On Tuesday, Bruichladdich Distillery unveiled the 14th installment of its annual Octomore series, the brand’s line of highly sought-after, heavily peated Scotches.
First launched in 2008, Octomore is widely regarded as the world’s most heavily peated Scotch whisky series, with each release seeking to explore the differences barley type, cask type, and peat levels impart on flavor. This year’s release includes three bottles: 14.1, 14.2, and 14.3, each of which is aged for five years and bottled close to cask strength.
“Everything we do at Bruichladdich Distillery is about exploring the fundamentals of whisky making — considering how and where our raw ingredient is grown, understanding the influence of terroir and experimenting with a variety of casks,” says Bruichladdich head distillery Adam Hannett. “These fundamentals are inherent to each Octomore series, and the latest collection is no different.”
Octomore 14.1 is described by the distillery as the backbone of this year’s series release, serving as a reference point for both 14.2 and 14.3 to be compared against. 14.1 is distilled from 100 percent Scottish barley and malted to 128.9 parts per million (ppm) before aging in ex-American whiskey casks. For reference, to be considered a heavily peated Scotch, the whisky need only be malted to 30 ppm — which demonstrates just how much smoke there is in this bottle. Octomore 14.1 is intended to show the finesse between whisky, smoke, and cask and, according to the distillery, imparts notes of sweet caramel, vanilla, and hints of citrus among peated smoke.
Like 14.1, Octomore 14.2 is also peated at 128.9 ppm and distilled from 100 percent Scottish malted barley. 14.2, though, spends its five years in a combination of Oloroso and Amarone casks. The differing casks impart roasted coffee, red currant, and rich fruit cake notes flavors carried on a wave of smoke, according to Bruichladdich.
Malted at 214.2 ppm, Octomore 14.3 is the most heavily-peated Scotch in this year’s bunch, and is distilled exclusively from barley sourced from the distiller’s home of Islay,, in order to demonstrate the influence of terroir on flavor. Aged in a combination of bourbon casks and second fill wine casks, Bruichladdich describes aromas of sweet mash with toffee, sweet vanilla, and earthy smoke on the palate.
All three bottlings in this year’s Octomore series — 14.1, 14.2, and 14.3 — are available on the distillery’s website and at select whisky retailers for a suggested retail price of $219.99, $259.99, and $299.99, respectively.
