It was confirmed earlier today that we will see some Octomores on the shelves here next month. Hurray! And while celebrating this piece of news, I’ve noticed that I had neglected to post notes for Octomore 7.1 while reviewing 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4, so it’s time to get it fixed.

Octomore 7.1 was the last Octomore that Jim McEwan did for Bruichladdich before he retired after more than 50 years in the industry. It was made using Scottish barley peated to a then high record of 208 ppm and then was matured for 5 years in American oak barrels.

Bruichladdich Octomore 7.1 (59.5%, £107/€128,05)

Nose: Sweet smoke, peat, honey, vanilla pods, half cured half raw meat. After a few minutes getting red fruit: plums and red apples and also peaches marmalade with a honeyed perfume.

Palate: Big and intense peat on the front, then sweet honey, gentle smoke, oak spices and pepper, sprinkle of salt, sweet canned peaches and apricots.

Finish: Medium length finish, lingering oak spices and peat smoke.

Thoughts: Solid Octomore with lots of peat, meaty notes and fruitiness. But frankly, I think that the others in the 7.x series were far better. The Octomore 7.1 is more classic and mainstream but it’s also a bit boring and middle of the road whisky while the others in the series are more interesting and packing more fun.