identifiable as Octomore, but it’s a close thing and in a blind tasting I would likely not recognise it at all. Give this one a miss. “Above Average (just)” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

Nose: so different from .1! Wood varnish, roasted nuts, baking spice, a bit of stewed dark fruits. A hint of maple syrup. Caramel, cinnamon, mellow peat fire. A bit of water brings out oloroso more. Fresh baked crusty bread Palate: so unique, musty and funky, I'd assume from the amarone influence here. Brown sugar? Caramel, smoke, honey. Coastal peat appears more here than the nose, less so than the .1. Poached pear? Water brings out a harsher tannic oak and salinity alongside some vanilla creme brulee Finish: fermenting citrus, phenolic peat and tannic oak.

Evokes: mulled wine and Christmas. Beautiful red orange color. Vanilla lingering on the palate along with some sweet berry notes.