Octomore Oc5 (Elements of Islay)

I’ll be on holidays for a while. That means I’ll be drawing from my tasting note archive more. Less brand-new releases perhaps, but it should be interesting nonetheless! And maybe a few posts about Port wine, Madeira or Alvarinho, who knows…

Oc5 is a ‘super heavily peated’ whisky from Islay, distilled in 2011 and aged in a single bourbon barrel. It was part of the latest batch of Elements of Islay bottlings. It should be Octomore spirit.

Octomore Oc5 2011 (59,8%, Elements of Islay 2018, 50cl)

Nose: soot, ink, mezcal, hot engines, earthy peat, olives and carbon papers, with sweet cereal notes and fruits behind it. Oranges, lemons, roasted pineapple. No peat bomb so far.

Mouth: whoa, here’s the peat and it’s fierce, briny and smoky. Wood ashes. Lots of Lapsang Souchong and mezcal, plus two dashes of Caroni. Hot peppers. Lemons. It then mixes with hints of toffee and sweet barley, as well as caramel coated peanuts. A touch of salt too.

Finish: very long, ashy, on burnt oak, minerals and just a hint of baked apple.

Very good. Peat galore but not unbalanced. Maybe not the most complex but interestingly raw. Around € 180, sold out at The Whisky Exchange but you can still find it in other places like Whiskysite.nl or Whiskybase.

Score: 89/100