Single Malt
Scotland
Bourbon
Octomore 15.1 was peated to 108.2 PPM.
The .1 of each Octomore annual release is intended to be the backbone of that series, the expression from which the others can be compared and contrasted. It was aged in a combo of first-fill bourbon barrels and re-charred bourbon casks to extract as much character from the wood as possible. It was bottled at 59.1% ABV.
Caramel, vanilla custard and sweet malt.
Mango, banana and apricot jam with vanilla custard and toffee.
Peat smoke, vanilla, and sweet charred oak with a fresh marine crispness.
Im a big fan of octomore and have had various editions, at least one each year. I have recently finished my last 11.1 (I got 10 of those when they came out) I cannot rave about the ten year old I recently got from the distillery enough. It is gorgeous. Yet I find this one, the 15.1 bitterly disappointing. It is not as Peaty as their other outings, far from it. There is a hint of peat, which is overpowered by an ethanol after taste. Its pleasant enough, but it is not "super peaty" as advertised. Adding ice mildy improves the palate, dials down the enthanol slightly and the peat comes through a bit more, but its still not a patch on their previous outings, and lacks that peaty punch octomore is famous for. Its what I would describe as a subtle peat, and in my opinion its not worth the price tag. If the 10 year old wasn't so good this outing would definitely put me off buying another octomore. I'd skip this one, or look to the .2 or .3 versions and various cask editions are usually excellent.
