Style: Fruity and Peaty
Nose:
Powerful flow of chilli spices, nutmeg and a packet of spearmint cutting across a deeper layer of dried apricots. Orange for apricots… Really? Light lemon myrtle, colossal peat rising silently from an earthy tone. Going slightly milky, honey apricot yoghurt. Anise, embers, dry spices filling up the spaces.
Palate:
Fruity touch down on the palate, honeyed apricots running a mysterious smooth edge of winey red fruits. Salted caramel, milky texture, creamy blotches while the massive briny peat snugs in discretely. The sweetness is quickly tightened up by a medium-heavy bitter herbal overtone. High flashes of grassiness, low stringent oak dryness tidies up the back palate.
Finish:
Peat is much clearer as the sweetness wanes. Fragments of apricots, bitter oak, coal ambers and herbal notes linger till the end.
Thoughts:
Does OBA really deviate that much from the conventional Octomores? Not by much. Maybe that’s because Octomore itself is a crazy concept to begin with. So intense, dominated by spices, ashy and earthy notes… That said, OBA has a rather fruity core while curious cask influences are built around it. Some Sherry? Maybe. Wine? Maybe. Sauternes? Maybe. Uncharred virgin oak? Maybe. Apricot juice seasoned cask? Definitely! 🤣🤣🤣
✓ [Recommended if you like the style/distillery]
[59.7% • 2017 Bottled • Original Bottling • No Age Statement • Cask Strength • Non Chill Filtered • Non Coloured • Limited Edition • 3000 Bottles • t]
-Esmond
WhiskNick 