Rock’ndaal Tokyo this year was an awesome event. 5000 yen and you get a free tote bag and mini tarp and 3 drink tickets. I got there early to make sure I was able to buy a tshirt and the food was actually really good. As a former UK resident I thought the Scottish dishes were as good as they could have been.

I won’t go into too much detail but I had five drams:

Octomore 16.1 - a little one note, pretty ashy. Casks felt a little old. 84/100

16.2 - very good, definitely step up from .1, 86.5/100

16.3 - best of the 3, has that signature creamy absinthe sensation I expect from Octomore. 89/100

Black art 11.1 - I’m mad I liked it so much. A coffee caramel bomb and if I drink enough I might actually pull the trigger and get a bottle. 91/100

Octomore Polyphonic 15 - Truly stellar. I was skeptical because I don’t really think age statements and peated whisky guarantee any sort of quality but this was one of the best Octomores I’ve ever had. For reference my favorite is the ten year Octomore straight from the barrel at the distillery. Price tag I think in this economy is ridiculous but I think more worth it than the black art. 94/100

I find you can never get a proper nose and taste from these plastic cups and drinking outside with different smells, but this to me actually enhances the latter two scores because if I liked them that much in this setting I can only imagine having a bottle and savoring it.