Octomore 14.4

Bruichladdich Distillery has just announced the release of the fourth edition of Octomore whisky in the 14 series.

Octomore 14.4 (59.2% vol.) is a whisky distilled in 2017, from barley from the previous year's harvest. This barley is the Concerto variety, bred on the Scottish mainland. This barley was malted and dried over peat smoke to a phenolic content of 106 ppm. The whisky was matured for five years in fresh oak barrels sourced from Colombia. The barrels were fired from the inside to varying degrees, and from among them was selected the composition that ultimately made up the Octomore 14.4.

Colombian oak has never before been used to mature whisky in Bruichladdich. It is similar in its characteristics to French oak, the manufacturer says, and the densely packed jars allow it to draw out a fair amount of accents of sweet vanilla and caramel. The degree of barrel firing - from lightly roasted to heavily roasted - allowed the whisky to achieve considerable complexity and depth of flavor, despite its relatively low age.

As the manufacturer assures, in the aroma of the new Octomore 14.4 we find notes of dry, earthy peat smoke, tropical fruits and the sweetness of roasted oak. Accents of iodine, aromatic spices, barbecue smoke, peaches, mango, passion fruit, landraces, vanilla, coconut and English sauce. In the taste we can expect notes of smoky oak and peat smoke, apples, pears, spices, including mainly black pepper. The addition of a little water will enhance the spice and earthy smoke accents, plus the sweetness of barley malt and popcorn accents.

Naturally, as with all whiskies from the Bruichladdich distillery, Octomore 14.4 was not colored with caramel, was not cold-filtered or diluted before bottling. So we get it in the most natural form.

Octomore 14.4 is available exclusively direct from the distillery, and the price of a single bottle is £179.37.

Octomore is one of three whisky brands produced at the Bruichladdich distillery on the island of Islay. The other two are the peatless Bruichladdich and the strongly peaty Port Charlotte. Octomore, a true "peat monster," was first released in 2008 and was a whisky first distilled in 2002. The malt used in its production at the time was smoked to a level of 80 ppm. Over time, this value increased until it reached its apogee in the case of Octomore 8.3, where 309.1 ppm was recorded in the malt prepared for production.

In the current offer of the House of Whisky Online you can find several current and older editions of Octomore, as well as a very wide selection of other whiskies from the Bruichladdich distillery. Please visit.


[21.11.2023 / photo: Bruichladdich]