Hi! New to the Forum and Question on Octomore

Hello! Im new to the forum and fairly new to scotch in general, although I have established that I love love LOVE the peat! I have started a small collection:

Laphroaig - 10 year (my all time favorite, so far!)
Signatory Isle of Jura 1997
Glenmorangie Original 10 yr

I am very excited I just purchased and am awaiting a bottle of Laphroaig 15yr and even more exciting, a bottle of Bruichladdich Octomore 3rd Edition, 2.2 Orpheus which they say has the highest Peat per milileter? (PPM) per bottle at like 61%

Being a peat lover I'm wondering if anyone has tried the Octomore and could tell me if it truly s the creme de la creme of peaty scotch?

Also I'd love to hear some suggestions for others to try along the same vein.

My current wishlist is:
Lagavulin 16yr
Laphroaig cask strength
Ardbeg (not sure which one, suggestions welcome!)
Talisker 10yr
Peat Monster
Caol Ila (again not sure which one to try)

Please feel free to give me any feedback or suggestions, can't wait to hear it all!

Rich

Ps. sorry for the war and peace'esque thread!

[powderhound]

Originally Posted by Cub246

Hello! Im new to the forum and fairly new to scotch in general, although I have established that I love love LOVE the peat! I have started a small collection:

Laphroaig - 10 year (my all time favorite, so far!)
Signatory Isle of Jura 1997
Glenmorangie Original 10 yr

I am very excited I just purchased and am awaiting a bottle of Laphroaig 15yr and even more exciting, a bottle of Bruichladdich Octomore 3rd Edition, 2.2 Orpheus which they say has the highest Peat per milileter? (PPM) per bottle at like 61%

Being a peat lover I'm wondering if anyone has tried the Octomore and could tell me if it truly s the creme de la creme of peaty scotch?

Also I'd love to hear some suggestions for others to try along the same vein.

My current wishlist is:
Lagavulin 16yr
Laphroaig cask strength
Ardbeg (not sure which one, suggestions welcome!)
Talisker 10yr
Peat Monster
Caol Ila (again not sure which one to try)

Please feel free to give me any feedback or suggestions, can't wait to hear it all!

Rich

Ps. sorry for the war and peace'esque thread!

Laphroaig cask strength - I have a bottle of this. NOT FOR THE FEINTHEARTED! It is a real treat, but it is also very, very potent. It's a "Grows hair on your body where you didn't previously have hair" kind of whisky. Try it if you dare!

It really is an adventure in every sip. It will be familiar as you all ready love the 10 year - I think you'll really enjoy it.

[bkblankenship]

Originally Posted by Cub246

Hello! Im new to the forum and fairly new to scotch in general, although I have established that I love love LOVE the peat! I have started a small collection:

Laphroaig - 10 year (my all time favorite, so far!)
Signatory Isle of Jura 1997
Glenmorangie Original 10 yr

I am very excited I just purchased and am awaiting a bottle of Laphroaig 15yr and even more exciting, a bottle of Bruichladdich Octomore 3rd Edition, 2.2 Orpheus which they say has the highest Peat per milileter? (PPM) per bottle at like 61%

Being a peat lover I'm wondering if anyone has tried the Octomore and could tell me if it truly s the creme de la creme of peaty scotch?

Also I'd love to hear some suggestions for others to try along the same vein.

My current wishlist is:
Lagavulin 16yr
Laphroaig cask strength
Ardbeg (not sure which one, suggestions welcome!)
Talisker 10yr
Peat Monster
Caol Ila (again not sure which one to try)

Please feel free to give me any feedback or suggestions, can't wait to hear it all!

Rich

Ps. sorry for the war and peace'esque thread!

Hi, I purchased some FUTURES of OCTOMORE which is one of the lower peated OCTOMORE Bottlings. This particular bottling was peated at 80.5 PPM phenols. This FUTURES bottling was distilled Oct 16, 2002 and bottled April 2008 using barley type: OPTIC and CASK TYPE: BOURBON from BUFFALO TRACE distillery and bottled at 46% ABV. Subsequent distillation runs of OCTOMORE have been peated in the 140PPM phenols range. I recently acquired bottling EDITION 02.1 which was peated at 140 PPM phenols at 62.5% ABV. To help you out with terminology a bit, PPM is the initialism for PARTS PER MILLION, NOT peat per milliliter. Barley is peated in Parts Per Million Phenols. One PPM is 1 molecule diluted in a mixture of 1,000,000 of other molecules. As I am a peat freak, I wouldn't say that OCTOMORE is "the creme de la creme of peaty scotch?" as you asked. As taste is subjective, the taster must determine. For me both OCTOMORES I have tried are excellent drams. I prefer the cask strength bottling of 62.5% ABV over the 46% ABV as the cask strength has no water dilution as the 46% has water dilution. As high peat levels become intense, there is a saturation point at which the nose and palate say, "I can't tell the difference in the 80.5 ppm vs. 140 ppm phenols". The FINISH tells all by how long the smokey taste lingers. I find a very long and lingering FINISH to be my measurement for a good peaty dram. I don't find the OCTOMORE any more intense than ARDBEG SUPERNOVA. I love both drams from these distilleries.

