The Octomore 9-series was and is an interesting one - a bit of a change in direction. In comparison to the previous Octomore batches the ppm levels weren't huge, and the ages of the releases were almost back to normal after the change-up with the 8-series. It seemed like they were going back to basics in that regard, and there was no _.4 bottling in the line-up. Instead there was the addition of a new 10-year old release, the third 10-year old Octomore bottling to date. The cask maturation recipes were eye-catching, but the series definitely did not enjoy the buzz and hype that the eighth had - which in fairness was helped by the record-high ppm number on the fantastic 8.3, and the three years of extra ageing on the other three bottlings in the bunch. 9.1, 9.2 and 9.3 were back to the conventional (for Octomore) 5-years of age, and the ppm figures dropped significantly to 156, 156 and 133 respectively. The latter was the lowest of the four _.3 Islay Barley Octomores at the time, by a significant margin, but it has since been pipped to that post by the more recent 10.3, which is now down to 114 ppm. A drop like that was always going to be noticed, but we all know that these numbers certainly aren't the definitive measure of how peaty a whisky smells & tastes, let alone how flavoursome it is overall. And it's important to remember that this figure is taken from the malted barley - prior to milling, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation - rather than the bottled whisky, so there are an almost countless number of variables involved. Regardless, there's no denying that the mega-high numbers adorning some of the previous releases were a very useful device that helped propel Octomore as a "brand" to new levels of popularity and notoriety, and that will probably wear off now with certain types of customers.
The 9-series was coined "Dialogos" by Bruichladdich, being the Greek word for Dialogue, as a nod to their journey with Octomore and the conversations that it has inspired since the first release back in 2008. 9.1, the 'standard' Octomore expression, featured the usual five-years of maturation in first-fill ex-bourbon casks. 9.3 had a very unusual cask recipe, with both first- and second-fill ex-bourbon casks, second-fill wine casks and third-fill virgin oak all involved in the mix. The fourth release in the series, the 10-year old, had the most interesting cask recipe of the series in my opinion. 88% of the mix came from full-term maturation in a combination of first-fill Port, first-fill Cognac or second-fill bourbon casks, while the remaining 12% seemed to be some remnants of the ground-breaking (and awesome) Octomore 7.4 which spent three years in ex-bourbon casks, then French virgin oak for two years, then back to ex-bourbon casks for another six years to become part of the new 10-year old release. That's a very complicated recipe, which raises a few eyebrows, but makes it all the more intriguing. The more conventional (again, for Octomore) bottling in the series was 9.2 that we're looking at here, being another travel retail (duty free) exclusive bottling that had spent some time in ex-wine casks.
While the first _.2 release, the legendary 2.2 "Orpheus" (that I'm yet to try, sadly) and the second, 4.2 "Comus" were general releases, from the partly-Cognac cask matured 6.2 onward all of the _.2 bottlings have been (painfully) exclusive to "travel retail". This makes them difficult to get a hold of if you or a friend/relative do not frequently travel overseas, and they also have not been particularly affordable. In Australian duty-free stores the standard price for both 8.2 and 9.2 is a whopping $290 AUD, which is roughly on-par with the recent Islay Barley Octomore releases and the latest 10-year old bottling. Thankfully our main duty free stores regularly offer 20% off promotions! I can easily forgive Octomore 8.2 for being more on the expensive side, since it was eight-years old for the first time, but while the age of 9.2 has reverted back to the Octomore standard of five years, the pricing has not changed. While we're on that subject, the five-year old 9.1 general release is actually priced roughly 10% higher than the 8-year old 8.1, which is an interesting move. And don't think that that could be due to a higher bottling strength, and thus more payable tax & duty, in the younger whisky - the 9.1 bottling is actually slightly lower in strength than it's older predecessor. Is it a rarer whisky then, perhaps? Nope, there were exactly the same very generous number of bottles released of each - 42,000 units. Octomore releases have always been relatively expensive, and that's perfectly understandable given their popularity, but we could very reasonably have expected the five-year old bottlings in this ninth series to drop in price after the eighth, and that has unfortunately not been the case. I'll leave it at that though, let's get back to the subject at hand.
Octomore 9.2 was distilled in 2012 from Scottish mainland barley peated to 156 ppm phenols, and was matured in first-fill ex-bourbon casks for four years before a final year of maturation in second-fill French Bordeaux red wine casks. As far as I can recollect this is the first time that a _.2 Octomore has been finished in second-fill casks rather than first-fill, which is a little curious, but exciting! 9.2 was bottled at 58.2% ABV, and of course is non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. It's also the equally-smallest release in the 9-series (tied with the 10-year old) with only 12,000 bottles seeing the light of day. Let's see how it goes!
Distilled 2012 from 156 ppm Scottish barley, matured for 4-years in ex-bourbon casks, finished for 1-year in second-fill Bordeaux red wine casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 12,000 bottles.
Colour: Amber with subtle pink tinges.
Nose: Fruity, vegetal and floral initially, soft and almost shy for a 5-year old Octomore. But it opens nicely with time. There's burnt fatty smoked bacon, dried mixed berries - alternating mainly between raspberry and blueberry, and a little fresh strawberry. Black pepper and dried flowers (pot purri), adding sweet apricot and plum jams and soft ashy smoke with more time.
Texture: Medium-heavy weight, fatty / greasy & warming. Not particularly peaty to my palate, but it's there. Some heat to it as well.
Taste: More burnt fatty smoked bacon and bacon grease, black pepper and dank vegetal peat. Some fresh red chilli, possibly lightly smoked. The apricot & plum jam and dried berries are there again, and it's sweeter than the nose suggested, but also more aggressive.
Finish: Long length. Greasy and fatty with some ashy smoke and more dank vegetal peat. Then the floral pot purri note pokes back through, with some vanilla and steeping malted barley. A light touch of charred & juicy lemon towards the end as well.
Score: 3.5 out of 5.
Notes: This bottle has improved massively since I first opened it. There was a (possibly sulphur-related) rubbery flatness to it over the course of the first few drams, plus a general lack of complexity and more heat, but all of that has faded nicely now that the level is about halfway down. Which is a blessing, because it's completely changed my opinion on this whisky. I'm constantly telling myself this, but never definitively judge a whisky by the first couple of drams, folks - particularly a young whisky at high strength! This is a very enjoyable Octomore now - and they all are, really. I still wouldn't say that this is my favourite _.2 bottling to date, though, that prize so far goes to 7.2 (I'm yet to try 2.2 or 10.2). The wine casks are very well integrated here - the second-fill casks have definitely worked - and the whole package is quite well balanced because of it. The smoke and peat are noticeably more subtle here than in most past bottlings, which seems to be the case with most of these more recent Octomore expressions. Well, relatively subtle of course, since this is still a 5-year old Octomore! That's no criticism though, it's just a little different.
Octomore 9.2 is certainly worth a try if you're travelling in future (not that anyone will be now, probably for a long time), just make sure you let the bottle breathe for quite a while before you look too closely. Patience is a virtue, and it's often rewarded!
Cheers!
Fully agree on the time to breathe. Had quite a sulfur note that disappeared after being open for a bit.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. It improved massively about halfway down the bottle. Cheers!
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