whisky review 327 - Octomore 05/1

[@rickypastille]

Ralfy, some of us here in America love you Scots because you've figured out a way to barbecue whisky. I am forever grateful.

[@BrothuhV84]

Merry Christmas, Ralfy!! May your drams be; absent of colourant, non-chill-filtered, at least 46% abv! And to many new drams in 2013, full of syrupy dense flavors that take take us to far away lands full of joy! Happy holidays to you, and your family, Ralfy! Cheers, my malty-mentory-mate!!!

[@rajhi29]

Ralfy, you sir, History shall show, that You sir are a BAD ASS, hell, THE BAD ASS of all things Scotch! When contemplating the purchase of a new unknown/untasted scotch, your channel is my absolute first Search! If anyone has it covered, Ralfy has it covered! in American terms, You are the Chuck Norris of Scotch Knowledge! (And that is saying a LOT!) Good on ya sir. Have a good one! Wow! I feel like I am one of the first few people to hear Einstein speak of Quantum Physics in the early years. Absolutely Impressed!

[@simodijo]

@@rajhi29 True

[@narbezohrabi245]

Merry Christmas to Ralfy and all you whisky fans out there. So much knowledge shared by Ralfy to help us all understand the whisky world better.

[@666Wizardsleeve]

Another excellent review with detailed explanations. I just received a bottle of Octomore Edition 7.1 for Fathers' Day. For several years, since I tasted the 6.1 at a whisky show, I had been watching to see Octomore go on special, which it never did. I couldn't justify spending $170AUD on a single bottle, but now I don't have to. Watching the clock now, awaiting a reasonable hour to have a dram.

[@RebMordechaiReviews]

I have the Octomore 6.1 which I assume is similar. To those who commented that it is closed and harsh, might I ask? Did you drink it straight? I always add water as per Ralfy recommended as it almost always opens a whisky up but in The Octomore's case, a few drops of water tranforms this from a harsh metalic spirit to a lovely fruity creamy dram. Oh, and that Coal Tar smell. You nailed it Ralfy! I would never have identified it but you are so right!

[@MaltsAndPipes4Ever]

Hi Ralfy! Another brilliant vlog - thanks for that. Have a merry Christmas and a wee dram just for your own enjoyment. I will have a drink on you. All the best from the German Southwest.

[@seanaredmond]

I feel like I am in an Organic Chemistry class watching this video......I love it!

[@TheFeuerfresser]

Thanx ralfy for this review. The first good review of octomore on the internet. Keep up the good work

[@dgunnut6550]

I’m sold with that added info that it’s perfect for spin the bottle!

[@nikolaalilovic7919]

Ty Ralfy! I was very dissapointed when I first tried this whisky because I was excpeting more peat and smoke as I am a peathead, but when you explained this whisky I was able to enjoy it much more.

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . happy to help !

[@jtf2dan]

This just popped up in my feed so took a look. Have been watching your videos for about 5 years now.....this is the first one I have seen, where it looks like you are reading your tasting notes off. Never noticed that before....

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . I was, back when I needed them for accuracy.

[@jimmyjazz4605]

Excellent review Ralfy. Will you be looking at the newest releases of Octomore? They are pricey...

[@shuboy05]

This is much better than the Octomom

[@courtcomposer]

Love Octomore. 7.4 was outstanding. Cheers!

[@premier1975]

I just picked up the 11.1 yesterday. It's glorious.

[@glorysword]

Merry Christmas everyone! Bought a bottle of Octomore 5.1 3 weeks ago as a potential investment (before you mentioned that it was a safe bet). Will see how it goes in a few years. Worst comes to worst I could always drink it myself!

[@eranchik99]

ralfy, i've enjoyed your vlogs tremendously for years; merry christmas and a happy new year

[@ThePhoton1]

Hi, Ralfy How many malt-mentions are still on your list till you stopped recording new mentions?

[@AndyCigars]

Merry Christmas to Ralfy and all you fellow malt mates! Here's to a great 2013!

