Octomore 5 Year Old Edition 4.2 Comus
Peaty Quantum of Solace
0 385
Review by @Rantavahti
- Nose20
- Taste22
- Finish23
- Balance20
- Overall85
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- Brand: Bruichladdich
- Type: Scotch
- Region: Islay
- ABV: 61%
Octomore 4.2 Comus/167 ppm was a big disappointment at first that grew up to be a less of a disappointment. Just like the second Bond by Daniel Craig, Comus had high expectations. Casino Royale had been great and very hard to top. Octomores I didn't have any experience of but I surely was keen on tasting that 167 ppm’s of peatiness. To be clear, both Quantum of Solace and Comus were good, but not great.
To be fair, Comus is good because the smokiness is consistent in its taste (which is unfortunately not the case in all peaty whiskies). The main disappointment was the nose, I could hardly spot any smoke in it. It was way too subtle for my taste. The nose was lacking personality in other ways as well.
Nose: Strong at first but gets pretty subtle in many ways. Very very subtle with peat, kinda spicy and kinda fruity but all the aromas were very light.
Mouth: Honey and smoke mixed together, the taste is nicely intense. A wee oily with some grapes in it.
Finish: This time smoke gets almost in your eyes. Long and smoky, just the way I like it!
Balance: Powerful on the phenols, I guess after all, you can call this a peat monster thought we had a rough start. The positive thing about it is that it gets better along the way!
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@Rantavahti - you make no mention of the bottle nor the source of the whisky. I am curious if you poured this from a newly opened bottle. The reason for asking this question - when I opened my second bottle of this expression, my wife was about to call the fire department..."creosote ties on fire" - I spilled a small amount on my hand and it stayed with me for a considerable period of time.
I had no problem detecting the peat in this one; as a matter of fact, it was quite evident before any of this whiky had been poured into a glass. What I did find puzzling was the taming of the peatiness on the palate - it did not translate proportionally from the nose to the mouth.