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[September, 2018] Ooh, an extremely peated malt from a virgin oak cask - both are characteristics I do not like, usually. But I am brave and try this sample (thanks, VVP)... ...and it clearly confirms my suspicions. This is an extremely two-dimensional spirit with extreme spikes towards a peaty smokiness and agressive woodiness. Whoever loves these spikes might enjoy such a combo very much, to me it is rather disgusting (hey, where is the whisky in this mix?). Sorry, but my taste is simply different (and you know: There is no accounting for taste!)...

A very nice composition! It was a wise choice to keep the Virgin Oak share relatively low, as this does not kill the cinnamon spice and the whisky now has a creamy sweet counterpart.

Compared to the Virgin Oak Barrel, which was tasted in the Warehouse Tasting at Bruichladdich in summer / autumn 2015, this mix is ​​unfortunately a bitter disappointment. Even compared to other Octomores he can not really shine. Too much acidity, too short a finish, pure Vigin Oak ripening might have been more appropriate. Nevertheless a very good malt with sensational well integrated alcohol and a very interesting nose.

Amazingly mild for the alcohol content. The price-performance ratio is, as with all Octomores unfortunately unacceptable

This Octomore has everything I expect from an Octomore. Sweet and intense peat, a harmoniously integrated high alcohol content and a great finish. I like it very much!

COLOUR RICH CHESTNUT NOSE THERE IS HUGE PRESENCE WITH THIS WHISKY, TAKING THE CORK FROM THE BOTTLE WILL UNLEASH SOMETHING UNIQUE.  THE ROOM FILLS WITH THE SWEET, SMOKY AROMA AS THE FIRST GLASS IS POURED AND YOU KNOW THIS IS THE PRELUDE TO A WHISKY LIKE NO OTHER. THE SMOKE IS POWERFUL BUT TEMPERED BY SWEET, RICH OAK, TWO HEAVYWEIGHTS THAT COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER - THERE IS BALANCE BETWEEN THEM. AS THE WHISKY OPENS, THE COMPLEXITY AND INTENSITY OF THE VIRGIN OAK GIVES NOTES OF DRIED FRUIT, RAISIN AND APRICOT THEN TOASTED BREAD, CHOCOLATE ORANGE, COFFEE, COCONUT, BUTTERY VANILLA. THERE IS A HINT OF BARBEQUE AND PINE NEEDLES ALONG WITH MORE FRUIT, THIS TIME FROM THE SPIRIT – GREEN APPLES AND GRAPEFRUIT WITH A DUSTING OF CLOVES AND CINNAMON.  IT IS CAPTIVATING PALATE PREPARE FOR AN ELEVATION IN THE OCTOMORE EXPERIENCE. AS THE FIRST TASTE OF 7.4 MEETS YOUR TASTE BUDS THE SENSATION IS TRULY SPECTACULAR. THE MOUTHFEEL IS RICH AND SUMPTUOUS THEN THERE IS A DETONATION OF FLAVOUR. SWEETNESS, PEAT SMOKE AND THE RICHNESS OF TOASTED OAK CLAMOUR FOR YOUR ATTENTION AS THE WARMING STRENGTH OF THE SPIRIT IGNITES.  WOW! A DROP OF WATER WILL RELEASE EXOTIC COCONUT AND CLOVE, LEMON PEEL, CARAMEL, TURKISH DELIGHT.  SWEET ORANGE BLOSSOM HONEY AND MORE AND MORE OAK FILL THE PALATE, ALL OF THIS IS VEILED IN PEAT SMOKE, ALMOST MEDICINAL IN ITS CHARACTER IT IS PEPPERED WITH SWEET SPICY NOTES OF CINNAMON AND CLOVE. THE FLORAL, FRUITY, STYLE OF BRUICHLADDICH IS EVIDENT THROUGH ALL THE POWER OF THE OAK AND SMOKE REASSURING US THAT WE HAVE NOT LET THIS AGE TOO LONG IN THE INTENSITY OF THE FRESH OAK CASKSFINISH TRUE TO OUR BELIEFS THIS DISTILLATION WAS SLOW AND CAREFUL TO ENSURE THE TEXTURE AND BALANCE IS PERFECT AND THIS ALLOWS THE FLAVOUR TO LAST FOR AN ETERNITY. HONEYSUCKLE AND ROSE MINGLE WITH LIQUORICE AND CLOVE, DRIED DATES, APRICOTS AND HONEYED VANILLA RELEASED FROM THE OAK WILL SLOWLY FADE THEN THE SMOKE WILL LINGER FOR AN AGE COMPETING WITH THE SWEETNESS OF THE OAK FOR THE LAST WORD ON AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE (wwwbruichladdich.com).