[@crazyzee81]

Great info here Ralfy, I love how you say dont just fall in with the crowd and drink peaty whisky if you dont like it. I guess I am more neutral because I enjoy a good less flavored whisky daily (Less flavored is a bad choice of word) and a nice peaty like Ardbeg a couple times a month but I just can not find much enjoyment in Sherry casked whiskys. Granted I have had a couple that were fine but I do not like a strong wine flavor in my whisky. I think Peat whisky warms you more in winter.

[@bluecostas]

Looking forward to your whisky of the year Ralfy. Genuinely can't guess what it is this year.

[@uqox]

Another great review. In particular, the description of it with water added is spot on. Fun trivia I heard from the Bruichladdich distributor (who had the thickest Scottish brogue and should have come with subtitles) the bottle is shaped similar to a brick of peat!

[@degmar]

Has a distillery ever made multiple expressions of the same whisky, but used different peat sources in each expression in order to showcase the effects of the peat source?

[@kidsafe]

I really liked Octomore 4.2 Comus. Despite the insane peating level, it was drinkable and not overbearing. This whisky slowly filled my mouth with warmth from the bottom up like no other.

[@inspector_7152]

Now I’m known for having well functioning taste buds and also like whiskey. However…. Tasting and nosing all the flavours in a whiskey that are mentioned in reviews like f.i. this one, leaves me puzzled and frustrated. I smell and taste difference between whiskies but am not able to tell what i smell and taste like is done in reviews. What on earth is the secret? Is it a matter of temperature? Whenever I stick my nose in a glass i get anesthetized by the alcohol which seems to kill my sense of smell. What’s the secret of unraveling the various taste components? Could you help me out on that problem please? Much obliged!

[@voynixx]

The stock of Ardbeg Corryvreckan is getting smaller and smaller here in Sweden. Do you know if it's no longer produced? Or could it be that it no longer imported(for whatever reasion) here?

[@TheJusnic82]

Port Charlotte heaviliy peated has been so far after a year of getting heavily into whisky drinking is still my favourite. Although I must say I have come across 2 bottlings....one says right on it that's its 10 years old has no added colouring or flavourings and is non chill filtered...while the other one (looks exactly the same) does not say this?! Has no mention of the 10 years and nothing about being non chilled or no colours/flavourings? Ive had both and I must say the one that states its 10 years and no chill filt, no colour/flavour is much better, especially after you open the bottle and a few days or weeks have gone by...it retains its flavour and peat way more then the other one. Don't buy the Port Charlotte heavily peated unless its the one that clearly says 10 year old non chilled filtered and no colourings no flavourings...if you can find that one buy as much as you can afford because its absolutely amazing whisky

[@LordHaveMercy]

The first Octomore I had was the 6.2 and I was so disappointed. All I got on the nose was fresh wall paint, burnt rubber and glue. And the palate was like chewing on a cigar. Luckily I had the chance to sample a 5.1 and boy, it was like day and night. Agree with your notes on this one.

[@gummybearkiller1]

Hi Ralfy Great review of a hyped whisky. Im looking forward to see what the 2013 jacket/sweater will be, lol.

[@Tantrum777]

Excellent review Ralfy! Great information.

[@themaltbar]

Hi Ralfy.Happy New Year maltmate!been patiently waitin for this one!!Good honest review...fairly low mark there Ralfy.The only reason we can tell is the hype:cost ratio vs. the hype:quality. 'Kilchomans First' gets the higher mark as a youngen not only for a calculated lack of hype(compared to Octomore's heavily hyped campaign) but more for its reasonable price tag! value wise us-guys agree. but re.quality respectfully disagree.

[@DusteDdekay]

Thank you for the great review! I got a bottle of 07.1, I'm not dissapointed with it, but I'd pour a dram of Ardbeg Uigeadail over it two of three times. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what the difference it between the 07.1 and the 07.2, I've not found any head-to-head comparisons.

[@joaolcbarros]

.1 is finished in ex-boubon casks from Jim Beam and Jack Daniels. The .2 have a finish in ex-red wine casks from France and are normally directed to the travel retail. The .3 are like the .1 but they use barley grown in the distillery. Finally, the .4 are variations that change year to year. The 4 variations started with edition 7 (in 2020 we are ed. 11). Previous editions varied in the number of variations.

[@SolomonLi]

awesome... btw ralfy, what's the dram behind you on the shelf? is that uncovered???

