Review by: The Muskox
It’s no secret that I adore Octomore. The amount of complexity added from the peat (even if most of it gets distilled out) is incredible for such young whiskies. This is the latest release of the x.1: Scottish barley, American oak aging, and moderate (for an Octomore) levels of peat.
Distillery: Bruichladdich.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Region: Islay.
ABV: 59.1%. Cask strength.
Age: 5 years. Distilled in 2014. Bottled in 2019.
Cask type: ex-American whiskey casks.
Price: $225 CAD.
Color: Light gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose:
Bold, peaty and surprisingly sweet. Campfire embers, seaweed, and lots of kalamata olives. Slightly medicinal, with some tangy Bruichladdich funk. The peat has a vegetal aspect as well – artichoke dipped in melted butter? That’s a new one. Rich barley, vanilla, and brown sugar. Milk chocolate, hazelnuts, lemongrass, and dates. The clean earthiness of smoked black tea. Grilled teriyaki-glazed meat. Toasted French bread.
More Bruichladdich-y as time passes: flowers, ginger, pear, white cherry, citrus, and funk.
Palate: Medium-oily texture. Peppery arrival, with honey, more toasted French bread, yeast, and stonefruit. Sweet malt in the middle, developing to creamy peat, salt, iodine, fresh leather, cedar boughs, and earth. A bit of hard cheese in there, as well as maybe a bit of sweet Italian sausage (sage). Big barbequed meat, turning into honey and flowers. Rounds off back into salted caramel and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.
A drop of water encrusted everything with maple sugar.
Finish: Lots of retronasal herbs and earth going on. Peat smoke, seaweed, and smoked brisket. Nutty toasted cream and browned butter. It gets a little floral now, with roses and fragrant cedar. Some anise, cardamom, and sage. Definitely Italian sausage. A bit of cinnamon too, maybe even some sugared raisins. Some dried mango, maybe. Espresso-roast coffee. More black tea, getting Darjeeling-y.
Conclusion: Another absolute banger from Bruichladdich. I know I said it was “surprisingly” sweet, but I’ve come to expect and really enjoy that level of sweetness from x.1 Octomore. This one sets itself apart by having this delightfully creamy, buttery, slightly custardy flavour, which is just delicious. It also has plenty of those malty notes I love so much in Bruichladdich products. It’s also shockingly easy to drink, despite crazy complexity. I could sip this all day, every day. I’m excited to see if 9.3 can top it.
Final Score: 91.
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.
Malt Runners 