Scotch Whisky Review #420: Octomore 13.1
Distillery: Bruichladdich.
Region: Islay.
Age: 5 Year. Bottled March 15th, 2022.
ABV: 59.2%.
Cask Type: Ex-Bourbon.
Peat PPM: 137.3 PPM.
Barley Origin: Scottish Mainland.
Barley Variety: Concerto.
Price: Enjoyed at Proof 192 in Omaha, NE. Price unknown.
Color: 0.2, Pale Straw. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.
Nose: You get a lovely smoke straight away. It isn’t a harsh or overly intense note but rather one that is actually fairly silky and sweet. It is almost more like a smoked vanilla ice cream than anything else. A note of custard comes through before a note of something bread-like with something savory, something similar to Yorkshire pudding with some gravy, comes through.
Palate: It takes a decent amount of water to get going here. You get more of the bread-like / Yorkshire pudding note from the nose though the savory, meaty element is amped up a bit. A bit of smoked custard wrap things up
Finish: Much shorter than expected. There is a hit of smoke and cinnamon but then it is gone.
Conclusion: It has been a bit since I’ve had an official Octomore bottling, though a glance at my sample inventory tells me I’ve just been slacking on the last few releases, so I was happy to see this sitting on the bar. This young ex-bourbon cask release delivers some very tasty notes but ultimately comes across as far too simple. The smoked vanilla ice cream note in the nose is fantastic, making me want to sit there nosing it for a long time, and the Yorkshire pudding with meaty juice notes found on the palate is always a favorite of mine. However, it just seems to be too straightforward and simple. Looking at the price tag on these lately, I can’t help but think it simply isn’t worth it.
Final Score: 79.
Note: I’ve made some changes to the scoring legend, the descriptions have been updated slightly to match my actual scoring a little better.
Scotch Whisky Review #420, Islay Review #68, Whisky Network Review #574
Scoring Legend:
- 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
- 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky and I will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection if feasible.
- 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product and I’m likely wanting a bottle or two.
- 80-84: Quite good, pleasant overall though there is usually a few things that could be improved still.
- 75-79: Good, enjoyable to drink but ultimately flawed.
- 70-74: Alright, solid and wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
- 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
- Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.
Scotch & Sheen 