[@jimmyjoy21]

I have a bottle of this that ive been saving for xmas. I've tried it a couple of times, it's good. Looking forward to giving it a good Christmas testing though!

[@baldurdam90]

Merry Christmas Ralfy! I've got a rather general question: what do you think about whiskies from independent bottlers, such as Gordon-MacPhail, and particularly from Signatory? Are they - in general - worth buying? (I like especially the Signatory bottlings for their no-colouring and no-chill-filtration policy).

[@folkmarcmetal]

Watched this video about 3 times now over the last 3 years. I just bought my first bottle of octomore 208 ppm. And as a home destiller, HOW do they get this much peat in whisky? I started with my "all hearts" peated whisky and gradually added more and more tails, but never got close to the phenolic intensity as an Ardbeg or Laphroaig or Octomore. Does it really start and end with the peat smoked barley? Or is there more to it?

[@ronkadam]

Question for you Ralfy: Have you tried Booker’s bourbon? It's a small batch craft-presented (well, as close as a commercially-bottled Bourbon can come to a craft presentation) Bourbon manufactured and distributed by Jim Beam. I've not had an opportunity to try it yet, but I've heard some interesting things.

[@mikemedal]

Hey, Ralfy, i just got a bottle of Longmorn 16 for christmas. Is it any good? I usually only drink Islay Malts. Is it worth opening, or should i just put it away and hope i can make some money off it?

[@perkynipzreviewkitchen8548]

This whisky is rather immense it has to be said, it is refined and not thick but the heat from the relatively young spirit and the inherent peat presence work well together, to be overly dramatic: it's like the salty tears of angels.....angels that have been set on fire and shot into hell doused in lemony salty diesel juice. Very good dram indeed. Very good review ralfy

[@joseportela205]

Very nice video, as always, I must say. Just a question: is possible to check the score of all reviews in a list or similar? Cheers!

[@thewhiskybothy]

ralfywhisky.webnode.be/

[@joseportela205]

@@thewhiskybothy Thank you very much!

[@Towboatin]

Hey, Ralfy! If you haven't already tried it, have a look for the Tamdhu 8 from the MacPhail's Collection. It's inexpensive--I nabbed a bottle of it in the States for around $35--and (to me, at least) it seemed substantially older and more complex than the age statement might indicate. Good stuff!

[@jdpmep]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

[@BrothuhV84]

Ralfy, you seem to know a lot about stills. Hypothetically speaking; lets say if money where no object, and you could buy your own distillery, and you could design your own stills, what do you think would yield the best result, in your opinion? Short and steep angled or long and skinny style stills. Or perhaps a set of each? Could a distillery have both and combine the matured whisky later? Is it too expensive to do this? Just wondering. :)

[@idahoduckhunter]

Ralfy -- I absolutely loved this dram. What I wonder is if Bruichladdich's tall stills left out what would have been an overly cigarette and ashey kind of taste by having the tall stills? What I mean is if they had short squatty stills would 169ppm been overpowering?

[@tietokirja]

Thanks Ralfy for your great videosabout whisky you realy are a great asset for the dram heads looking to realy get into whiskys. If I may ask, where do you get your information, like the ppm stuff on this video?

[@narbezohrabi245]

Ralfy would love to know your opinion. Laphroaig 25 cask strength, is the 2008 or 2011 better? thanks for your advice

[@notme123123]

Thanks for this review, Ralfy. I've been waiting for more Bruichladdich reviews. Have you tried the new Peat Project release? Its a no age statement release. Have a very merry Christmas.

[@PhilnewDUKE]

Thank You for review. Now i want to taste Octomore even more :)

[@moberlym]

Just curious, do you personally purchase all the spirits you review? What do you do with all of them after the reviews. You must have a room full of bottles.

[@zeusminator]

Hello ralphy, i'd know if you're going to review glengoyne 17, i've got a bottle recently and i think is wonderful stuff. Thanks ralphy....

[@athrack]

Dang it, here in Norway it´s twice that! But as the 10 yo was only slightly more expensive, I got one of those too :p

[@scotchnstogies]

First full year as a malt head. Johnny Green, Laphroaig 10, Balvenie dbl wood, Auchantoshan Three Wood, Bruichladidich 10, Bowmore 12, Old Pultney 12, Kilchoman Sherry Release, Highland Park 12, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, Johnny Black, McCallan 12, ..I think that's it for the year so far. CHEERS!

