A new wave of Octomores is hitting the shelves with Octomore 8.1 and with 3 more releases (8.2, 8.3 and 8.4) coming till January. So it’s a good time to clear the “waiting for review” shelf from older Octomores and so we have a review of Octomore 7.3.

Like with previous x.3 Octomores, it’s Islay barley Octomore and in fact could be called Local Barley Octomore as the barley was grown in Octomore farm. It was distilled back in 2010 and peated to 169 ppm, aged in bourbon barrels and red wine casks from Ribera del Duero in Spain.

Bruichladdich Octomore 7.3 (63%, £113.99/€179,99/$149.99)

Nose: Big hit of sweet and earthy peat, soft peat smoke, malt, honey, pears and apricots, salt sprinkled pastry, very thick and jammy. After a while we get more red fruit, sour red berries, also becoming herbal along with mint freshness. With a few drops of water we are treated with lots of herbs, red fruit but it’s also less meaty.

Palate: Cured salted BBQ meat, rich and velvety, potent, honey and a little bit of vanilla, pears again, herbal with a ginger cookie, mint freshness at the end. With water: more malt and sweetness and less meaty.

Finish: Long length, lingering sweet honey and cured salty meat, earthy peat, herbal freshness.

Thoughts: An instant hit. This is good, velvety and very Islay’ed whisky. Despite the high ABV it’s really an easy drinker so be careful with it. The on-going price is very decent (especially with the current discount for UK shoppers) so it’s recommended.

(Tasted at MMI Club meeting)