in this Octomore, no vanilla. There will not be an iota throughout the tasting. But it won't be unpleasant. I must even say that it is rather pleasant to drink with very varied notes. The beginning is rather light, on wildflowers and honey. Then comes the heavy with a more meaty flavor of dried meat, pot, cayenne pepper.. If I had drunk it blind, I could have confused it with a Laphroaig, so much the smoky and grassy side comes out of this atypical peat for an Octomore.

... Us Oak with dark color. The strong color betrays the ingenious palate in contentment...

http://kaypingers-whiskyblog.de/frontend/fullarticle.php?id=199 Color: rust red Nose: wet paperboard soaked in lemon juice, with orange, leather, vanilla, smoke and peaty lime extract. Little spice and hardly any salt! Then some iodine, BBQ and orange peels - dull and actually relatively unspectacular. Taste: Sweet caramel and a lot of salty spice. Orange extract, smoky peat, cayenne pepper and sticky, pampy-sweet honey. Woody and dry with still full salinity. Finish: Long, but also far away from what you want to have on the finish. Hot and bitter-smoky - with dry ashes, coal dust and burned peat. Remark: With minimal mouth filling still okay, then it works - otherwise it will be oblique! 83 points (nose: 87 / taste: 83 / finish: 80)

I love the octomore range. Some of my favourite drams here. But it took me a while to come to grips with this malt. It definitely benefits from opening up and time in the bottle. Excellent balance between toasted oak notes and traditional octomore notes.

Well, I was a little worried that vanilla would dominate. It is more the wood itself and the dryness with which the virgin oak leaves its mark. Some people didn't like that at all in their reviews of this Octomore. I can get used to it very well today. Full review alongside the 10y 5th edition: https://keinehalbendrinks.de/2022/03/01/der-pfad-zur-900/

Fassauswahl: -25% 7y Virgin Oak Casks -75% 3y First Fill Bourbon Casks im Anschluss 2y Virgin Oak Casks und weitere 2y First Fill Bourbon Casks

first thoughts were that this will not score well because of the petrol (which i hate). but after giving it more time the petrol was actually complementing the roasted sugar sweetness and the fresh grassy tones of the oak

The virgin oak doesnt overwhelm the spirit. Not as overtly peaty as anticipated. smoked werthers! smoked spicy coffee

Octomore 07.4, 2008-2016, 7 years 61.2% alc. Original bottling. Expansion: "Virgin Oak" - unused oak barrels. Special feature: limited to 12,000 bottles. Nose: Strong peat smoke with a sweet edge reminiscent of shortbread. The smoke comes straight from the grill, the smell of barbecue resonates. This is followed by spices and cedar wood, slightly sweet pipe tobacco and espresso beans, balanced with low-acid citrus fruits. Palate: Surprisingly sweet to begin with, the peat smoke comes right on top and notches the flavor, followed by heavy wood flavors, oak tannins and spices (cinnamon, cloves, black pepper). The smoke is reminiscent of heavy oil, campfires and charcoal. Finish: Very long, phenolic, smoky. The fruit is completely gone, replaced by caramel and a minimal earthy note. Conclusion: A stunner, overall harmonious despite the edges, a great Octomore. 91/100 points (tasted 2016).

tasted on feis ile 2016;) in a blind tasting I would definitely not typed on an octomore, since he has much less smoke than the previous bottlings. For an alcohol content of over 61.0%, it is very very mild.

Tried it in a blind tasting and found it to be Ledaig. The smoke is, as expected, dominant. Behind it I find a clear note of iodine. Also a little marzipan and damp wood. Unfortunately, the taste is a little off. Quite charged, the iodine creates a very unusual note that I'm not used to from whisky. My worst Octomore yet.

