Islay distillery Bruichladdich has revealed its 16th annual Octomore sequence, which options ‘sky-high’ PPMs, traceable barley, and a singular choice of world casks.
The sequence, which launches at present (2 September), options three expressions, every of which has been described as layered, complicated and ‘ever altering’.
The gathering is an evolution from sequence 15, which debuted final yr, that includes new concepts and experiments from the model’s grasp blender Adam Hannett.
Talking completely with The Spirits Enterprise, Hannett explains that with every Octomore sequence, the purpose is all the time to push boundaries whereas concurrently educating to make the whisky accessible. “It’s a little bit of a contradiction. We encourage individuals to match the expressions, not simply horizontally throughout the vary, however vertically: what variations do they style between the 15.1 and the 16.1, for instance? If you find yourself doing issues the way in which we do at Bruichladdich, no two casks are going to style similar,” he says.
“This yr we’ve obtained a totally completely different cask make up on the .2. Final yr, we launched the second most-heavily peated expression up to now within the 15.3 – a stratospheric 307.2 PPM (phenol elements per million) – and this yr, we’ve obtained one thing that on paper must be extra gentile however nonetheless packs a punch with regards to phenols. The rationale we’ve executed that is to point out that it’s not in regards to the phenol degree alone, it’s in regards to the maturation profile, the near-cask energy ABV, and the age of the spirit. It’s the mix of all these items that makes Octomore such a singular and particular sequence.”
The gathering begins with Octomore 16.1, which gives the reference level for this sequence’ ‘unorthodox’ experimentation. The whisky has been crafted utilizing 100% Scottish mainland Concerto barley, malted to 101.4 PPM and aged in cask for 5 years.
Boasting an ABV of 59.3%, the liquid has matured in first-fill Bourbon barrels for 5 years, bringing intense peat smoke with ‘shocking’ delicacy, with notes of salted caramel, honeyed melon and apricot adopted by chocolate and coconut, accompanied by a wave of earthy minerality and lingering smoke. It’s priced at £140 (US$188).
Second within the sequence is Octomore 16.2, priced at £155 (US$208) which makes use of the identical distillate because the 16.1, however as an alternative has been aged in a choice of oloroso Sherry and Bordeaux casks earlier than being completed in Madeira and Portuguese Moscatel for a wealthy and sophisticated flavour of caramelised sugar, roasted nuts, and dried fruits which are enveloped in candy smoke.
Hannett explains that that is the primary time the distillery has used this mix of casks in an Octomore bottling, “which is thrilling when you think about that that is our sixteenth sequence,” he exclaims.
“Taking liquid that had been matured in Bordeaux and oloroso casks, we had the choice to complete in all kinds of casks, nonetheless I chosen Madeira and Moscatel for the stunning fruity and nutty flavours that they might impart, complementing the purple fruits and spices from the unique casks. That is fairly a unprecedented dram, you possibly can see that from the color of the liquid alone, so experimenting with the casks has paid off.”
He provides: “I’m actually excited in regards to the 16.2 this yr. The distinctive cask make-up has led to a liquid that’s balanced, complicated and packing a lot when it comes to flavour, and of that stunning, dry campfire smoke Octomore is understood for.”
Octomore 16.3 rounds off at present’s releases, and is a showcase of single farm, single discipline, and single classic whisky-making.
The whisky has been produced in its entirety from barley grown on Octomore Farm – particularly in Church Area – positioned a number of miles from the distillery.
This ultra-high provenance single malt whisky explores the affect of this barley, and gives a symphony of honeyed malt, toasted grain and a particular earthiness that meets delicate notes of smoke and salinity.
The whisky has been aged in a mixture of Bourbon, Sauternes and Pedro Ximénez casks, which Hannett says has introduced ahead some “actually fascinating flavours”.
“Bourbon brings that vanilla, caramel and coconut flavour, which pairs very well with the smoke. With PX, you get richness and candy darkish fruit flavours. These are balanced by the Sauternes cask, which brings a lightweight fruitiness and freshness and a citrus high quality.
“However,” he says, “this dram is admittedly in regards to the Islay barley, grown simply two miles from the distillery on Octomore Farm. Extremely-high provenance and totally traceable, the domestically grown barley brings the essence of Islay into the liquid, with an earthiness, a cereal sweetness, and people beautiful floral notes of heather and gorse.”
Octomore 16.3 rests at 61.6% ABV, and clocks in at 189.5 PPM. It’s priced at £195 (US$262).
