more tasting notes Octomore OBA

Octomore 10.1 vs Octomore 10.3

PC 10 vs MRC:01 

Attacking the BLACK ART for tasting is a bit like climbing the Eiffel Tower from outside the north face (especially when the tasting takes place in Paris). It is feasible, but it is not the easiest thing to do. Especially since the two monuments in question are known to everyone and everyone has their own personal feelings.

The fact is I'm starting on the latest version on 7.1.

First of all, since we must try to have some tasting references, let's conduct the survey. First of all, let's look back at the history of this distillate. He is 25 years old (just that) which means that he was distilled in 1994. However, 1994 also corresponds to the closure (which is now known to be temporary since it reopened in 2001) of the BRUICHLADDICH distillery.

So we are, and this is not nothing, in the presence of what is certainly the last batch produced by the former owners (and therefore with their know-how - without calling into question BRUICHLADDICH's current know-how, which I love elsewhere). So if we refer to it, it will be a whisky with very little peat (or even no peat) but with light notes (high still) and iodine (open-air mixing tanks by the sea). 

There is a crucial lack of information during this tasting, it is the type of barrels used for ageing. 25 years is already a long time, but in what? The mystery remains and is only known to the master distiller Adam Hannett (at the helm for his third edition of the BLACK ART).  

 It is thus with a nose and a brain free of any reference that I launch myself.

First floor of this Eiffel Tower: the colour of the liquid flowing from this mysterious black bottle.

It is a slightly dark gold colour almost orange. If there is sherry it will be only a few (or at least for a very short time), so we can imagine bourbon ageing but that the years (25 years anyway) have largely coloured.   

Second floor of the Eiffel Tower: the nose

When the nose dives into the glass, it must be concentrated because it is a madness of aromas! You can feel a little bitterness from the fine or a nut (like the fresh walnut just shelled) but which quickly rounds up to a light caramel. On the second pass the roundness remains present but in the form of white or red fruit sugar from the orchards. Finally, as we no longer care about it but we haven't found everything, we plunge our nose into the glass a third time and discover notes that may be woody with nutmeg and oak! Wow, this is all complex!

Come on, let's get started.

Third floor of the Eiffel Tower: the cork

The attack is straightforward but it quickly moves into a roundness with frankly woody notes mixed with caramelized notes. The walk in the forest populated by bees lasts long enough but turns into a sharp orange after a few seconds. It then returns to more roundness and honeyed sugar. Courage, keep the time we owe him for his age (25 sec) and the citrus fruits will come back in a more lemony form.

How about the tip of the Eiffel Tower?

The final notes are quite particular but above all very long. We feel the softness of honey in our throats, but with a slightly harsher aspect than a pineapple could bring us.

One thing is certain, it took him a long time to get out of his barrel but he stays in his thoughts and in his throat for a long time! Wonderful, I'll say!

Here, I think I humbly succeeded in my ascent of the Eiffel Tower by the north face, but unfortunately we have to go down to earth and tell ourselves that we have just experienced an exceptional moment that we will unfortunately not be able to experience often at nearly 350 € the pleasure!