Octomore Masterclass 08.3/309 Islay Barley

Oh, Octomore...it’s been too long. I’ve always considered Octomore as THE love song to peatheads, like myself. I’ve skipped a few vintages since I didn’t necessarily feel the need to try them all. However, when Bruichladdich said the 8.3 Masterclass was the heaviest of them all, well I had to bite. They knew I would- and I hate them for it. This is just like your favorite Octomore- 5 years old and finished in multiple wine casks. This one boasts Islay barley exclusivity (terroir, bitches) and comes in at 309ppm. Can the human tongue even detect an amount that high? I doubt it. It looks good in print and on the packaging, though. It’s standard yellow gold with thin droplets and skinny legs- thanks to the hearty 61.2% ABV. You’ll think your local Dept of Transportation is paving your front yard as soon as the cork is popped. Ah, fresh tar... The nose is...(surprise!) fresh tar, burning tires and smoky alcohol. Pepper burn stings a bit if you get too friendly too early. Give it the time and distance it commands and you’ll pick up some nice, chocolate depth and rich, berry and plum sweetness- provided your nose works like it should. The palate is smoked peppers and a heavy, malt burn. Sugary toffee cremes really balance this out better than any Octomore I can remember. It’s oily and super rich- grasping your tastebuds and attempting to pull them from your tongue. Chocolate-dipped raspberries find their way into the corners of your mouth and do their best to counter the smoke and chili spices. It works. Really, really well. The depth is amazing. The finish is a bit rushed, as more chili and red pepper spice and heavy smoke coat everything. The youthful juice finally reveals some harsh aspects, but you’ll be so focused on how to get the burn to subside you may not notice it. The first few sips I had to restrain myself from reaching for some water to calm the fires. So, my first 2-3 drams were quite amazing here. I was ready to proclaim this the best Octomore I’ve ever had. Ready to score it a 6 on a scale to 5. Then, the oxidation took hold and really deadened this bottle for me. The final few drams seemed flat. Still smoky, still warming, but the fire was out. I started getting cola notes and soft, milky vanilla- which is something I don’t associate with Octomore. It didn’t kill the score, per se, but it was no longer a 6- hell, no longer a perfect 5. Like most Octomore I was sad to see the last few drops fall from the bottle, but my excitement fell with those drops. Maybe I don’t need Octomore anymore. I’m jaded. At $192, I’m not sure it’s a great deal anymore. Jesus, what’s wrong with me? What have I become? 4.25 stars. I’m sad to say that. Cheers, my friends.

My oh my, what a fine day in November this turned out to be. Last night I received an email from one of my preferred retailers announcing arrival of the Octomore 8 series along with the newest Compass Box releases (Phenomenology & No Name). Waking early with the excitement of a 4 year old on Christmas morning, I had the car gassed and ready to go. I made the mistake of taking a quick look at the Distiller app and reading Pranay’s review of CB No Name and thought, “This is it…..this is finally the day I come face to face with the king of peat!” Between Octomore 8.3 (309ppm) and Compass Box No Name, I was sure to get smacked in the face with a smoldering peat log. Returning home well stocked, I quickly unwrapped the two competitors and readied them for the showdown. The two rivals presented themselves well while facing each other in matching glencairns. No Name weighed in at 48.9% ABV and was wearing the light gold trunks, while Octomore 8.3 tipped the scale at 61.2% ABV and was sporting light copper trunks. Going nose to nose, No Name presented similar measures of smoky malted barley and elegant oak (American and French), both swirling in a luscious pool of ethanol. Octomore, on the other hand, was equal to No Name in toasted barley smokiness, but richer and fruitier based on a combination of bourbon-aged American oak and European oak previously saturated in a quartet of red wines from France. This additional boldness aided Octomore in winning a draw for this category. On the palate both packed a hot punch with Octomore landing more solidly given its increased strength. With a multitude of peppery punches being thrown by both fighters, the audience was unable to discern a clear leader. Between rounds, both contestants were doused with the cooling effects of water and continued at a more tolerable pace in subsequent rounds. Here, No Name exhibited tarry elements of re-charring along with some dry, mild fruitiness, while the larger-than-life Octomore deftly maneuvered the ring throwing a complex assortment of jabs aimed at dried fruits, nuts, and barbequed clams. To this point, judges scored the fight even going into the final round. The finish proved to be well contested, with both aspirants going the lengthy distance in amazingly satisfying fashion. The audience showed their appreciation with a standing ovation lasting a full 5 minutes and one for each star registered. Both champions left the ring undefeated, but with trepidation that a king may still lurking in the wings awaiting discovery.

