Bruichladdich
Bruichladdich
63.5%
3 Years
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"Distilled from Scottish barley in 2016, this three year old Octomore 10.4 is the youngest ever released, yet the most impressive. Standing alone in any heavyweight line-up, the depth, balance and composure of this Virgin Oak release is astounding. Twenty-eight casks cut from Limousin oak have been subjected to a high toast before making their way to Warehouse 12 for filling. Their high tannic impact is subsided by a high toast level which gives way to a dry fruit character that is impeccably well-rounded." This Octomore expression bucks the trend of Octomore bottlings being released older and older. Can a younger, heavily peated release stand up? Virgin Oak is a powerful beast in the maturation space, and I'm curious how an 88ppm peat at 3 years old stands up. Let's dig in.
Acrid peat, honey butter, pear, apple butter, toffee and pungent peat. Ashy, mineral forward, plenty of stone and burning wood. Light on maritime and dead sea things peat.
Rich on the palate. The virgin oak is clear, rich and sweet. Lots of tannin, caramel, honey, oak. Aggressive peat on the palate, BBQ ribs, honey bbq, lemon curd, sweet buttercream, ashy. Viscous.
Long finish. Sweet at first, oaky second, aggressively peaty third. Powerful, ashy, meaty, funky, with a touch of dessert-y oak caramel at the final word.
Brash, bold, a blend of aggressive new oak, old peat, brash ash and all of the meaty funk that we expect from Octomore. It's enticing, fascinating, and intoxicating - literally. This nearly 64% bruiser is an Octomore never to forget.
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