[@robertoboertje353]

I find the Caol Ila CS irresistable, is this comparable Ralfy?

[@AdamKeele]

Wow, they took it up again to 169 ppm?!? I watched a video recently that's at least two years old of Jim McEwan talking about Octomore, and he mentioned -- and showed -- it was 131 ppm at the time (apparently the highest concentration at that time). Also, what's waiting for you on the shelf behind you in the other Glencairn?

[@jamieevans871]

trivia question for you whisky drinkers whats the difference between whisky and whiskey will post answer in a few days from now lets see what answers we get

[@TomMorison]

one has an 'e' in it and the other doesn't :O

[@Thunderstryk]

Jamie Evans the "e" version is irish.

[@TomMorison]

Thunderstryk Well done.

[@ilaphroaig]

Is there gonna be another whisky of the year?

[@sav7568]

I'm waiting for the malty, marvelous menage a trois. Hard to get . . . . . but worth it . . . . . . so they say.

[@stanislavmigra]

Ralfy there are lot of Octomores, could yoi make some comparation/descriptioon of them? The are realy expensive, so to know if the are worth it

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . not at the price !

[@CamiloSanchez1979]

Are you gonna make a seasons greetings video?

[@golfguy777]

I gotta agree with you Ralfy. I don't find the Octomore to be anywhere near as intense as the Laphroaig 10 yo. It is quite a good whisky though.

[@mattywhisk]

Ralfy if Laphroaig is so much lower in 'PPM', why is it that much more 'intense' than the Octomore?

[@shuboy05]

The Bruichladdich 16 and 22 are old distillate made by the previous owners. If I recall the new owners under Mark Reynier inherited a few stocked warehouses of whisky that needed emptying. Keep in mind that some of this stuff wasn't very high quality whisky so Jim McEwan was unleashed on those casks.

[@mrz88]

I got nervous around 20:00 there!

[@Phatell]

Have you tried Octomore Comus, Ralfy?

[@revenge9431]

hey ralfy, I got a question. I drink corsair triple smoke often do u think this is similar? im thinking of buying 7.1. what do u think? thx

[@The_Bookshelf_Life]

Mr International sorry for not being ralfy, but they are very different in both flavor and intensity. They only thing they really have in common is they are both peated.

[@ThaLegendaryNoob]

TARDIS - Check Dalek - Check Whisky - Check You, sir, have made yourself at home quite well. Cheers ;)

[@crazyzee81]

I know it would seem like he would need a room just for the bottles but I know he buys a lot of bottles but a fair amount of his reviews are with borrowed bottles from his friends and members of his whisky club. Seems like such a great idea to be in a club like that but I can not find one near me. Ralfy has some really good friends cause there are times where I would not let my brother borrow a bottle from me, lol.

[@cwm180]

Hopefully, ralfy has a better answer, but I know that with beer, a modest IPA or APA may have 60 IBUs while a big Imperial Stout can have 80-90 IBUs, yet the IPA has a hoppier, more bitter taste. I believe it has to do with the balance of the flavors. Perhaps this is analogous to peat levels in scotch?

[@simodijo]

We want a re review of Octomore🎉

[@trudyandgeorge]

I swear every whiskey I've seen so far comes in at 87/100. Are they all 87/100 I wonder?! haha Great reviews mate.

[@TheLidalgo]

Ralfy, do you drink aquavit at all?

[@wiccaman69]

Here is the film (The Angels Share) Ralfy was speaking about. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJSngJdufadnf5I

[@sunnyc.7720]

I find myself in throat by the 6.1 and the 8.3. They are magic in a bottle! I'll be going out of my way to try and collect a few of the others of their line. Thank you for reviewing this.

[@canadianmaple09]

Congratulations on the greatest accomplishment you'll ever achieve in your life.

[@themaltbar]

Ralfy do remember how much you paid for your 5.1 Octomore?? Thanks

[@PawelKalinowski]

@ralfy: it has been almost 9 years, and still there are no 500ppm whiskies on the market, would ou reveal the secret now? :D

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . not for want of trying, but as they say 'too much of a good thing' !

