Taste Review #30 – Octomore 9.1 Dialogos
It’s no real secret that I enjoy two styles of whisky, sweet or smoky. Sometimes I can go as far as saying I like them both together. Yes, sometimes nothing can beat an excellent Speyside whisky, but sometimes I just want more.
One thing I haven’t done yet on Scotty’s Drams is drink a really young whisky for review. You may think that young whisky is rubbish, but that is not necessarily so. Take a look at one of my much earlier articles about the myths of age by clicking here. We all know that NAS whisky is hiding younger produce, so it is a brave move to advertise an age statement of 5 years.
Having said that, Octomore is just a peated Bruichladdich, so there isn’t a lot of risk here, so when I saw it advertised as the worlds peatiest malt, I was in for a piece of that action.
The Dialogos part of the release name is meant to mean – ‘written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange’.
Personally I think it just represents a heap of marketing bollocks.
Region
Islay
Age
5 years
Strength
59.1% a.b.v
Colour
Pale Gold
Nose
Smoke. Lots of it. Sweet notes of toffee, vanilla, floral too.
Palate
Smooth. No real problems despite being cask strength. Fudge, smoke, oak wood, nuts.
Finish
Long, maritime finish with a hint of sea salt. Treacle, molasses, peat.
Conclusion
Despite the peatiness of this whisky, coupled with its youth, it was an extremely nice dram, and if I saw a bottle of it at a good price, I would buy without hesitation. If you are a Laphroaig fan, this is for you. Outclasses Ardbeg completely.
This goes to prove my point in a much earlier article on the blog that young age is not a disqualification from being a decent whisky. If this was a much older dram, it might have lost that lightness and just been overpowering.
Bottles of this are available online for around £115, but always check your local friendly whisky retail specialist. My dram cost £10 for 25ml at the Grill Bar in Aberdeen.
Incidentally, it isn’t the worlds most peated Scotch whisky. For the time being that is the Dialogos 10 year old at a 167ppm. The challenge continues.
Slainte Mhath!
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photo credits
– authors own unless otherwise credited
Scotty’s Drams 
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