Side by side tasting notes 02.2, 02.1, MP6 #0022

first of all, sorry for the long text. I have taken the tasting specifically to compare all 3 different maturations of the same distillate and posting them separately without the comparative notes would somehow diminish the intended impact and value.

Freshly opened:

Nose:

02.2 has the most earthy nose of the three, with very apparent red fruit (mostly strawberries)

02.1 a bit sharper - the same earthy note, but with citrus, pear and a small bit of vanilla scent, combining in something like a animal-like smell on the back of the nose

0022 the most restrained, almost no feeling of peat on the nose, the ribeira del duero gives only soft caramel smell with some gentle wood notes (sandalwood?), slight hint of sulphur? sawdust

Palate:

02.2 amazing strawberry pie sprinkled with fresh earth which hosted a fire. "Hell yeah" is an understatement. This is definitely my dram.

02.1 actually more fruit on palate than on the nose. Pear with citrus zest, the smoke attack soon enough, then lingering honey with sweet grapefruit

0022 quick heated mouth coating, salivating - wood from the start, but not bitter, slightly astringent
second sip gives less heat and more sweeter notes from he wood. sour cherries perhaps?
dark caramel or coffee, not burnt. tannins from wood, still not really bitter. the sweet, yet older wood stays on the tongue for a long time

Repeat after letting it breathe in glass for 40 minutes:

02.2 strawberries take the front, together with some darker sweet fruit, perhaps plums? sweet oak appears, earth/peat settles to the background.

02.1 pear and grapes on the front , but the earth (and peat smoke) weaves around them and interacts.

0022 more wood and sawdust on the nose, with sugar topping (for real, still not that drunk:-)

With a few drops of water:

Nose:

02.2 strawberry mixing with a suddenly appeared waxed wood note - like table in a victorian study room. cigar smoke just lightly lingers on old draperies

02.1 additional grassy or heathery note, with soft honey

0022 additionally some fruit also coming out, grapes? mirabelle plums? peat gets back, more earthy then initial. burnt match sulphur remains as undertone, bud not in a bad way. complements the rest

Palate:

02.2 even on palate the wood is coming out, in quite a settled way, not killing the red fruit (fresh strawberries not that apparent now - looks like they got pickled in the meantime;-). All the parts intertwine nicely, peat, fruit, wood. Amazing balance. On finish the fruit leaves first, wood remains with ash and slight sweetness

02.1 settled down really well, candied lemon peel with added sweet citrus (not precisely identifiable). The most fresh feeling of the 3 after more than an hour in the glass. The grass stays on the nose, perhaps a bit of rosemary on the palate. The finish is shorter but the earth comes out again and supports the sweet lemon peel. Together they taste almost waxy.

0022 sweetness comes out now, sweet sugary wood with grapes and a bit of caramel (not salty) topping linger on tongue forever. Unfortunately a slight bitterness comes back into play here, which, for me, spoils it a bit (but that might be just the mood-of-the-moment thing)

Tasting Notes by Jim McEwan, head distiller;

Character: A spirit for peatophiles. The most heavily peated single malt in the world but with a gentler side which evolves as time goes by.

Colour: Winter sun/Lemon grass.

Nose: Without water aromas of peat fires. iodine, burning heather and oily, sea-encrusted rope. Opening up to notes of Hawthorn, Birch, Myrtle and Juniper. Adding water, the Myrtle mint oiliness moves forward, clearing the path for notes of green apple and pine needle.

Palate: A total tempest of peaty marine spirit that leaves the palate mesmerised. Awesome does not even come close! The power of the spirit is as phenomenal as it is phenolic. It crashes onto the palate in a tidal wave of smoke, engulfing the senses with a mind-blowing whirlpool of Islay character.

Finish: 24 hours is about right!

Mood: Braveheart. Pugnacious, ready to take on the world. Face the monster and enjoy what is a totally unique experience.

http://whiskycast.com/ratings/bruichladdich-octomore-2/

Just 5 years old, aged in bourbon casks, and with a phenol level of a whopping 140 ppm, the nose on this is peat, peat, and more peat! There are also traces of ash, licorice, and a slightly medicinal note. The taste is best described as a nuclear peat explosion, but retains its overall smoothness with a slight creaminess and notes of garden soil, vanilla, and a slight ashiness as the peat fades. Water adds a touch of cocoa. The finish is long and smoky with a touch of chili powder, and the overall impression is one of great balance with dimensions other than peatiness.

