Booze Reviews: Octomore Orpheus

What do you do with a peaty Scotch whose entire purpose for existing is to beat the hell out of every other High-Peat Scotch? What do you measure it against? How do you approach it? Very carefully. Because at any moment it could transform into:

"Everyone knew Optimus Prime was a lush. But at least he had good taste. "

There's really no reason to beat around the bush. If you don't like a lot of peat flavor in your scotch you're not going to be able to handle this as it truly is the peatiest Scotch in the world right now. The nice people from Bruichladdich in Scotland sent me this sample as well as two others to show of the kind of diversity their distillery produces and their willingness to take risks with their Scotch has made them my favorite distillery. Octomore Orpheus is one of their experiments and it's really something special.

If you're not ready for it, the peat in this Scotch can really knock you on your ass. Then again if you're drinking a Scotch with a name like OCTOMORE ORPHEUS (Pretty sure this translates to: Giant Bad-Ass Squid) I'm betting you already know what you're getting into. At 140 ppm it beats previous "peatiest" scotches like Ardberg Supernova by a mile. But the cool thing is that Bruichladdich didn't want this to be JUST the "peatiest scotch in the world," they really wanted to make a great scotch that could stand on its own. So they finished it in Chateau Petrus Bordeaux wine casks for several months before bottling.

I have to be honest. The peat overwhelmed me at first. It was all I could taste. I like peat, it reminds me of riding my bike around the neighborhood in the fall and smelling all the leaves that my neighbors were burning. So a nice peaty scotch evokes warm memories in me every time. But if you stick with it you really do start to pick up the depth of this scotch and the fruitiness that comes from the Bordeaux barrels. If nothing else this really is an experience.

Our Rating *** (Recommended) If you LOVE peat I'd say this is four stars easy but due to the "learning curve" some people might have trouble with this one. Price: $109 online. Find it at the Laddie Shop!

HAVE YOU tasted Octomore Orpheus? What are your thoughts on peat? Does it draw you to a scotch or does even a bit too much send you running? Leave us a comment and let us know.