Octomore 7.4. At Imperial Bar, Glasgow, March 2019. Aroma is woody - almost sherried-seeming, but apparently it's virgin oak used - quite sherry, cherry notes and coconut. Taste is huge rounded and intense but not brutal in this case. Lovely peat influence really. It's a little plasticky - some hair spray and perfume ... very oaky. Interesting but not blowing me away considering. Not too much complexity. Plasticky and touch of cherry. Light bitterness in the finish. I wonder if there's caramel in this - the colour is dark and there's an odd bitterness, but I guess all that could be put down to wood too. Very interesting and I'm glad to try it but not worth the money a bottle would set me back. So oaky like an over-oaked Greek wine or something. I paid £4.10 for a standard 35ml Scottish size dram, which is great value given the Octomore hype and almost seems like a mistake (the prices are great here and it's hard to tell), but in saying that the price is probably par for the course in terms of enjoyment/quality. 3.45/82

Interesting mix with Octomore and virgin oak. Adding water? Too oak spicy! Not for the faint-hearted!

This was rated 2 years ago, but to update my rating from 93 to 92 I had to delete my original rating completely and re-rate from scratch. Upon opening the bottle and letting it stand for 30min before my first sip, I was with Serge on the oakyness and thought it was only ok. But on subsequent drams, the oak reseeds and is a wallop of dark cherry's with smoke in the background. Now 6 weeks later with the bottle one third full and the oxidization taking full effect, I've just experienced the most amazing complex smoke black cherry note I never thought existed! Delicious! This bottle is an amazing ride that I would recommend highly to anyone that is into Octomores. You just need to be patient with this one and as with most of the other Octomores, allow them to evolve. And you will not be disappointed! No water needed with this one. I wouldn't dare! An incredible trip, to say the least! Edit February 2019; This is no longer to my liking the way it used to be when I had my first bottle over two years ago. My palate has changed in the last two in a half years and over that time I've eliminated several bottles from my collection that have disappointed me as I've become more discerning and less tolerant of sulphur laden and spiked infused releases. This Octomore 7.4 is now my least favourite, of all my Octomore's as this one is a spiked infused releases that is very disjointed, harsh, very sharply-wood driven, not balanced and is a far cry in both quality and enjoyment from all my other Octomore's. Re-rate this to a 86 from a 92. I find tasting whisky is like listening to music, there are many different types of music that appeal to many different people. However, if you learn to have a keen ear and enjoy more challenging, dynamic and complex music, and at the same time are less impressed with gimmicky and one dimensional pieces of music you become more discerning and less susceptible one hit wonders and tend to want more than a basic rush of high octane. In your glass.

A dense, dull and uncompromising affair that sucks you nicely. It's a good and unique, real blow to the taste buds, but the price is just scary ..

+ H2O: no significant change 04.04.2018 86

My first Octomore tasted as a blind sample. The smoke is very pleasantly integrated, less strong than expected. You can notice the influence of the virgin oak barrels, it seems too charged for me, a pungent note of marzipan in the nose. The 61.2% is less noticeable. I would have guessed 55%.

My least favourite Octomore at this point. That said, still lots better than many other peated malts out there. Typical Octomore peat, but the sharpness is too heavy handed thanks to the Virgin Oak. Not sure the extra couple years of aging are doing it any favours either. An aside - I have taken to blending this with PC10 (a great entry level malt in its own right) and the sum is better than it’s parts. Just a few drops of this added to a dram of PC10 pulls the PC10 up into ~90 point territory imo.

Is a better but most overvalued whisky. Luckily I only had one sample. Woody like a JBG Münsterländer but with too much smoke! Does not harmonize at all. Nothing that would make you want more.

At least one Octomore, which settles in comparison to its predecessors. This tastes rounder than the previous ones. Nice to smoke, bacon and barbecue with a little sweetness (similar to a sweet & smoke barbecue sauce). Not bad, but I find no more flavors in the whisky and the aftertaste is also gone again.

Tried this in a pub assuming it was the 7.1. Literally blown away with the 61% alc content. Very unique taste and a pleasure to experience. Bought a bottle for collection and will save for special occasion. Found it different to other octomore as most I’ve had are 5 year old.

First of all, I regret it - as with all other Octomore versions - NOT to have bought me this whisky. There will certainly be some nice evenings with it. It can even be enjoyed on balmy summer evenings on the balcony. As far as lethargy in the nose is concerned, he reminds me of old bakery houses or old farmhouse parlors, which unfortunately are only found in open-air museums today. Memories of my grandparents come to life, proving once again the closeness of our sense of smell to the limbic system that controls our emotions and emotional memories.

Peat, smoke, spices, medicine, sweetie. And really much of everything.