Whisky : Octomore 6 Year 2007 Sauternes; Fox Fitzgerald “Rest & Be Thankful”

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 64.5%

Cask : Ex-Sauternes Wine Cask (Cask #R0000016751)

Age : 6 Years (Distilled 19 Dec. 2007, Bottled 18 Nov. 2014)

Nose : Opens with house paint, wet clay, old barn, and a citrus scented antiseptic cleaner.  This melange of slightly mineral funky flavors gives way to meatier notes as it opens up.  Fatty sweet jamon, smoked oysters, and an entire expensive deli full of cured meats and hard cheeses.

Palate :  Olives pickled in fish brine, faintly meaty sardine, and a mineral-like clay.  There are lovely dry notes of tobacco leaf, construction paper, parchment, and pencil lead.  A bit of water brings out an almost creamy citrus and ginger while tamping down the smoke and peat reek.

The wife particularly enjoyed this and went so far as to add her own long list of tasting notes: Pine-sol, lemon peel, cured meats and pickles, something metallic, bandaid on a big toe, and brain in a jar— a sweet formaldehyde she associated with science lab.  Suffice to say she loved it and the complex mix of strange notes appealed to her.

Finish : Long and complex, a bit of meaty sardine gives way to lingering spices and smoked fruits.

Score : 8

Mental Image : Password Protected Deli.

Something Better : Octomore 6Y Paulliac R&BT (similar art notes, more maritime/pungent grill smoke)

Something Similar : Caol Ila 6 Year SMWS 53.276 (similar smoked oysters/citrus, more medicinal)

Something Worse : Paul John Peated Select (similar parchment/citrus peel/tobacco, less body/complexity)

Notes : By golly did this ever develop beautifully between tastings.  The sweetness of the Sauternes felt turned down a notch each time we sat down to enjoy this; from fresh Cinnabons to a complex palate of sweet meats.  This Octomore was just as tasty as I expect from Rest & Be Thankful.  While it does not quite hit the high notes of the stellar ex-Paulliac cask bottled for La Maison du Whisky, it comes close enough at less than half the price (the value!)

This was excellent and I really wish there were more Independent Bottler expressions of Octomore floating around out there.  There just are not enough opportunities to try single cask Octomore.  I would highly recommend this bottle for someone who loves funky Port Charlottes or already really digs Octomore.  It is just such a unique bottle and, it opens up so nicely and gradually, that every time you sit to have a dram it offers up something a little bit different.