Of the many whisky distilleries, brands, and names that make up the landscape of Islay, few are as storied or as enigmatic as Octomore. “The most heavily peated whisky in the world” is the tagline that invariably accompanies the name, and whilst that’s an easy feature or hook for the brand to hang its hat on, it has always struck me that it risks underselling the whisky. For there is so much more to appreciate about Octomore than its mere peating levels.
Octomore is not a whisky distillery. (At least, not anymore. The original Octomore distillery was in operation from 1816 to 1852.) It is one of three different styles or variants of whisky made at the Bruichladdich distillery on Islay. As such, the story of Octomore cannot be told without first telling the story of Bruichladdich.
The Bruichladdich distillery was founded in 1881 – a Victorian distillery by virtue of its era – and the distillery today makes much fanfare of the fact that so much of its set-up, processes, and equipment remain unchanged since then. (It is true! The 19th century flywheels, belts, malt elevators, the raked mashtun, and other production items remain in place and still function as they did 140 years ago.) With a change of ownership in the 1960’s, the distillery bucked the Islay trend and opted to make an entirely unpeated malt. Together with Bunnahabhain at that time, its unpeated whisky was heralded for its clean, floral, and occasionally fruity character, yet also shaped by its very maritime location.
As was the case for so many other distilleries, the 1980’s were not kind to Bruichladdich, and the distillery went through periods of closure, mothballing, and sporadic ‘fire-ups’, all whilst simultaneously being allowed to deteriorate and decay. An unloved child in Whyte & Mackay’s portfolio and closed since 1994, it was put up for sale in 1999. A consortium of private investors, led by Mark Reynier, acquired the distillery the following year and began to breathe life into the distillery. In an article that has Octomore as its subject, we won’t devote paragraphs to the long yet worthwhile story that is Bruichladdich in the 2000’s but, suffice it to say, the distillery’s restoration and revival is the stuff of legend.
The new owners, armed with former Bowmore legend Jim McEwan as master distiller, set about adding to Bruichladdich’s product portfolio. In addition to Bruichladdich’s regular unpeated make, they added two variants to the distillery’s production: Port Charlotte (heavily peated), and Octomore (super-heavily peated). Of course, this was nothing new in the industry – Springbank had been doing it for years with their Longrow and Hazelburn variants. But what was new to the industry was the peating levels involved. The first malting run that supplied the malt for Octomore weighed in at a then-groundbreaking 80ppm. Lagavulin had previously upped its peating levels to 50ppm (alas, it reverted back to 35ppm in the mid 1990’s) and Ardbeg was claiming bragging rights at 50-55ppm, and so Octomore instantly became the world’s most heavily peated whisky. (Confused about ppm and what it all means? You might like to make a quick side-excursion across to our explainer article, The Complete Guide to Peat and Peated Whisky. Or, for a shorter read that’s a bit more focused, try our feature piece, When fixation on PPM gets OTT).
Higher peating levels would be achieved in the years that followed, getting up to levels of 160ppm. There have been releases (including this year’s Octomore 15.3) where phenol levels in the 300’s were claimed, although some corners of the industry occasionally question the calibration and measuring techniques employed by the distillery in promoting such levels. But, as stated in our opening paragraph above, focusing purely on Octomore’s peating level risks overlooking the whisky’s many other virtues. Chief amongst of which is this: Octomore is beautifully sweet and delicious!
When we first heard of Octomore’s reputed 80ppm, there were concerns that drinking a dram of the spirit would be akin to drinking liquid cigarette ash. It would be fair to say most Islay enthusiasts approached their first dram of Octomore out of sheer curiosity, but it was almost a universal reaction when we all concluded that the whisky wasn’t nearly as brutal or smoke-laden as the marketing guff had prepared us for.
The reasons for this are many and are all linked to the production methods and strategies. The perceived peatiness (and, hence, smokiness) of a whisky are functions of many variables beyond the simple phenolic content of the malt. It is driven by the fermentation (Bruichladdich employs a famously slow and long fermentation, producing a wash that is particularly estery and fruity); by the shape of the stills; by how fast the stills are run; and how far deep into the feints the distiller takes the cuts. A hallmark of Bruichladdich’s processes is the extremely slow distillation they employ – you’ll hear the word “trickle” used a lot – which results in a sweeter and more refined spirit making it over the neck and down the lyne arm. You can read the science of all that elsewhere in other articles on this site, but the executive summary is that Octomore is sweet, complex, earthy, smoky, maritime in character, medicinal, and – yes – very peaty.
