”Mixed Emotions”
Whisky Review # 913
Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Brand: Bruichladdich Octomore 08.2 (167 PPM) - Masterclass
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 8 Years (2008-2017)
Age: 8 Years (2008-2017)
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 58.4% (Cask Strength)
Maturation: A Mix of 2nd Fill Ex-Wine Casks with Amarone Cask Finish
Chill Filtration: No
Maturation: A Mix of 2nd Fill Ex-Wine Casks with Amarone Cask Finish
Chill Filtration: No
Sample provided by Mauricio from Brazil. Many Thanks!
Price Range: US$ 180-210 (May 2021)
Price/Quality Ratio: 👎 Too expensive for such a Young Whisky.
Price Range: US$ 180-210 (May 2021)
Price/Quality Ratio: 👎 Too expensive for such a Young Whisky.
Buying Advice: 😐 Well-made but not quite my kinda thing!
Colour:
Light Brown with shades of Red (Natural Color)
Nose:
Be sure to give this Octomore some time in the glass before Nosing and avoid the middle of the glass as there's plenty of Alcohol there. The Nose is a mix of Sweet Red Fruit and Peat Smoke. A few light Sour notes as well. It's pretty straightforward and not very complex but certainly not unpleasant. There's no Wow factor though.
Main Aromas:
Sweet Toasted Barley, Slightly Burnt Buttered Toast, Bonfire Smoke, Dusty Earth, Red Berries, Sour Grapes, Mix of Straw and Cow Manure, Pork & Fish on the BBQ, Orange Peel, Nectarine, Old Leather, Metal, Ginger and Nutmeg.
Supportive Aroma Accents:
Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Yeast, Nougat, Nuts, Slivovitz, Charred Oak, Diesel, Ashes, Tar, Iodine, Herbal Tea, Tobacco, Cinnamon, Pepper, Cloves, Aniseed and Mint.
Sweet Toasted Barley, Slightly Burnt Buttered Toast, Bonfire Smoke, Dusty Earth, Red Berries, Sour Grapes, Mix of Straw and Cow Manure, Pork & Fish on the BBQ, Orange Peel, Nectarine, Old Leather, Metal, Ginger and Nutmeg.
Supportive Aroma Accents:
Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Yeast, Nougat, Nuts, Slivovitz, Charred Oak, Diesel, Ashes, Tar, Iodine, Herbal Tea, Tobacco, Cinnamon, Pepper, Cloves, Aniseed and Mint.
Bitter-Sweet with a few Sour and Salty notes. The Alcohol is noticeable at this point and so is the relative youth of this Octomore. The balance between Spirit and Wine casks is quite good actually. It's just not my favorite style of Whisky.
Main Flavours:
Sweet Toasted Barley, Salted Caramel, Vanilla, Fruit Flavored Candies (Raspberry, Strawberry, Blueberry), Sour Grapes, Orange Peel, Bonfire Smoke, Dirty Earth, Tar, Cigar Ashes, Leather, Tobacco, Pork & Fish on the BBQ, Pepper, Nutmeg & Ginger.
Supportive Flavour Accents:
Honey, Buttered Toast, Christmas Pudding, Sour Green Apple, Lemon, Hazelnut-Milk Chocolate, Caffe Latte, Charred Oak, Herbal Tea, Wet Rocks and Sand, Cinnamon, Cloves, Mint, Licorice and Iron.
Finish:
Middle-Long/Long & Bitter-Sweet with a few Sour and Salty notes. Rather Dry. The Alcohol is quite noticeable at this point. I find Sweet Toasted Barley, Resin, Salted Caramel, Vanilla, Nougat, Milk-Hazelnut Chocolate, Cocoa Powder, Orange Peel, Fish and Pork on the BBQ sprinkled with Lemon-Pepper and Herbs, Bonfire Smoke, Dirty Earth, Dark Red Berries, Sour Grapes, Green Apple, Leather, Tobacco, Cigar Ashes, Soot, Iron, Pepper, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Ginger, Mint, Licorice and Aniseed.
Drinking Advice:
I added a little Water and that helps to calm down the Alcohol of course. It doesn't really change the overall profile but it does set little accents on the Fruit, the Herbs, the Barley and the Spices. In this case I recommend to add a little Water.
Rating: 86.5
Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 22- Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 21.5
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion:
Bruichladdich was founded in 1881 by Barnett Harvey. During its history it was mothballed various times, the last time in 1998. In 2012 the Islay distillery was bought by Remy Cointreau (France). Since, Bruichladdich is showing a healthy growth again. The distillery produces 3 types of Single Malt, i.e. the unpeated Bruichladdich & the heavily peated Port Charlotte & Octomore. The basic core range includes Classic Laddie and a 10-year old Port Charlotte. The annual production amounts to around one million litres. About 10% of that is Octomore. Octomore by the way means " The Big Eighth". This is a medieval division of common ground.
The Octomore 08.2 was distilled in 2008 and was made with 100% Scottish Barley from the 2007 harvest. The spirit for this Octomore matured for six years in a mix of French Mourvedre Red Wine casks, Austrian Sweet Wine casks and French Sweet Sauternes White Wine casks before being married and finished for 2 Years in fresh Italian Amarone casks from Valpolicella.
Drinking Advice:
I added a little Water and that helps to calm down the Alcohol of course. It doesn't really change the overall profile but it does set little accents on the Fruit, the Herbs, the Barley and the Spices. In this case I recommend to add a little Water.
Rating: 86.5
Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 22- Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 21.5
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion:
Bruichladdich was founded in 1881 by Barnett Harvey. During its history it was mothballed various times, the last time in 1998. In 2012 the Islay distillery was bought by Remy Cointreau (France). Since, Bruichladdich is showing a healthy growth again. The distillery produces 3 types of Single Malt, i.e. the unpeated Bruichladdich & the heavily peated Port Charlotte & Octomore. The basic core range includes Classic Laddie and a 10-year old Port Charlotte. The annual production amounts to around one million litres. About 10% of that is Octomore. Octomore by the way means " The Big Eighth". This is a medieval division of common ground.
The Octomore 08.2 was distilled in 2008 and was made with 100% Scottish Barley from the 2007 harvest. The spirit for this Octomore matured for six years in a mix of French Mourvedre Red Wine casks, Austrian Sweet Wine casks and French Sweet Sauternes White Wine casks before being married and finished for 2 Years in fresh Italian Amarone casks from Valpolicella.
Difficult. On the one hand, this is a well-made Octomore and the Multi Wine cask experiment certainly worked well. Thanks to the 2nd Refill casks the influence of the Wine is not over the top. So if you like the Wine-Whisky combo you should try it out although it's quite expensive. Personally I love Whisky & Wine but in general I prefer to keep them separated. Sometimes it works quite well like in this case but it's just not my favorite style of Whisky.
Cheers!
Jan van den Ende May 5, 2021
All pictures were taken during our visit in May 2014
