What do you buy for the special person in your life who loves peaty whisky? The peatiest whisky in the world, of course. I bought John a bottle of Bruichladdich Octomore Scottish Barley 6.1 single malt Scotch whisky for a special occasion.
The fact that it completes the series from the Bruichladdich distillery of which we already have 2 is just the cherry on the cake. I can’t even remember what the special occasion was. It might have been a wedding anniversary. John loves peat! I have a sweeter palate and prefer my peat with some sweeter notes.
The Octomore 6.1 Scottish Barley whisky was for him, not me. The distillery that bears the title “Worlds most peated whisky”, the Bruichladdich Octomore single malt has a cult following around the world. Some of the recent releases are seated up to 208ppm.
I wrote extensively about the other two brands in the range: the unpeated Bruichladdich and the heavily peated Port Charlotte already. The Octomore name pays homage to a farm located on the hillside above the Port Charlotte village on Islay, not far from the Bruichladdich distillery. The farm operated its own licensed distillery between 1816 and 1852.
The Bruichladdich distillery is currently owned French multinational drinks group Rémy Cointreau.
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Bruichladdich Octomore Scottish Barley 6.1 Whisky Review
The Bruichladdich Octomore Scottish Barley Edition 06.1 is a 5 years old and made from barley harvested from mainland Scotland. This Scottish Barley 06.1 single malt Edition is peated to (only) 167 ppm.
REGION: Islay
ABV: 57%
COLOUR: Golden autumn yellow
NOSE: This dram has that classic Islay nose. Smoke, ash, and peat assault the senses. You can sense the heavy peat from a mile away. It’s big and bold. It’s rich and complex. There are notes of seaweed and salt, iodine and medicinal notes balanced with honey, cinnamon and vanilla.
PALATE: The smoke, ash and peat continue on the palate. There is a honey sweetness that lingers with hints of pepper, cinnamon and sea air. John described it as”… The boldness on the nose climbs into your mouth with a vengeance.
After drinking this dram, I feel like heading out to sea to catch herring – or to invade France. It’s that kind of a dram. It’s big in the mouth, soil and tar on the tongue…” Water soothes the ash and peat a little and brings the sweetness forward.
FINISH: It has a dry finish with peat, pepper and honey. John was lyrical about this dram and he described the finish as “…the finish hangs around like aunt Sally after Christmas dinner. Like her, it refuses to leave. Unlike her, it’s welcome to stay. The ending is charcoal and tar poles. I’ve never tasted tar poles – and thanks to this dram I now have no need. It’s just brilliant.”
RATING: EXCELLENT
It was an excellent present for John and the perfect gift for a peat lover. The surprise, however, was how much I loved it. I was not expecting to love it as much as I did. Good thing that I write about this bottle now, because it will not last very long.
Despite being big, bold and earthy, the Bruichladdich Octomore Scottish Barley remains balanced and graceful. Simply delicious!
This brand also made it onto my favourite peated whisky list. You can read this article all the other peated drams that also made it onto the list.
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