Bruichladdich Octomore 8 Year Old 2008 Masterclass 08.1/167
Comté
0 085
Review by @markjedi1
- Brand: Bruichladdich
- Type: Scotch
- Region: Islay
- ABV: 59.3%
An Octomore of 8 years old on American Oak? Well, I expect a very sweet, smoky malt, right? Let’s see if that’s true.
There are only light farmy notes on the nose, with a touch of vanilla and smoke, but this nose is mostly about ham and cheese. I kid you not, this reminds me of Comté, the hard French cheese from the Jura region. Some citrus in the background. Mandarin! The ABV doesn’t scorch my nose (unless that is already sedated by the 3 Octomore I had before this one). A mild salty edge. Good, but not earth shattering.
It is sweet and creamy on the palate. The ABV rears its head, but softens up quickly. A lot of vanilla and barley sugar, some powerful spices with a green touch before the smoke and citrus reveal themselves. Caramelized orange peel. Let’s not forget the peat, although the smoke development is quite meager. Some nuts, some honey… but then the tannins kick in and turn this malt very dry.
That continues in the quite long finish. But it’s so dry that you’ll want a glass of water (surely, that’s not a good thing). And it’s a touch medicinal, which I am not used to from Octomore.
Octormore remains a fantastic malt in my book, but this is not my favorite expression, to be honest. With a big thank you to PROOF from Ghent for the sample.
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