[Beist]

The Laphroaig 15yr is good stuff. Last I heard they discontiued making it and have replaced it with an 18yr (I have 1 bottle of the 18yr and it's at 48%). I enjoyed the 15yr, and am certain you will too.

I can't help you on the Octomore. I have a bottle of the 1.1 but have yet to crack it. But please please please let us all know what you think when you tap into yours (I'll do the same, eventually lol)

As far as your list goes (IMHO):

I would grab a bottle of Ardbeg's Uigeadail. Out-eff'n-standing dram!! 54.2% As peaty and as smokey as one could ever want. And it still has complexity to keep you pondering If it's the-most-highly-peated-scotch-ever you're after, try and find a bottle of the Supernova. I've heard 150ppm on their first release. Not sure what the second release is at. As far as I can tell, Ardbeg and Bruichladdich seem to be going back and forth.

Caol Ila is another I love. Grab their Cask Strength (55%) if you can. It's peaty, but different from the Ardbeg as it's not as smokey. More... iodine and sea, less bon fire. To me, it tastes like the Ocean. I grew up on the coast, so it tastes like home. I dig it. If you can't track down their CS, then the 12yr is the next best (readily available in my neck of the woods)

Lagavulin has left me disapointed, but lot's of others who swear by it.

Talisker is always good. But I think their 10yr should be at least a 12yr. So I'd skip it and try and find their Distiller's Edition. A great drink come winter.

Peat Monster is good. It's a Vatted Malt (aka blended malt...). I had the pleasure of sampling this (along with the entire Compass Box range) with John Glaser at a tasting. If memorey serves, Peat Monster is made up of three whiskys - Caol Ila (the main ingredient), I think Laphroaig, and the third I can't recall, but I believe it was a Highlander (which surprised me). Very good stuff (I'd recommend it as it is very fairly priced for it's good quality) but not as 'strong' as what I think it is you're after. So be careful if you purchase it you don't get disapointed. I'm still kicking myself for not grabbing a bottle and getting it signed.

Others I'd reccomend...

Smokehead. Seems to be another vatted malt. No age on it. Not even sure what's in it. It's decent. Smokey, but not complex. It fakes it, but it fakes it well. It's smokier than the Peat Monster, but not as complex. It's low price helped it.

Ledaig 10yr. Pronounced Le-ch-aig (I think, haha). Only tried it once at a festival. Left a good peaty impression. Great price. I'll grab a bottle one day.

Bruichladdich Peat. Haven't tried it yet, but thnking I'll grab a bottle this week to crack.

Laphroaig 1/4 Cask. Have heard nothing but great things, but again, I've yet to try it. I'll snag a bottle when I pick up the Bruichladdich.

Sorry for the lengthy reply. But I get excited about peaty things. Keep us posted on your progression!!

Laphroaig 1/4 Cask. Have heard nothing but great things, but again, I've yet to try it. I'll snag a bottle when I pick up the Bruichladdich.

Here's a hearty vote for the Laphroig 1/4 cask. Easily the best value single malt I've tasted, and I've tasted a few. If you love peat and smoke, and you don't want to necessarily spend $150 a bottle then this is the dram for you!

There's a lot of rubbishtalked about ppm on malt - scientifically you lose 66% of any phenols during distillation so a ppm of 120 will only give 40ppm in the spirit. When you look at all these claims with this in mind the differences in the amount of phenols in Islays don't look so huge

[jannedaarc]

BkBlankenship - thank you so much for your post.

I thrive on Islay malts. I love all scotch but this is what i want when I drink.

I am willing to pay some real cash for that Octomore but your statement of the palette kinda shutting down is highly relevant to me. I have a bottle of Supernova and it is like a "nuke and pave" of my taste buds. In the best way possible.

Would you recommend me going on a hunt for the Octomore? I am pretty much guaranteed to spend $150-300 for it if I can find it. Worth it? Or would it be tantamount to drinking water from a fire hydrant?

As far as my recommendations for peated scotches, I must recommend the Lagavulin 12 year limited edition. Orgasm in a bottle, very limited and collectible, but a bit pricey at $90 or so per bottle.

[drammerjon]

IMO, the Orpheus was so heavily peated that it tasted burnt. It was balanced well because it was aged in wine cask so it extracted some really good fruit elements from the cask.

[bkblankenship]

Originally Posted by jannedaarc

BkBlankenship - thank you so much for your post.

I thrive on Islay malts. I love all scotch but this is what i want when I drink.

I am willing to pay some real cash for that Octomore but your statement of the palette kinda shutting down is highly relevant to me. I have a bottle of Supernova and it is like a "nuke and pave" of my taste buds. In the best way possible.

Would you recommend me going on a hunt for the Octomore? I am pretty much guaranteed to spend $150-300 for it if I can find it. Worth it? Or would it be tantamount to drinking water from a fire hydrant?

As far as my recommendations for peated scotches, I must recommend the Lagavulin 12 year limited edition. Orgasm in a bottle, very limited and collectible, but a bit pricey at $90 or so per bottle.

jannedaarc, I'll do you one better. You will not have to pay $150 - $300 per bottle but $105 for the Octomore 2.2 at 140PPM Phenols and $110 for the Octomore 3.1 at 152PPM Phenols. e-mail me at bkblankenship@scotchwhiskyglass.com and I will give you the details.