[@Llamelar]

> Come to watch some whisky reviews to take my mind of studying > Suddenly fenols, families of chemicals, synthetic compounds etc. Oh god, I'm having organic chemistry flashbacks.

[@Yorosero]

One to add to the collection!

[@Deliquescentinsight]

TCP phenolic Ralfy?

[@Lorenzo-cp7qs]

shush

[@harryparadise615]

polishing off a dram of this now, and i still have plenty left :D

[@BruceinFalkirk]

Good review. You're right about the Octomore being way too expensive for what it is. Try the Finlaggan Cask Strength which has a big punch and is about 40% of the price of Octomore and is between 5 and 8 years old.

[@fastpoose]

$160 bottle here in Australia, no way I will be trying it, considering it's a 5 year old...! I'll be off to get my Big Peat or Coal Ila 12 year! Thanks Ralfy you're a legend :)

[@glorysword]

Excellent advice. Should have done that. Shame really because they had a 1 bottle/customer policy :(

[@stingfan24]

I'm incredibly curious, however, this stuff is outrageously expensive. The 10 yr old version you mention is close to $300. And this for a 10 yr old whisky!

[@SubbaRao2100]

Excellent review Ralfy :) Btw have you tried a whiskey made from heavily hopped beer? Thanks.

[@BobPapadopoulos]

Do yourself a favor and get your hands on some Abraham Bowman. A little pricey, but a damn good bourbon (and none of the guilt from drinking something that came from Kentucky) lol

[@PeatSmokey]

Ralfy why'd you wait so long to review this One?? OCTOMORE! Uv tashed this over the past 2 yrs over a few quid!! Shame that Ralfy, for the same inflated price, you missed a couple/few versions that migtve knocked your sox off! This has got to be THE Best "Young" Whiskey this side of the 8th dimention. If you were to ask the good Dr., he'd no doubtably agree!! Peace

[@lindenblock]

"a squat pot" (12:33) OMG.

[@RocasThePenguin]

Expensive, young, but I could care less. This whisky is intense, strong and brilliant. It offers up something that you don't find often in whisky, excitement. 6.1 is a good choice.

[@theestimator]

Me and the wife spin it to see who goe's on top .......

[@koeliejoelie2]

When peat is helping to add more complexity and a wider range of flavors it's fine by me. But personally I'm not a big fan of heavy peat.it seems Octomore is worth a try, too bad is is a bit overpriced in my opinion. I'd like to stay away from a hype because the price tends to rise and the quality ???

[@BrothuhV84]

I liked it a lot! It's kind of like a Macallan on steroids! Big malt!

[@hamishkuzminski3556]

New Johnny Walker "The Spice Road" is fabulous, but no water, folks, neat is the way to go on this one.

[@999YCM]

the price of a bothie

[@chefaaron77]

Playing spin the bottle is a lot different in the US...

[@RocasThePenguin]

That's all!!!! Wow. I see them online for over £200.

[@zonietdantoch1]

Having tasted this one I was surprised it didn't scare me. I am not a peat fan.Can you explain to me why I dislike Ardbeg Corryvreckan,Laphroaig 10 yo etc. but actualy did like this one?

[@dand8538]

Fighto sounds like the name of an aggressive Spanish guy.

[@beataignioranza]

Octomore seems like a contradiction… the Islay distillery that should be the LEAST suitable, due to its stills (you even called it the Glenmorangie of Islay, dear Ralfy), does produce the world's most highly peated whisky. I still haven't tried one, but I find Octomore is truly a great marketing idea (and I say that in a good way), the idea of creating the world's most highly peated whisky (with the caveat that PPM measures refer to the barley and not to the final product, of course), packaging it in a beautiful designer bottle, and keeping it 'real' and quality, non chill-filtered, natural color, cask strength… I'm just puzzled by the fact that maybe Bruichladdich wasn't the best distillery for producing such a whisky… Or maybe it is… Because, due to the stills, they can add refinement to it that other Islay distilleries couldn't…

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . a good example of the eccentricities of the scotch whisky industry !