Whisky : Octomore 6 Year 2009 Paulliac; Fox Fitzgerald “Rest & Be Thankful” (LMDW Cask Selection)

Country/Region : Islay

ABV : 65.6%

Cask : Ex-Paulliac Wine Cask (Distilled 18 Nov. 2009, Bottled 14 June 2016)

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ LMDW Singapore

Nose : First grade classroom or an illustrator’s drafting room— graphite, pencil shavings, paste, and construction paper.  There is some earthy wet clay along with some charcoal pencils.  A unique combination of mineral, wood, and coal.

Palate :  Smoke and char come through first— slightly salty burnt nori chips, grilled peppers and sweet onions.  It has a lovely iodine and meaty seafood flavor palate— mouth watering charcoal grilled unagi.  The maritime notes come to dominate the palate as if I am standing on a wharf in the midst of a grilled seafood market.

Finish :  Long and lingering with the sweet char of a charcoal fired BBQ.

Score : 10

Mental Image : Fresh Unagi, lightly salted and seasoned, fat sizzling on the hot charcoal.

Something Worse : Westland Peated Single Malt (similar paste/art project, less complex, sweeter)

Something Worse : Ledaig 11 Year; The Exclusive Malts (similar smoked nori, more funk, less meat)

Something Worse : Johnnie Walker “Oldest” (similar grilled seafood, sweeter, less body/finish)

Notes :  One of the anniversary drams my wife and I had in Singapore and probably the best we tried that evening.  It was so good that I really contemplated dropping $450 to pick up the last bottle at LMDW Singapore.  I came so close to just eating the high spirits tax and adopting this beautiful body.  The only thing that stopped me (aside from the worry that the alcohol had affected my decision making) was a quick search on the internet to discover that I could much more affordably get my hands on a bottle of the Rest & Be Thankful Port Charlotte we also adored.  Since both bottles were absolutely fabulous it was an easy choice to save my money and still have an excellent bottle to savor,

I would love to have this again.  My descriptors are pretty simple and straight forward on this dram, but there was so much going on in the glass.  The barnyard funk that Bruichladdich cultivates so well in its malts was barely present, but I surprisingly hardly missed it.  The flavors here were so clean and bright that my mouth waters just thinking about this dram.  It is easily my favorite Octomore of all time and really walked the line between savory and sweet, between malt and cask.  A truly brilliant bottling.