Nose: Brine, lemon, recently mowed grass, peat, and polished wood. Also traces of freshly oiled leather, and a slight hint of green apples. Quite fresh and light.
Palate: Sweet malt, grass, burnt barbeque marinade, mixed citrus lollies, and fresh mint & other herbs. There’s a thick layer of strong and sweet peat blanketing everything. Quite creamy.
Mouthfeel: Slightly less thick than the 1.1, but still what I’d say is mid-weight. Slightly dry and creamy. A small amount of burn, but quite a bit less than the 1.1.
Finish: Reasonable length, but shorter than most Octomores. Quite sweet. Fresh grass, lemon lollies, and mint, with a big bash of menthol.
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The second release of Octomore, 2.1, peated to 140 parts per million, was bottled at 5 years old with no colouring, no chill-filtration, and an ABV of 62.5%. Like all of Octomore’s x.1 releases, the 2.1 was aged in ex-Bourbon barrels stored in Bruichladdich’s seaside warehouses on the west coast of Islay.
Octomore 1.1 might have been a brash introduction to stupidly high levels of peat in Bruichladdich’s tall, narrow stills; but Octomore 2.1, although not quite slick, is much smoother that the 1.1 release. If 1.1 was a one-tonne gorilla, with the 2.1 they shaved that same gorilla baby-smooth (you can thank me later for that beautiful image 😀 ).
Apparently Bruichladdich doesn’t alter their cuts for Octomore, but the 2.1 is a lot lighter, crisper, and smoother than the 1.1 the preceded it. Bruichladdich has acknowledged this occurrence, but won’t, or can’t, explain exactly why it happens.
With this second release of Octomore, Bruichladdich is still experimenting with their “what if” thought regarding whisky that has been peated to crazy levels, and I quite like this one – a bit lighter, a bit fruity, and quite fresh despite the mammoth levels of peat.