One of the key features that surprises many about Octomore is its relative youth. Octomore’s “regular” releases (if such a word can be used) have generally been five or six years old over the years, although the distillery seems to have settled on five being the fixed number in recent times.
So, let’s sum up the parts here: Extremely heavily peated malt. Young, five year old whisky. The peat used for the malting process comes from the mainland (not Islay). A long fermentation, followed by a slow distillation. Limited runs, with only a short production campaign undertaken each year. Cask-strength spirit. No artificial colouring, and no chill-filtration. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Octomore!
The only other aspect of Octomore one needs to understand is its nomenclature. With each annual release, you’ll notice decimal points and numbers, e.g. 13.1, 14.2, 12.3, etc. The first number is simply the annual edition or series: 14.x tells us it’s from the 14th batch or series of Octomore. The digit after the decimal point is more telling, as we’ll outline…
x.1 is unadulterated, garden-variety, “backbone” Octomore. The spirit is matured in American oak ex-bourbon casks.
x.2 differs from the preceding range with the spirit being matured in European casks. Deliberately vague in classification, there is a broad palette to choose from here, not just in the actual species of oak (e.g. European oak, French oak, etc) but in what the casks previously held. Wines such as ex-Amarone, ex-Sauternes, ex-Austrian sweet wines have featured previously, but also ex-Cognac, ex-sherry and so on.
x.3’s point of difference is that the malt is all 100% Islay barley, farmed near the distillery. The whiskies are generally matured in a mixture of American oak and European oak, with the make-up, combinations, and recipe changing with each edition.
x.4 releases feature virgin oak in the cask recipe and, generally speaking, tend to be distillery-exclusives (i.e. can only be purchased at the distillery).
The timing of this piece aligns nicely with the release of the latest edition of Octomore Series 15. Whisky & Wisdom was privileged to attend the launch of Series 15 in Australia, and thus sampled Octomore 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3 over an enjoyable afternoon.
Series 15 of Octomore sees the malt weigh in at 108.2ppm for 15.1 and 15.2; the stated ppm for 15.3 (a different batch of barley, remember, being 100% from Islay) is 307.2ppm, and the spirit is, again, all five years old.
15.1 has been bottled at 59.1% ABV. It is deliciously sweet – wonderfully phenolic, but not drying or just a mouthful of carbon. It is superbly complex, with hints of vanilla, toffee, and perhaps even citrus lurking underneath the peat.
15.2 has been matured in ex-Cognac casks and bottled at 57.9% ABV. For me, this imparted some tannins to the spirit, but also a mild bitterness. Yes, extremely complex, but with a flavour profile that I confess didn’t entirely gel with me. (Such judgements are, of course, entirely individual and subjective…my colleagues sitting alongside me at the event voted this their favourite.)
15.3 is bottled at 61.3% ABV and had the unmistakable note of sherry cask maturation, with ex-oloroso nicely melding with the peat. There was a small hint of sulphur in the mix – not offensively so, but enough to suggest some of the casks in the line-up were tainted. Heavily peated spirit matured in sherry casks can occasionally be hit or miss; this expression leant over on to the “hit” side for me…I’d have loved it more, but I’m admittedly not a fan of sulphur. Those with a blind spot to the fault will likely push 15.3 to the top of their list, and fair enough. Despite the outrageous phenol level of 307.2ppm, the whisky was – as Octomore always is – balanced and well-behaved.
For all the added complexity and flavour variation that European casks can bring to a whisky, there was something about the unadulterated Octomore 15.1 that shone all the brighter to my palate. The peat was high, strong, and heavy – but never clumsy or bombastic. The spirit is beautifully refined; delicately balanced, and so deliciously sweet. If you enjoy the sweet, smoky vanilla notes of Ardbeg 10, then Octomore 15.1 needs to be added immediately to your shopping list.
Retail prices will vary from market to market; RRP for Australia is $280 for 15.1, $290 for 15.2, and $360 for 15.3.
There are two indisputable facts about Octomore: Firstly, it’s the most heavily peated whisky in the world. Secondly, it’s extremely limited. Of all the whisky being made at Bruichladdich, Octomore accounts for just 5% of production! It has a cult following; and will sell out almost immediately. If you’re keen, move quickly!
Cheers,
AD
PS….if you’re a fan of Bruichladdich, you might like our recent article on the new well-aged releases from the distillery, Bruichladdich 18yo & Bruichladdich 30yo.