We might just have some controversial statements in this review. Let me start saying: 1.- This is my second Octomore. 2.- I consider myself a hardcore peat head. 3.- In general, i am not the fondest fan of Bruichladdich. 4.- I have had a lot of Cask Strength whiskies before. Having said that, i got to say that i dont find this dram to be too enjoyable. And the reason for that is that even with a couple drops of water, which i added after having a few sips, it is not a dram that you cherish, that you keep for a long time, it is not a whisky that you want to drink everyday. And sometimes you find whiskies that are like that, but are far more enjoyable. Octomore is known for being the peatiest whisky on the world, and this one is bottled at 61.2%abv. Burnished gold color. On the nose: Peat is very fresh and perfumed. Mint; melted Chocolate fudge. Smoke from some scented candle. Naphthalene, smells a little like a public Bath. Nice buttery chocolate note. There is some citrus, more like lemon peel and grapefruit. Some very powerful freshness like the strongest breath candy you can imagine. Hay, very grassy, barley. Not off putting, a little hard to nose; not bad at all. On the palate, starts sweet to then deliver the most atomic spice bomb ever existed. Chocolate and vanilla right from the start; Then a ULTRA POWERFUL SPICE BOMB: PEPPER AND CHILLI AND WASABI, THIS IS DESTROYING MY PALATE, i even wrote this in caps lock. Second sip is easier. Nice chocolate, still a lot of spices, way too powerful. Aftertaste is not complex. It is not even THAT long. Starts with a puff of smoke, and then not much else. Medium long finish, but the palate has died, lol. A little grassy. Crazy dips. Scorched tongue, not a bad feeling though. Overall, this feels like way too young, way too simple and way too powerful to be truly enjoyable. You expect lots of different notes when you go cask strength since flavor lives in alcohol, but this is not the case. It doesn't feel "peaty", it is more like scorching, and i truly believe that some people (not all of them) praise this one just because the label of "the peatiest whisky ever". I love peat, i want to live in a peat bog, but this... this is not for me. 80 over 100.

So here I am in an Orlando hotel room, laptop open working on a presentation deck, spicy Thai food for dinner, and —sin of all sins—-this beauty in a plastic cup. It so deserved a proper glass...the plastic cup was just plain wrong. But..that’s all I had. Even though this has silly phenol levels (309ppm), I still contend that ppm doesn’t necessarily equate to an equally hard peaty punch. This has plenty...that’s not the point...but it doesn’t feel any more considering it’s maybe over double or triple of No Name and even 6x or 7x so more than a Lag16. It doesn’t taste 7x “peatier’ than the Lag16. That’s because chemically, the human nose starts to exponentially discern phenol levels less after 60ppm or so. Instead, the nose will start to take in other aromas after that point. It’s a simple evolutionary mechanism. There’s really no natural reason to have that high sense of smell beyond 60ppm. So, is taking anything above 60-100ppm a simple marketing gimmick, considering humans can’t sense anything above that range? Yeah. Probably. So...that brings us to this. It won’t smell or taste any peatier than a Lag16 or Ardbeg 10, but it’ll bring other flavors and aromas to table instead. While you get the bandaids in Laphroaig or brine and salt in Lagavulin or smoky embers in Ardbeg, this brings a bit of fruitier flavors. You get some tropical fruit combimed with that initial peaty taste. This is good. Actually, damn good. But...don’t go in expecting you’ll get a big peaty punch. Your nose and palette simply isn’t evolved enough to notice.

5 years old 61.2% abv Natural color Non chill-filtered Nose: bonfire/tire fire pest smoke goodness is in effect, but behind it reveals kiwi, cider apple, hint of pineapple along with pepper, caramel and vanilla. Taste: Wow! bold, chili pepper hits immediately, building into a creamy, almost sorbet sweet fruitiness. There a hint of chocolate, too, which blends nicely. Also, sweet, sweet barley sugar and maybe a floral note, too? All in all nicely balanced and quite complex but a bit cloying for my taste. Finish: medium, lead by pepper and smoke, with vanilla and some juicy fruits (plum, pear and blackberry) rounding it out and a slight cafe mocha at the tail end. Value: at anywhere from $180-$250 dollars, I can’t say it’s worth the cost considering comparable options. Final thoughts: as this was my first Octomore, I want to rate this higher. It’s damn good. The complexity intrigued me like few other young pleated single malts. It reminds me most of Arran Machrie Moor but with way more peat. But the cost is simply too much in my opinion. And my approach to reviewing includes cost as a factor. So while it’s a better peated malt than, say, Ardbeg 10 or Kilchoman Machir Bay or most core Laphroaigs, it’s a stretch to say it’s (at least) $100 better. Final score: 3.5/5 (Recommend trying or buying a bottle at a good price. H/t to @LeeEvolved for the generous sample. Thanks for sharing with me my first taste of the vaunted Octomore!

Octomores are expensive. I am a fan of Octomore. Most of them are worth the price of admission. This one is not. Octomore has marketed themselves as the peatiest of all whiskies, and the 8.3 is the peatiest of all Octomores. You would expect such a whisky to be unforgettable, but it is not. Being a fan of peat is like being a fan of hot sauce. If you are so inclined, there are plenty of hot sauces claiming to be at insane levels of heat, and they will hurt your palate, to be sure, but they are forgettable curiosities after the initial cataclysm on contact. Octomore 8.3 offers much less depth than other Octomores, but, I agree, it is the peatiest. This shit tastes like if your lung cancer got cancer. Wheareas previous Octomores taste remarkably mature for their age, this one tastes like it is 5 years old, and there’s very little to draw from it rather than a hateful style of metallic Terminator T-800 peat. I normally score the travel retail exclusive Octomores (x.2) as the worst Octomores, because I have a bias against TREs. But when some TRE Octomores are tasted blind against 8.3, this is my least favorite Octomore. However, I must still emphasize that I am a fan of Octomore, and I would still clearly consume this whisky if the price was right, valuing a bottle at $100. Score: 0 (forgettable) How much does a bottle cost: $200-250 How much do I think a bottle is worth: $100