Three whiskies in class of their own

So that’s the Winter Olympics done for another while.

Athletes striving to be the best, to show that their years of sacrifice and training have proven that will and human endeavour are the critical, winning difference.

The secret is how to super-charge your performance. Some work harder than they, and others, could have imagined.

Some, well, let’s not beat about the bush, indulge in “performance enhancing” methods.

But for me, if you want to supercharge your efforts, to achieve more than you ever thought possible, there’s a simple,

and legal, solution. Sit in an Octave cask for a few months and you’re sure to be a winner.

If you’ve not come across Octave, let me explain. Great whisky. Add a few months

in Octave – a cask one-eighth the size of normal casks, which means the wood has a much bigger influence on the spirit – and the result is something exceptional.

The process is the concept of independent bottler and general whisky geniuses Duncan Taylor, and just recently they released a threesome of new UK exclusive Octaves, just waiting to be scooped up by whisky fans who don’t mind paying under (yes, under) the odds for truly excellent, seriously rare drams.

First up is Teaninich 2009 12-year-old. Bottled at 55.4% having spent six months

in Octave, it’s fragrant and exciting. It’s full of the sweetness of tropical fruit, with lovely hints of spice. When you taste it, it’s creamy and satisfying. A real gem of a dram from this Highland distillery.

Second sip is a grain whisky – Invergordon 2009 12-year-old, bottled at 55.8%. This distillery is known for making some of the best grain whisky in the world, but five months in Octave has sent this dram into the quality stratosphere. It’s gorgeously creamy and rich, and so perfumed you could almost wear it as aftershave. A king among grains.

But the cream of this trio is a Highland Park 2006 15-year-old. Six months in Octave has produced something really special. Bottled at 54.9% it’s got the basic DNA of Highland Park, all salty and dramatic, but now there’s so much more to it. It’s elegant and charming, interesting and exciting – a dram you can’t put down.

So if you want to turbo-charge your whisky experience, make sure you get your hands on one of these Octaves. But be quick – people in the know are ready and waiting to snap them up, so make like Franz Klammer and get shopping.

Gold medals all round? Definitely!

z Stockists of these Octaves include Regal Whisky, JL Gill, Top Whiskies, Tyndrum Whisky and CASC Whisky Shop in Aberdeen. z For more on the Octave collection go to duncantaylor.com

Duncan Taylor Octave whiskies are an experience not to be missed.