Regardless of the excessive phenols present in all three expressions, the smoky notes in every are described as dry and campfire-like reasonably than medicinal, which is extra typical for prime phenol whiskies.
Hannett reveals that the largest affect on Octomore’s distinctive character is the way in which they distil, particularly “the cuts we take within the nonetheless home and the form and measurement of our stills. Our stills are tall and slim, and we distil slowly so our spirit is gentle and filled with flavour and viscosity. After we take the cuts to find out which fraction of the distillation makes it into our new make spirit, the standard of the spirit comes before everything, with how smoky the spirit is all the time secondary.”
He explains that the phenols have a tendency to come back via in larger proportion in the direction of the tip of the spirit run and into the tails, so reasonably than chase the phenols into the tails and lose high quality, they choose to “allow them to go and get what we get when it comes to smoke”. This tends to imply the flavours they choose up are drier and earthier, “like burnt heather and seaside bonfire – ashy reasonably than oily and medicinal”, he shares.
Octomore 16.4
In November 2025, the distillery will launch a last expression within the vary, the 16.4.
An e-commerce unique, the 16.4 showcases the ‘dynamic rigidity and supreme concord’ achieved between French virgin oak and heavily-peated Islay barley.
Malted to 189.5 PPM and bottled at 62.6% ABV, the whisky gives a refined, earthy undercurrent from the barley with notes of toasted oak, roasted espresso beans, darkish chocolate, and a touch of candy smoke.
Hannett explains that for Octomore, its greater peating ranges sometimes broaden the variety of casks they’re able to experiment with. For instance, he shares that the “notion round Virgin oak is that it’s too highly effective and it’ll utterly dominate the fragile flavours of the spirit. And naturally, if you happen to go away it and don’t handle it, it completely will.
“After we first tried Virgin oak, we wished to see the impression of super-heavy peat and this highly effective oak, they usually simply labored actually properly as a result of there may be such energy and presence in these heavy phenols. With Octomore, you’ve obtained a brilliant heavy peated spirit paired with equally highly effective Virgin oak, the latter of which could be fairly dominating. However as a result of we’re bottling the spirit comparatively younger, at 5 aged years, the oak doesn’t overpower the ultimate flavour.”
‘Octomore worthy’ spirits
Hannett shares that with every new Octomore sequence that’s launched, the purpose is all the time to craft one thing thrilling for the shoppers so as to “give them one thing new to expertise”.
“We work on every sequence from earlier than the spirt is distilled to the second it goes into the bottle, permitting us to develop every whisky all via its life and guarantee it reaches its full potential. Figuring out if a launch makes it into a brand new sequence is a judgement name I’m blissful to make. All the things we bottle I’m proud to place my identify to, as I do know it’s historical past and the way a lot work we’ve put into that whisky.”
He explains that if there’s a liquid that he feels wants extra time, they’ll know properly earlier than they arrive to bottle, “so we will make choices to make sure we’ve the most effective, flavour-forward whiskies that educate and problem conference with every launch.”
The query, nonetheless, is what makes a cask ‘Octomore worthy’?
“Octomore is experimental by nature,” Hannett says. “If you consider different whisky manufacturers, they’re releasing the identical product to the world, yr after yr, and so consistency is completely key for them. Not so for Octomore: we launch 4 new merchandise in a sequence annually, which provides us the liberty to experiment with casks with out being constrained by that want for absolute uniformity – basically the world is our oyster!”
This, he explains, permits the crew to get artistic and take a look at completely different cask mixtures. “It retains issues contemporary and thrilling. Finally, how we determine is predicated on flavour – what casks and mixtures of casks convey the most effective, most unusual flavour, probably the most pleasure. We’re all the time pushing ourselves to do one thing completely different.”
With greater than 200 completely different cask varieties accessible within the Bruichladdich warehouses, every sourced from among the best cooperages and chateaux on this planet, Hannett and his crew are usually not in need of choices for annually’s releases.
However past the standard of the casks and the distinctive high quality of the wooden, he explains that it comes down to private choice. “That’s the wonderful thing about Octomore – you’ve obtained 4 completely different expressions with 4 completely different maturation profiles, so you possibly can experiment throughout the vary and actually take into consideration what flavours you get pleasure from in your whisky.
“With out sounding too flippant, I’ve all the time discovered that when you’ve glorious high quality wooden from a very good supply, and good high quality of spirit, you possibly can’t go too far improper. It’s about listening to the spirit because it matures and fascinated by the flavours creating and the way you need to use them together with different casks to create superb whiskies.”
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