Octomore Orpheus 5 Year Old Edition 2.2

Bruichladdich's Octomore Orpheus 2.2 was finished using Chateau Petrus wine casks. The phenol count is 140 ppm. The whisky is 5 years old. 15,000 bottles were released in 2010. The reviewed bottle has been open for 5 months, and is 50% full

This review is in a non-time-sequential format (SQVH). For further reference on this format see my review of Royal Canadian Small Batch

Strength: strong peat flavours with mild accompanying smoke, strong wine flavours, plenty of vanilla from the oak, a nice measured touch of salt, and ample support from that lovely underlying high quality Bruichladdich barley-malt. Nothing here is in excess and nothing is lacking in the strength of the individual flavours Score 24/25

Quality: the Chateau Petrus wine flavours are superlative--rich, broad, and sweet, while retaining a beautiful focus and pointedness. The peat is astonishingly soft, sweet, gentle, and beautiful, despite its high concentration. Smoke is present, but is remarkably discreet and gentle. Jim Murray said it perfectly when he said that tasting this is "...like jumping into a bed of feathers." This whisky is astonishing, rare, gentle, beautiful, and incredibly rich. The underlying barley-malt flavours are top-notch as well. Octomore Orpheus definitively gives the lie to the idea that a Scottish malt whisky must be considered "young" at five years old. There aren't many 20 yo Scottish malts as "old"/mature as is Octomore Orpheus 2.2. Score 25/25

Variety: the nose, taste buds, and mind have much to marvel at as they behold the astonishing peat, beautiful wine, and lovely underlying barley-malt base. When I taste this my mind races back and forth from how excellent each of these components is. Score 24/25

Harmony: the parts are spectacular as individual components, but the experience of beholding them together is every bit as beautiful and spell-binding. The harmony of the parts is magnificent. A 97 score requires and symbolises for me a transcendent whisky experience. Bruichladdich Octomore Orpheus 2.2 delivers that experience to me every time I take a sip of it. For me there isn't much whisky made anywhere in the world which is as good as this is. Score 24/25

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