Today’s review is Oppidan Smoke + Sea, a bottle which I didn’t recognize but bought because of its cask finish, pretty label, and a personal lack of self control.

This bottle, if nothing else, is unique. It’s a bourbon that was finished in peated Islay scotch barrels. It got me thinking–why isn’t peated bourbon more of a thing? Five minutes of internet research turned up three different and equally unreliable answers: 1) corn is tough to peat, 2) peated scotch was born of necessity and in the U.S. peat wasn’t needed as a fire source, or 3) the peaty flavor is tough to balance in bourbon.

I can’t vouch for explanations 1 and 2, but explanation 3 is consistent with my thoughts on this bottle.

Nose/Palate/Finish:

Honestly, this bottle isn’t complex enough to warrant individualized nose/palate/finish sections. This isn’t intended as a slam on the bottle itself: I’ve realized that unless there’s something really interesting going on with the bottle, I don’t need three different sections to describe what I’m tasting. So, here’s my omnibus paragraph:

It smells peaty. Flavorwise, it’s pretty much as advertised: it tastes peaty and there’s some sweetness from the bourbon. The finish isn’t anything special. None of the flavors or smells are particularly unique if you’ve ever had an Islay. It basically tastes like if you put a dash of Laphroaig in some forgettable mid-shelf bourbon.

Bottom Line:

5/10. While Oppidan Smoke + Sea is not bad, it’s one dimensional and the flavors don’t really make sense together. The flavors don’t clash, but the peat almost drowns out anything that might’ve been interesting about the bourbon itself, and there’s no other pronounced flavor to make the peat interesting. The whole thing ends up tasting very boring. I won’t be restocking this bottle, but at $48, it’s not like I got robbed either.

***

Side note: I spent half an hour trying to get smoke into this picture. You can make out the ghost of some smoke above the Glencairn, but that’s the best I could do. Complete failure. I give 3/10 to the matches I burned trying to get the ambiance right. Suggestions are welcome.