Islay based distillery Bruichladdich has announced the 12th series of its well-known super-heavily peated Octomore single malt. First launched in 2008, the latest batch comprises of the Octomore 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3. You can read my review of all three new releases here.
Octomore is known for seeking the boundaries of peated whiskies, over the years raising the bar to new heights and luring in whisky drinkers seeking for the next hit of smoke, tar, peat and general insanity. By focusing so much on the PPM of the whisky (phenol parts per million), a whole group of whisky drinkers have come to identify that number as the sole identifier for how smoky a whisky is.
Luckily, many Octomore drinkers have become more educated over the years. They now know PPM is basically but a number. There are a myriad of other factors that decide how smoky, peaty and flavourful a whisky is, cask maturation being but one of them. Each of the new releases has matured for 5 years.
Octomore 12.1 5 Years
Like most of the .1 editions, this too has matured solely in (first-fill) ex-American whiskey casks. It is sort of the benchmark for the rest of the series.
- Distilled in 2015 from the 2014 harvest of 100% Scottish grown Concerto barley
- Malted to 130.8 PPM
- Bottled at 59.9% alc./vol
- Matured entirely on Islay for five aged years
Octomore 12.2 5 Years
One of the most sought-after Octomore ever is the 4.2 Comus. Just like that infamous expression, the 12.2 also matured partly in Sauternes casks.
- Distilled in 2015 from the 2014 harvest of 100% Scottish grown Concerto barley
- Malted to 129.7 PPM
- Bottled at 57.3% alc./vol
- A 50/50 combination of 1st and 2nd fill American whiskey casks which were vatted together in 2019 and finished in first fill French sauterne wine casks
- Matured entirely on Islay for five aged years
Octomore 12.3 5 Years
Like I mentioned above, the 12.3 jumped out the most to me. Partly because of the Islay barley, but also because of the usage of proper Pedro Ximénez solera casks, a flavour profile that I can really get behind.
- Distilled in 2015 from the 2014 harvest of 100% Octomore Farm grown Concerto barley
- Malted to 118.1 PPM
- Bottled at 62.1% alc./vol
- Two parcels of super heavily peated spirit were married together to create this 12.3
- The first parcel (75%) was matured full term in first fill American whiskey casks
- The second parcel (25%) was matured full term in first fill PX sherry butts from Fernando De Castilla.
- Matured on Islay for 5 aged years
You won’t have to wait long to get your hand on one of these new releases, as they should become available in October 2021.
Check out my tasting notes for other releases:
