Review by: The Muskox

Octomore was my first love of peated whisky, but it’s been some time since I’ve been blown away by one. Between my preferences changing and prices increasing, I’ve been trying fewer of the new releases. This’ll be my first Valinch Octomore – available exclusively at the distillery, peated to 150.2 ppm, and oxymoronically matured in refill virgin oak. Let’s see if it hits.

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Distillery: Bruichladdich.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 61.9%. Cask strength.

Age: 9 years. Distilled in 2011. Bottled in 2020.

Cask type: Refill virgin oak casks.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: 1.0, Deep copper. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Savoury, smoky, and sweet. The first hit is the savoury – Jamon iberico, those egg -flavoured seaweed rice crackers, bonito flakes, wasabi peas. Then comes the sweet – Madeleines, Rice Krispies squares, caramel apples, chocolate chip banana bread. Briny ocean and muddy farmyard. Fresh herb flavours of parsley, basil, and oregano. Balsamic reduction and Grand Marnier.

Palate: Medium-thick texture. Arrives sweet and malty, with vanilla, milk chocolate, rich honey, and yellow fruits (citrus, apricots, yellow plums). Develops to very heavy peat – creosote, iodine, old bandages, and charcoal. Earthy and savoury, with wet moss, smashed basalt, oyster shells, and toasted sesame oil. Some sweeter notes on the back end, orange creamsicle.  

Finish: Savoury-sweet. Key lime pie, marmalade and honey on burnt sourdough toast. Chocolate chip cookies. More earth and iodine. Snap peas and thyme. Balsamic again.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Subterranean canapés”

Conclusion: That’s a killer whisky, the best Octomore I’ve had in some time. It completely nails the earthy-savoury-sweet combo that I look for in Octomore. It also has a much deeper peat smoke character than many of the more recent bottlings I’ve tried. I’m glad to find an Octomore that I can still deeply connect to even after all this time.

Final Score: 90.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.