Octomore - 11.3 Islay Barley Islay Single Malt 2014 5 year old Whisky

Octomore 11.3 has been produced from 100% Octomore Farm grown barley. Aged for 5 years and peated to 194PPM. A true expresion of Islay's terroir.

This is a very distinct expression of Octomore, so much of the flavour comes from the malted barley and the distillation. The distillation techniques allow Bruichladdich to slowly coax the flavours from the grain; influenced so much by the location it is grown and trule express a unique flavour based on these fundamentals.

Nose - Slight floral chartacter on the nose, summery and bright. The peat smoke is slow to rise ionitially but comes through with a light tpouch, clean and dry and very much in the background. Lovely light floral notes and sweet citrus, with honey and vanilla really holding everything together.

Palate - Texturally this dram has a fantastic presence on the palate, holding the high strength perfectly. A gentle sweet ness, honey and fruit syrup arrive, orange blossoms, apricot jam and again the floral bouquet, all the soft notes are holding off the phenols, a testament to the distillation techniques to allow the character of the spirit to come through without being dominated by the high level of phenols.

Finish - Naturally the phenolic presence comes through on the finish, the floral notes fade and the dry smoke, earthy with dry grass, come through. Burnt heather, toffee and malt sugar, all play a part in a complex, long finish.