Bruichladdich Octomore 7.1

Fantastic review! Welcome back!

Nozinan thank you, as usual you are the first to roll out the welcome carpet,most kind of you. It's been a dicey last year but things are on the mend and I am happy to be back. I haven't forgotten our Bowmore showdown, I posted it on my blog but will do a write-up here.

Robert99 was super gracious with the Octomore samples last time we saw each other, which reminds me that I am overdue to hang out.

@cricklewood Interesting how I gave the edge to Tempest batch 5 and you gave the edge to batch 6.

I guess it's home team bias.... But I would still cheer for the Expos if it were possible...

@cricklewood , fun review! So what are your answers to questions you posed in paragraph 1?

If you've been away from Connosr that long, the site enhancement to notify people whom you "@" mention might be new since you last posted. In which case, I'll ping @robert99 for you. :)

On the price: I say this all the time, but it bears rePEATing: We can't look for production costs to explain retail prices. Everything is just priced at the max that sellers expect us to pay. Sure, the super-peating probably costs Bruichladdich some money. But mostly, the $150 price tag just means lots more profit for Bruichladdich.

Finally, I've also heard from a buddy in my club that the "all-Islay" variants are really something special. According to him, 7.3 is like the best whisky ever. I hope to put that claim to the test someday!

@Nozinan yeah I guess having crushed 3 bottles of batch 6 I’m a bit biased. Although I have to say the nose on batch 5 was far superior, the tropical fruits are more immediate and up front and it was a joy to nose. Oh man a lot of folks miss the Expos, they are going to fade from collective memory soon, kind of like a Stanly cup champions Habs team...sorry I don’t watch much sports so that last one was easy

@MadSingleMalt the answer is that my peat is bigger than yours, kidding. I think a little of all the above, I don’t think it’s the be all and end all of peated whisky as some would try and convince you.

It does provide a very interesting take on the genre and the high abv/high peat/young whisky trifecta is a proven crowd pleaser in many cases. The Octomore palate invites contemplation but that can come with a dose of bullshit.

Thanks for the heads up with the “@” mention, I am social media inept, I mean I don’t even have Facebook.

I know production costs don’t explain all, add to that the random pricing of state/province liquor boards and things get out of hand rather quick. I know as long as we keep buying the juice at the current rates that’s never going to change.

The 7.3 is definitely something special, I am trying to track down another bottle, if I do I would gladly arrange to send you a sample.

@cricklewood Thanks for your very helpful review. The takeaway for me is that I should skip the 7.1 and start looking for 7.3. I would do that except for the hideous price.

I think there is a large degree of machismo involved when it comes to highly peated, high ABV whisky and I think sometimes there is more myth than magic with some of these highly sought after, highly priced peat monsters.

I look forward to more of your candid reviews.

Cheers.

@cricklewood Sorry to be late to the party. Just want to add that I totally agree with you about the Islay malt versions being more interesting. I am very impressed by your ability to name flavors with precision. I like this Octomore a little bit more than you and reading your description makes me wonder why I don't like it more as most of the flavors mentionned are a go for me. As for the price, Octomore offers a singular profile for which I agree to pay a prime, up to a point. I agree with the prices you can find in Calgary but not with those of Ontario and Quebec. The price for the 6.3 in Quebec was 230% the price of it in Calgary. Ridiculous.

Now I have a question for everybody which distillery should be able to offer an alternative to Bruichladdich in the Monster peated Category?

@Robert99 I would say Laphroaig and Ardbeg can rival Bruichladdich. Also Caol Ila CS

@Robert99: Anyone who has the misfortune to follow my posts closely will not be surprised to see me answer Laphroaig 10 CS!

If that's not available by you, I would second @Nozinan and suggest a CS Caol Ila—say, a young IB.

@cricklewood I just had a little glass of the 7.1 and it has evolved but the lactic acid is still big. It became less herbal and has developped a dominant butterscotch note but, unfortunately, it is not better even if the chocolate milk is still there.

@Robert99, that lactic tang is an unmistakable Bruichladdich gene.The Port Charlotte 10 we opened at the epic tasting exhibits the same trait. Are you nonetheless still enjoying this batch?

@cricklewood Yes, I did enjoy the PC10 very much. The lactic note on the 7.1 is predominant and note in a good way. In fact, I find the 7.1 less complex now. I was also happy to finally understand the reference. Milk is for me something rich, fat and even a little bit sweet. My kids are tall now, so it has been a wild since I smelled baby vomit. Visiting the 7.1 did allow me to establish the connection between this acid note and the lactic reference. I will add that for me the acid note is something that plays more in the balance than in the flavor. It could be an enhancer of flavors but it not something I will evaluate in itself. It also a conterweight to sweetness and most Octomore are quite sweet and it would be obvious without that lactic note. Which means that the 7.1 has lost its balance.