Whisky : Octomore 10.4

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 63.5%

Cask : Heavily Toasted Virgin Limousin Oak

Age : 3 Years (Distilled 2016, Bottled 2019)

Nose : Meat, leather, and meadow come together.  Smoked brisket, grilled pork, burning hickory logs, and floral honey comb.  The nose is thick and syrupy with fragrant dry tobacco, kiawe/mesquite wood, and leather— from expensive shoes, to new boots, to car seats.  Hints of all spice, white pepper, and sand dunes hang in the back.

Palate : Thick, oily, and robust.  Hickory smoked salmon— licking the oil and salt off the board like a misbehaving housecat.  Herb and spice follow the meaty salmon as resinous pine, rosemary, thyme, white pepper, and honey.  Sweeter notes of cream cheese and red velvet cupcakes coalesce with tar and orange peel.  Meat returns near the finish with sweet beef bulgogi, Korean barbecue pork belly, and fried mandoo.

Finish :  Lingering smoke, dark chocolate, and herb crusted fish.

Score : 8

Mental Image : Family Beach Trip.

Something Similar : Williamson 7Y; Maltman (similar salmon/bbw/wood, more maritime)

Something Similar : Caol Ila 5Y; Maltman (similar kiawe/burning wood & BBQ, more spice)

Something Worse :Ardbeg Drum Committee Release (similar wood/maritime, more fruit)

Notes :  Something about this dram— from the meaty fish, to the sand, to the rental car, to the salt— all took me back to my childhood and our early autumn family beach trip.  It was like a ritual— once the tourist season died down, but before the Gulf got a bit colder and windier, we migrated down to the coast for a week.  It was freedom.  My siblings and I ran wild on the beaches and dunes, met family who remarked how we had grown over the last year, and fantasized about finding lost pirate gold.

The nostalgia factor on this certainly played a role in my grade.  I love a dram that involuntarily surfaces strong specific memories.  The emotional resonance of that experience, always strongest the first time it hits, is something I absolutely adore about whisky, food, and music.  Beyond fond memories, this dram was just absolutely excellent.  There was so much complexity and depth— the flavor profile is so robust— I would never have thought this was only 3 years old.  This was wonderful, though I have been a bit hit or miss with Octomore, this was a home run.