Color : Pale straw. quite light in color, as most of the young Islays which have not been to sherry casks.

Nose : Smoke (no surprise here) , ash, sweet touches too (Laddie or not laddie?) , Wet stable (Someone who rides horses came today with their wet boots, and they smelled just like this one. i swear!). I love the nose on this one.

Palate : can you spell Kabooom?! what a powerful palate. Atom bomb kind of. Bam! in your face, the peat is Huge, but sweet notes on the side of the tongue do penetrate. Definitely some coffee notes (as Serge notes) and wet cereal sweetness developing into ashtray ash. This baby is anything but one-dimensional. Well Balanced . (if you can say thaty about something so peaty by nature)

Finish : Loooooooooooooooong. Looooooooooooong. amazingly long, with some dark chocolate notes on the bitter finish combining well with ASH. have you ever licked an ashtray and then eaten dark 80% chocolate? This is the feeling i am getting here.

Overall : Wonderful dram. At first i was a bit surprised by the sweet nose, as i had expected RAW peat (like the Nova) , but the more and more i visit this one (Happily i have a bottle) i love it even more. I won’t drink it daily, but hey – when i am in the mood for some strong and yummy peat, this is my go-to dram.

http://whiskyisrael.co.il/2010/02/22/octomore-not-just-about-peat/

 

http://smad.se/provningar/Provning%2096%20Jim%20McEwan.html Test 096: Bruicladdich with Jim McEwan - 091204
The whisky tested: Glass 1 Bruichladdich 2001 Resurrection, 46%, 557 kr 10 points
Glass 2 Bruichladdich Organic 5YO / 2003, 46%, 589 kr 13 points
Glass 3 Bruichladdich X4 + 3, 63.5%, 757 kr 29 points
Glass 4 Bruichladdich PX 1992, 46%, 749 kr 109 points
Glass 5 Cameronbridge Grain 1974, 48.3%, Celtic Heartlands, 1400 kr 67 points
Glass 6 Port Charlotte PC8, 60.5%, 989 kr 99 points
Glass 7 Octomore II, 140 ppm, 62.5%, 1289 kr 21 points
Glass 8 Bruichladdich Peat, 46% (Highland Toast), 447 kr 9 points Testimonials Bernt Sjödin Apparently, I was so fascinated by Jim that I forgot listing and score on a pair of whiskys. Octomore II, 140 ppm, 62.5%
Color: Light gold
Scent: Smoke - a different smoke against other smoky whiskys that I can not describe
Taste: Smoke - smoke, vanilla tones, chocolate
Aftertaste: Long with smoke and chocolate, apple tones; good aftertaste
Score: 86

Colour: Straw
Nose: Very heavily peated, tarry, on warm ashes, with some
bold peat, maritime, on kelps and roots.
Taste: Dry, very peaty, salty, very astringent, maritime,
fragrant, on burnt algae and roots, tar and rusted iron. The finish is medium to
long, dry, clean, very peaty, maritime and on cold ashes, with a very long peaty
retro-olfaction.
General Impression: A quite different beast from the first
official release of Octomore, peatier and more mature, but rather simple.
Promising, but it would benefit of a few extra years of maturation. If you want
a blast from barley peated at 140 ppm, you won't be disappointed by this
beast!

http://www.whisky-news.com/En/tasting13.html#11dec09 

 

WOW!

Strong peat aroma and strong spirit smell.

A strong peat and smoke taste was pleasant, however the coarse roughness of young spirit and some flavours, was not.

Long finish from the initial explosion. Enjoyable enough, but the coarseness dampened the experience.

An average heavily peated offering/expression. Priced on the expensive side, upon release, for the experience.

Insidiousness, smell is not really dangerous, but on the tongue, the taste buds are running away and they hide`em. The aftertaste is more as if you licking an ashtray, cold smoke with sweet and lemony flavours in the background. Definitely a new experience.

This one I bought when I was visiting Bruichladdic in 2009, it's a great whisky