Octomore 10 Year Dialogos Third Edition (2017 Release)

Rating: 19/23 N: Quite full. Sweet and slightly funky malted barley that makes me think a little bit of Loch Lomond 12 mixes with ashy smoke, roast pork, a bit of vanilla, some herbaceousness that gets a bit tart at times, an occasional touch of lemon zest. It's quite meaty, but in a good way. The scents generally balance pretty well and there's a sense of some maturity here. P: A huge layer of smoke hits,, bringing a bitter ashiness with a little iodine, peat numbingness, and some herbaceous notes (though those tend to get overwhlemed). The sweet barley stands its ground and shows off some of that Loch Lomond 12 funk. There's a little bit of a campfire flavor going on here that borders on barbecue, but mercifully doesn't quite go there. Some orange shows itself at times and there's some apple as well. A touch of iodine. There's probably a lot, actually, but it's hidden behind all of that smoke and peat. Salty. And a bit spicy (black pepper and cinnamon) too. I get some oiliness as well, which nicely helps to build out the body. I get very faint chocolate late on the palate. The balance is nicer than the other Octomores I've been trying side by side, but it's still bold with richnesss and fullness. Ah! On my penultimate sip, I get a hint of tart cherry and blackberry. But maybe my palate is too far gone at this point. F: Numbing peat with plenty of smoke and partially burnt firewood. That malt character adds a sweet dimension, but it fades fairly quickly. - Conclusion - I like the overall profile of Laphroaig 10 (18/23) more than I like this one. The Laphroaig is more balanced with a better sense of maturity, while maintaining substantial complexity. This is balanced for an Octomore, but it's still kind of aggressive and it lacks that degree of complexity. The boldness here is really nice though. This seems like a clear improvement over the other Octomores, but it isn't blowing them out of the water. Ardbeg Uigeadail (19/23) is less packed with a variety of flavors, but it's rich and full with a boldness and deliberate profile that avoids the problems that this has. That said, when I put them side by side, I appreciate how the nuance present in this makes itself more apparent. This is tough because I simultaneously feel like this is on the same level as the Ardbeg - or maybe slightly above it - but I also kind of like the Laphroaig better than this. Curse you, non-transitive preferences! Stepping back and breaking it down though, I think I like the complexity and balance of the Laphroaig, but find its low proof to be problematic. The Ardbeg, on the other hand, is nicely balanced and has a great flavor, but it doesn't have as much going on. This is kind of in the middle. Yes, this has some challenging flavors, but they aren't too prominent. And, frankly, the balance and complexity here are both good. I'm looking in the 18 to 19 range here and I'm thinking that this probably deserves that 19. That said, it's a very low 19 because there's a sense of maturity to the Ardbeg that I don't get from this and this has additional flaws that the Ardbeg doesn't. Thank you @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample of this one!

It’s 2020. It’s December. Let’s shut this year down with a brand new whiskey (or whisky) every day. It’s my own personal whiskey advent calendar. +6! Dec. 16, 2020 This whisky sample was given to me by @PBMichiganWolverine so a big shoutout to that guy, because spoilers: I enjoyed the hell out of this one. Hope to repay your kindness one day. Dat nose tho. Wow. If I have ever noted beef before, I take it back and give it all to this. Beef jerky, Slim Jim’s, fresh slow-cooked pork barbecue. This nose is what it means to be a carnivore. I love this. Body hits with a perfect delivery of the nose. Sometimes peat can taste like more smoke than meat, but this is pure meat. It’s rauchbier, beef stroganoff, a hearty vinegar-based Carolina BBQ. Finish is the first place that I’d say a smoke element distinguishes itself from the meat. It’s not cigar smoke though (which I typically don’t care for). This is charcoal smoke, grill smoke. Mild rubber, but the meat and smoke are the dominant notes. It’s also noteworthy that this finish fades faster than other heavy peat whiskeys I’ve had before, like Lagavulin. I don’t think of that a weakness, just something to note. I’m concerned I’ve missed something, not because I feel something is lacking, but because I just typed the words “beef” and “meat” a collective 7 times. Based on my knowledge of “oak walls,” I could intuit there being flavors behind this “peat wall” that I’m too novice to detect. That said, if this is a one-trick pony, I’ll say it again, I like this trick. I’ve never had anything like this before, and later this week I’m going to try to track down a bottle from this distillery. Edit: I added a splash of water to the last few sips. A sweetness developed in the body, possibly apple. I could even go so far as to call that a tangy note now. Fascinating! Edit 2: I have already called my bourbon enforcer to inquire about Octomore. He’s acquiring me two different bottles from that distillery, next time that distribution happens! ‘Tis the season. I’m day-to-day on my whiskey selection, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments. Merry whiskey to all, and to all a beer flight!

