Bruichladdich's New Scotch Whiskeys Are the Perfect Pouring for Peat Lovers

Bruichladdich's Octomore range is known for being extremely smoky. But for its 2024 collection, the brand tried more than just peat. The newest batch includes three bottles, each matured for five years in different casks and casks. The result is three very different single malts: Octomore 15.1, Octomore 15.2 and Octomore 15.3.

“October is an experiment,” says head distiller Adam Hannett. “It was specifically designed to ignite intrigue and prove the unimaginable. Based on the liquid profile alone, this should be a one-dimensional, over-peated, depthless Islay single malt Scotch whiskey – but we have created the exact opposite.”

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Octomore 15.1 is matured in a combination of first-fill bourbon barrels and reused and recharred ex-bourbon barrels. It was bottled at 59.1 percent ABV and malted to 108.2 phenol parts per million (PPM, the measure used to measure peatyness). The whiskey offers flavors of caramel, vanilla custard and sweet malt along with its trademark smoke. Notes of mango, banana and apricot jam appear on the palate.

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Meanwhile, October 15.2 shows exactly how effective barrel maturation can be. Distilled from the same batch of Scottish barley and also malted to 108.2 PPM, 15.2 was 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, delivering vanilla custard and caramel on the palate. Black pepper cuts the sweetness and the island's sea salt air blows throughout.

Octomore 15.3 is a staggering 307.2 PPM and is spent barley from a single Islay farm. It was bottled at 61.3 percent barrel strength and matured in a combination of first-fill bourbon barrels and first-fill oloroso barrels from Ferando de Castilla, Jerez, Spain. Unsurprisingly, there is a strong peaty quality to each layer. The nose offers notes of dried fruit and sweet orange peel, as well as aromas of slag, toffee and rich malted barley sugar. The finish has more peat smoke with notes of coconut, adding island freshness to the whisky.

“Our Islay barley works extremely well with high phenol levels, and Octomore 15.3 balances the intense peat smoke with our grain-forward malt-sugar spirit,” says Hannett. “Contrary to popular belief, we do not deliberately aim to create the most heavily peated single malt whiskey in the world; rather, we aim to create an extraordinary dram that demonstrates the perfect alchemy of peat, maturation, barley variety and cask type. And for me, that is October 15.3.”

The entire Octomore 15 range, including 15.1, 15.2 and 15.3, is available to purchase online from the distillery's official website, as well as from specialist whiskey retailers across the US.

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