Bruichladdich's Octomore series is known for being extremely smoky. But for the 2024 collection, the brand experimented with more than just peat. The newest group features three bottles, each of which have matured for five years in different barrels and casks. The result is three very different single malts: Octomore 15.1, Octomore 15.2, and Octomore 15.3.
"Octomore is an experiment," says head distiller Adam Hannett. "It's purposely designed to spark intrigue and prove the unimaginable. Based on liquid profile alone, this should be a one dimensional, overly-peated Islay single malt Scotch whisky with no depth—but we've created the opposite."
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Octomore 15.1 matured in a combination of first fill bourbon barrels and reused and re-charred ex bourbon casks. It's bottled at 59.1 percent ABV and malted to 108.2 phenol parts per million (PPM, the metric used to measure peatiness). The whisky offers aromas of caramel, vanilla custard, and sweet malt to go along with the trademark smoke. The palate follows with notes of mango, banana, and apricot jam.
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Octomore 15.2, meanwhile, shows exactly how much impact cask maturation can have. Distilled from the same batch of Scottish grown barley and also malted to 108.2 PPM, the 15.2 matured in a combination of second-fill wine and second-fill bourbon casks, before being finished in first-fill cognac casks. Bottled at 57.9 percent ABV, the Scotch offers that signature peat smoke on the nose, with the palate delivering vanilla custard and caramel. The sweetness is cut by black pepper and the island’s sea salty air lingers throughout.
Octomore 15.3 is a staggering 307.2 PPM and used barley from a single Islay farm. It was bottled at a cask strength of 61.3 percent and matured in a combination of first-fill bourbon casks and first-fill oloroso hogsheads from Ferando de Castilla, Jerez, Spain. Unsurprisingly, there’s a strong peaty quality throughout every layer. The nose offers aromas of cinder, toffee, and rich malted barley sugar, alongside notes of dried fruit and sweet orange zest. The finish finds more peat smoke with notes of coconut, adding an island freshness to the whisky.
"Our Islay barley works exceptionally well with high phenol levels, and Octomore 15.3 balances intense peat smoke with our cereal forward, malt-sugar spirit," says Hannett. "Contrary to popular belief, we're not looking to intentionally create the most super-heavily peated single malt whisky in the world, but rather create an extraordinary dram which demonstrates the perfect alchemy of peat, maturation, barley varietal and cask type. And that's Octomore 15.3 for me."
The complete Octomore 15 series, including 15.1, 15.2 and 15.3, is available to purchase online at the distillery’s official website as well as at specialist whisky retailers across the U.S.
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