Islay-based distillery Bruichladdich has unveiled a new series of heavily peated Octomore Scotch whiskies – Octomore 11s.
Set to launch on 1 October, the Octomore 11s range includes three expressions that will be available to purchase from specialist retailers and online via bruichladdich.com.
Single malt Octomore 11.1 was matured for five years in first-fill ex-American whiskey casks from Jim Beam, Heaven Hill and Jack Daniel’s. Malted to 139.6 PPM (phenol parts per million), Octomore 11.1 has been bottled at 59.4% ABV without chill filtration or caramel colouring.
Malted to 139.6 PPM, Octomore 11.2 was matured in two separate casks: 25% of the whisky was aged in Pauillac ex-wine casks, while the remaining 75% was aged in ex-American whiskey casks before being transferred into St Julien wine casks for 18 months.
All in all, the whisky was aged for five years on Islay before being bottled at 58.6% ABV without added colouring or chill filtration.
Unlike the other Octomores in the range, Octomore 11.2 will be available online via bruichlddich.com and in global travel retail.
The third whisky in the new series will be Octomore 11.3 (malted to 194 PPM), which was matured for five years in first-fill American whiskey casks from Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace and Jack Daniel’s. The whisky was bottled at 61.7% ABV without caramel colouring or chill filtration.
Furthermore, Bruichladdich has bottled a 2020 edition of Octomore 10 Years Old to sit alongside the Octomore 11s series. A total of 77 casks were combined to create the 10-year-old whisky, which was malted to 204 PPM.
The whiskies were matured in a mix of virgin oak, and first- and second-fill ex-American whiskey casks from Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace and Jack Daniel’s. Octomore 10 Years Old (2020 Edition) was bottled at 54.3% ABV without chill filtration or caramel colouring.