2019 was a banner whiskey year for me.  I tried lots of great whiskeys, bought many fantastic bottles, and had great experiences at a variety of bars and stores.  Most importantly, I spent numerous hours of quality time sharing with and learning from so many great people here at Distiller! To start 2020 off right, I needed a strong opening act.  I've been holding a sample of the Ten Year Dialogos I received from @pbmichiganwolverine for the right occasion.  What better way to ring in the New Year? I thoroughly agree with the enthusiastic comments that proceed my review - this is a wonderfully balanced, boldly peated, and complex yet instantly enjoyable whisky. But a few personal reactions - This is my first Octomore.  Although I love peated whiskeys, the idea of a dram with approximately three times the peat PPM of Ardbeg seemed...unnecessary.  I love peat blended with other contrasting flavors, and 167 PPM sounded like pulling heaps of cold ash out of the fireplace and adding it to my morning smoothie.  But I could not have been more wrong. While it's heavily peated (from about five feet away, my wife immediately exclaimed, "peated whisky!"), it doesn't come across as more peated than the typical Ardbeg, which leaves plenty of room for the wealth of other flavors this whiskey has to offer.   To my palate, there's a real difference between the peat flavors of different whiskies.  For example, I find Laphroaig to be ashy in nature, Ardbeg to be barbeque, and Ballechin to be a thick cloud of billowing blackness.  The Ten Year Diagalos peat is a bit fiery, with a quality that is almost a bit spicy.   It's lovely.   So thank you @pbmichiganwolverine!  If the rest of 2020 is half this good, it will be an epic year!

The Santa chronicles #3. A long long time ago (last xmas to be exact) a young girl at the tender age of 5 asked her dad why the presents from Santa said 'Made in China'. Ah said the man its because Chinese elves are cheaper than those in the North Pole. "How does Santa get the presents if they are in China" she asked do the reindeer fly there to pick them up? No said the man due to the worldwide postal union it is very cheap to ship from China to the North Pole. A great man called Trump who will make things great again (except if you are Mexican, an immigrant or basically anyone who doesn't love country music) is going to sort it out so reindeer can fairly compete in international shipping again. "Why do you say he is a great man?" asked the girl "as you always swear at the tv and call him a useless idiot?". Ah said the man it's like when your mother says that to your daddy...she's showing how much she loves him. The girl persisted "If shipping is so cheap from China why dont they ship it to us instead of the North Pole" said the girl. At this point the man realised that perhaps he wasn't smarter than a 5 year old so he did what all good dad's do in this situation and patted her on the head and said "Isn't it time for tv"? He then went to his man den and celebrated his wisdom and parenting skills with a whiskey. It was a good whisky but not as awesome as this whisky. Finally said the man an Octomore deserving of the price. Fantastically balanced and with an aftertaste longer than a supermodels legs. Once again the man gave praise to Santa aka @PBMichiganWolverine for an awesome xmas present and went to bed dreaming of what the next night would bring.

Courtesy through the generosity of @PBMichiganWolverine, this sample is well timed. A chilling Northeastern November needs a warm and peat. With Octomore, this dram checks off those simple requirements. An aramatic opening of sweet peat that is dominate with hickory-smoked bacon. Slowly working through the seams of peat and savory domination, a sweetness of rich dark chocolate, vanilla, apples, and pomegranate seep in. There are calming earthy notes of leather, tobacco, damp autumn leaves sprinkled with minerals and metallics. Oily and viscous that delivers a large dose of phenolics, cigar ash, wood and black pepper with spices that are like pins and needles to the palate. Amongst all this energy are streams of sweetness which fills in the edges. Caramel, vanilla custard, brown sugar. An everlasting ashy and menthol with caramel comprise a finish. Oak tannins provide a drying sensation. Warming deep down which is perfect on a cool November evening. A touch of water tones down the pins and needles and the sweetness is more prevalent. Even more approachable and preferable. A peat lovers dram. Balanced in spice and sweet. Though somewhat simple as described by words is actually more complex in experience. What makes this different than most other peaty, smoky drams is that this is somehow approachable. It doesn’t bite your face but draws you in with its sweet and pungent aromas and flavors. The time and aging have made this a fantastic pour. [92/100][Tasted: 11/9/19]

Tasting the Octomore 10 years - The Outlier 09.4/167 ppm/56,8%. Nose: really not as peaty as I was expecting “the highest ppm whisky” to be. Actually really pleasant and smooth. The peat also isn’t chemical or plastic-like. It is more thick and sweet. But it has a cold and wet earthyness to it. I like it. There also is a lingering fruitiness as well, with sour apples plus some fresh cucumber and bitter walnuts. Interesting is a wet fermented straw smell. Palate: also not as peaty as I was anticipating. It is really hot and keeps on maintaining a hot chili burn into the quiet long finish. The taste itself is good though. Very creamy sweet like hard milk caramel sweets. But now - yeah - the peat is definitely something. But it can be handled very easily and gives you enough room to “see” the actual whisky-flavors behind. After adding water it becomes a lot more drinkable and even more enjoyable. In fact dangerously drinkable and delicious. Watering it down really keeps the hot burn in check and releases even more sweetness. That was unexpected. I like it. Did I mention it is really sweet. My goodness - I didn’t know whisky can be this sweet. I actually would rate it higher if it would be less sweet. But this level of sugary sweetness after adding water is insane.