Review #: 580
Description: Octomore 10.4
Spirit: Scotch
Background: Wrapping up my Bruichladdich bottlings of Octomore, 10.4 is really an interesting one in terms of stats. As with all .4s, it is aged in virgin oak. This one, however, clocks in at the Scotch legal minimum of 3 years old. It was aged in toasted (not charred) French Oak and had a relatively low PPM at 88. Young whisky tends to bring out more peat so let’s see how this affects it.
Distillery – Bruichladdich
Bottler – Bruichladdich
Brand – Octomore
Selection – N/A
ABV – 63.5%
Age – 3 Years
Nose – Immediately reminds me of Amburana with a heavy cinnamon and mint chocolate note, peanut brittle, dark roast coffee beans, wet cut grass, definitely some youthful notes but you have to dig a bit for them
Taste – Milk chocolate, maraschino cherry, the caramel from a bullseye candy, pear juice, campfire wood
Finish – Peat definitely strong and slightly hot, tart green apple, smoke is pretty salty and some of that wet grass/hay from the nose comes through
Score: 3
Would I buy a bottle? No
Thoughts: I’ll give Bruichladdich credit for trying it, but this is such a swing and a miss for me. Especially with it not being any cheaper than other Octomore releases, this kinda feels like a weak cash grab. I bet if you gave this 3-5 years more, it would be a top tier Octomore release, but instead it is greatly hampered by its youth and leaves you disappointed (and a lasting burn in the mouth).
*Note: I initially reviewed this back at 109 and gave it a much higher review. I think part of it goes towards how different spirits can taste at any given time and a review is merely a snapshot. I would like to think that I’ve also grown a great deal in that time span and my ability to pick apart a spirit has grown in that time. I just wasn’t really impressed with it here. Initially giving it an 8, an overall of a 5 is probably pretty accurate to my experience.