Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
Continuing on with the Octo-madness, here are some .1’s. I’ll pour a little bit of the previously reviewed 7.3, 9.3, and 11.3 as necessary to get a feel for where these fit in.
Tasted on 11/22/2020, neat in a Glencarin to start, then with a bit of water.
This is Edition 02.1, 140 PPM. As you can guess from the name, this was their second release bottled in 2009.
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 62.5%, cask strength
Age: 5 years old. Bottled on 06/12/2009.
Cask type: American Oak Casks
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 15,000 bottles.
Nose: peat, smoke, tobacco, lemon, iodine, seaweed, somewhat herbal, soot, mint, liquorice, machine oil, vanilla, an odd barnyard funk. With water: more peat smoke, more medicinal, burning dry grass.
Taste: big peat smoke, ash, very salty, seawater, lemon, oily mouthfeel, pepper builds, liquorice, oil, toffee, did I mention it’s salty? An old leathery, malty, bitter note. With water: knocked the ash back a smidge, a bit fattier and meatier, crisp bacon, a sour bitter note behind it all.
Finish: nice pop of peat smoke, very salty seaweed, citrus, old leather, machine oil, mint, black pepper, long on the smoke, salt, and citrus. The peat is a bit richer in the finish than the nose. Finish ends in a bit of oaky bitterness, with that sour barnyardy note coming though. With water: the peat is a bit more earthy now, otherwise similar. Ends with malt and oak.
This is good, but there are some odd notes in this one for me, especially on the palate and throughout the finish. Maybe if you’re into the more barnyardy-funk this would be your thing, but for me, it’s a strike against an otherwise pretty solid peaty dram. Balance is mediocre. Honestly, my most disappointing Octomore so far. I suspect I’d have graded it better if it weren’t right next to the 6.1 & 11.1, and the other group from two nights ago.
Final Score: 82.
Edition 06.1, 167 PPM. Aged in American Oak Casks, and all Scottish barley.
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 57.0%, cask strength
Age: 5 years old. Bottled in 2015.
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 18,000 bottles.
Nose: clean peat smoke, seawater, seaweed, coal, lemon, wood dust, antiseptic, mint, a bit floral, vanilla, black pepper, a little bit herbal and dry grass. With water: ah, that brought the smoke out! Much bigger on the nose, earthier, some wood spice, camphor, thyme.
Taste: warm clean peat smoke, brine, seaweed, sweet lemon, a whole farmyard of charred meats, oily mouthfeel, pepper, toffee, some of those floral and herbal notes, malt. With water: more smoke, more fat, iodine, nice herbal/grassy notes, wow.
Finish: big clean peak smoke, salty, sweet lemon, black pepper, mint, more charred meat, long on the smoke, salt, and lemon. With water: similar.
Someone knew what they were doing with this one. This is excellent. Water works well with it and amps up the complexity throughout, brought out more smoke, made it fattier, etc. Just what you expect w/ Octomore. I’m surprised by the complexity here, and if you told me it was older I’d believe you. Delicious.
Fun fact: this bottle has been open since 2016. Minimal change, IMO.
Final Score: 92.
Edition 11.1, 139.6 PPM. From their website: “Distilled in 2014 from the 2013 harvest of 100% Scottish grown Concerto and Propino barley. Full term maturation in first fill American whiskey casks from Jim Beam, Heaven Hill and Jack Daniels. Matured entirely on Islay for five years.” One of 30,000 bottles, yet for some reason this one was the harder one for me to get here in WA.
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 59.4%
Age: 5 years old. Bottled on 07/01/2020.
Cask type: First Fill American Whiskey Casks
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 30,000 bottles.
Nose: fruity lime, peach, peat, mild wood smoke, sea spray, brine, mineral, vanilla, grapefruit, mint, a bit medicinal. With water: candied fruit, a bit of cream.
Taste: crisp clean peat smoke, a touch dry, mint, fruity w/ lime & peach, salty brine, seaweed, medicinal, machine oil, vanilla, bacon fat, oily mouthfeel, almond. With water: slightly thinner, much more spice (pepper, mint), more mineral, more smoke.
Finish: peat smoke, salt, seaweed, iodine, very fruity w/ lime & peach, mild pepper, mint, a little dry, long on the smoke, salt, and fruits with the maritime notes along for the ride. With water: more peat smoke, very salty, bright fruit, sea and medicinal notes. Finish improved quite a lot with water actually.
Bright and fruity, the smoke and peat are more muted behind the fruit on the nose but pop out in the mouth. Excellent medicinal and sea notes. Thinnest mouthfeel of the three is made thinner w/ water, but still not bad. It shines in the finish w/ water, where it got bigger and smokier along with all that fruit. Really nice. If it had responded with more smoke and richer notes on the nose and palate with water it might have scored higher.
Final Score: 87.
Comparison
Order: 6.1 > 11.1 > 2.1
Total Octo Order (so far): 7.3 > 9.3 > 6.1 > 11.3 > 11.1 > 2.1
This was interesting. Honestly, I’m disappointed in the 2.1. It brought a lot of off notes to the table and is, so far, a real outlier. It falls down for me on the palate and in the finish. Shame.
The 11.1 vs. the 11.3 is a fun one. Both are really fruity, but the 11.3 has more complexity, and some excellent floral notes to really round out the rest of it. The 11.1 is very good, but I’ll take the 11.3 over it any day.
The 6.1 is excellent, and it’s a close call with the 9.3 for me. The 9.3 is marginally better: slightly more complex, slightly richer. I’ve gone back forth a couple of times now, but I’m sticking with the 9.3 over the 6.1.
Someone’s gonna want to know which one is the smokiest: neat the 2.1 is the smokiest of the three. With water, it’s the 6.1.
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 
One thought on “Octomore 2.1, 6.1, and 11.1”