Octomore

I woke up this morning with this song in my head, and thought I should share it with you; it's a good song to Scotch to: All I Say.

Yesterday was National Scotch Day. One of the local whisky bars offers flights of half pours to try several whiskies, and I considered it, but decided not to. They had a full wall of single-malts to choose from, and I took a minute to just admire the sheer number of bottles and brands.

 
I had intended to try a Highland or one of the many Islays suggested by friends, but then John, the bartender, introduced me to a stranger in black.

He heard me discussing my preference for smoky Scotches with my friend, and then started telling me about Octomore, who is an Islay Scotch, afterall. This guy wasn't even on the menu though, as he was apparently hard to find. I had never heard of him, or the distillery he came from - Bruichladdich. My friend who was joining me for the National Scotch Day festivities told me he had heard of Bruichladdich on his recent trip to Scotland, but neither of us, nor John the bartender knew how to pronounce it.

At first sight, his style is modern and sleek. He's younger than most of the others I've tried - aged only 5 years. If it weren't for John's suggestion, I probably would have passed him up, but I decided to have a conversation and see where it would lead.

The nose was indeed smoky, of the level of Talisker - a little too much at first. At first sip, I was surprised by the warmth of this one. As I swirled the whisky to meet the flavors, it melted in my mouth. He was coming on much stronger than any of the others I've tried so far. It was delicious. I added a dash of water and he softened a bit. Octomore is creamy and sweet, and the strong sense of smoke remained, but it changed a little. He was so much like Talisker that I wished I had them side by side to compare. There was something different about Octomore though, that I couldn't quite place.

My attention went back and forth a bit between this new, enticing Islay Scotch, and the conversation with my friend. We talked of many things - our recent trips, the magic and serendipity in travel, traditions, and of course Scotch Whisky. We pondered on the direction of Scotch making and hoped the old ways would not be forgotten. By the end of the evening I decided that the flavor in Octomore that I was noticing was a slight sourness. Barely perceptible, but hinting along the edges.


I really enjoyed Octomore, and would like the chance to meet him again. He had so many of the qualities I'm looking for, but I wouldn't say that I was completely taken - just exquisitely intrigued. There's still a lot to learn about him, and as the wall at the bar reminded me - a whole heck of a lot Scotches still to meet.