Whisky Forum - Octave 2002

xcompl · Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 1:39 am Post subject: Octave 2002

Tried Octave 2002 from Duncan Taylor, very strong and not a big fun of it, any idea which ones are smoother from Duncan Taylor that would be good for someone starting in whisky tasting?

Bookie · Master Of Malts Joined: 15 Sep 2008 Posts: 945

Duncan Taylor have bottled a number of whiskies as part of their Octave range from a number of distilleries such as Bunnahabhain, Bowmore and Caol Ila from Islay, Ben Nevis and Glengarioch from the Highlands, Glenlivet, Macallan and Glenrothes from Speyside, Springbank and Glen Scotia from Cambeltown, Highland Park and Jura from the Islands and Auchentoshan and Inverleven from the lowlands. The grain range has Invergordon, Strathclyde, Carsebridge and many others.

All the whiskies in the Octave range are finished in small Octave casks and are limited releases so they arent around long. I think you would be best choosing a distillery you like rather than a range of whiskies.

Which whiskies have you tasted and liked, i am sure we could direct you to others you may like.

xcompl · Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:03 pm Post subject:

from the ones I tried I think Macallan, Yamazaki, would be my best so far.

opelfruit · Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 11:54 pm Post subject:

If you are new to tasting whisky I can't recommend the Octave range. At the start of your journey it's wise to look to Official distillery bottlings at a young (ish) age, not only are these readily avaliable and cover a wide range of styles but they are also the cheapest.

This way you can get through many distilleries, learn their style, find out what you like and start to move up the ladder. The last thing you want to do is go diving straight into single casks, independants or older whisky. It's not going to let you get a good idea of distillery style and the older whisky is a waste of money (old whisky is challenging to the palate and at the entry level of whisky exploration is simply a waste of money).

You like Macallan, so try some of their range and also anything else that is sherry matured (Balvenie, Glendronach, Aberlour, Glenfarclas). Stay between 10 and 16 year olds for now.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

xcompl · Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 9:58 pm Post subject: M Ruby and Octave 1986 Linkwood

Went to tasking event few days ago, I tried the Octave 1986 Linkwood and it was very good, and the Macallan Ruby was great.