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About Bruichladdich Octomore 07.1 Scottish Barley Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Inspired by an entrepreneurial flair and a youthful enthusiasm, the Harvey brothers began construction of the Bruichladdich (pronounced brook-laddie or broo-lah-dee) Distillery in 1881. The brothers were descendants of a dynastic whisky family — their ancestors had already owned distilleries in Scotland for over a century. Today, Bruichladdich Distillery (Bruichladdich means "rocky shore" in ancient Gaelic) remains situated on the shores of Loch Indaal on the island of Islay, and continues to use much of the original equipment installed by the Harvey brothers.

The modern Bruichladdich Distillery is known as the most experimental and adventurous of the Scottish distilleries, and the Bruichladdich Octomore Series represents a singularly unique expression in the world of Scotch whisky.

Bruichladdich Octomore 7.1 is the distillery’s final release under Master Distiller Jim McEwan’s tenure. The whisky takes its name from Octomore Farm, a farm situated high above the village of Port Charlotte, just two miles away from Bruichladdich Distillery (the farm provides all of the barley used to create the whisky). Harvested from mainland Scotland, the barley used in this release is then malted before being peated to an absurdly high 208 phenol parts per million, making it one of the peatiest whiskies in the world.

After the barley has been peated, it is mashed using water drawn from the Bruichladdich loch. The water is soft and devoid of minerality, which makes it ideal for mashing and fermenting the barley. Following fermentation, the wash is twice distilled through Bruichladdich's 130 year-old, 20-foot tall, diamond-shaped stills. The Victorian-era stills produce whisky that is notably floral and elegant. "We have a distillery," says Jim McEwan, the master distiller at Bruichladdich, "and we know how to use it."

Once the whisky has been distilled, it is matured for five years in American oak before being bottled at 119 proof without the use of chill filtration or artificial coloring. As a result, Bruichladdich Octomore 7.1 has a sandy color, with aromas of sea spray, caramel, lemon peel and tobacco. The palate is filled with bright notes of peach, citrus fruits and honey, and is complemented by heavier notes of chimney smoke and leather. The peat is evident on the finish, with bold flavors coming together for a long, memorable sensation.

“The feeling is of long summer nights turning cooler as autumn approaches. This dram will transport you to Islay, to watch the sun setting over the sea while breathing in the peat smoke hanging in the air,” says McEwan.

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About Bruichladdich Octomore 08.3 Masterclass Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Bruichladdich is an award-winning distillery employing generations of distilling knowledge and the principle of minimal intervention. Built in 1881 on the wild Scottish island of Islay, their distillery still uses the original Victorian equipment to create a range of single malt whiskies that are trickle distilled, matured and bottled solely on Islay by a skilled team of men and women. Bruichladdich implements revolutionary, modern interpretations of time-honored ideas and challenges the comfortable conventions of a whisky establishment.

Rejecting the onset of modern automation and homogenization, Bruichladdich Head Distiller, Adam Hannett, only considers production methods that place the quality of liquid above everything else. Diversity starts in the field. Provenance is key. They believe the interaction of man, land, soil and climate is paramount. They value their farmer relationships, reconnecting that lost cycle between farmer and distiller -- land and spirit.

The modern Bruichladdich Distillery is known as the most experimental and adventurous of the Scottish distilleries, and the Bruichladdich Octomore Series represents a singularly unique expression in the world of Scotch whisky.

The Octomore farm is situated on the Rhinns of Islay, a remote area nestled high upon a hill, overlooking the village of Port Charlotte. Octomore harkens to the days of stone cold independence during a time when the legality of distilling had just barely entered the era of “enlightenment."

The word Octomore means “the big eighth,” it’s a term derived from the medieval division of common ground. The Original Octomore distillery was founded in 1816 by George Montgomery. The original spirit they produced at Octomore would have been heavily peated, and being distilled on the brine-soaked shores of the Loch Indaal, the whisky would have been sold very young.

The 49 tons of barley, grown on the Octomore farm, are germinated over a period of three days. Using a Sphagnum-based peat high in incredibly high in phenols, so high in fact, that Octomore 8.3 is one of Bruichladdich's most heavily peated whiskies, producing a reading of an astronomical 309.1PPM (Phenol Parts per Million), the highest ever recorded at the malting stage.

The peat used to dry the barley used in Octomore is sourced from a Caithness Croft, situated in the vastness of Northern Scotland also known as “The Flow Country.” An area where peat has been cultivated since the ice age, developing in waterlogged, anaerobic blanket bogs, forming from the partial decomposition of vegetal matter.

Dried over peat for five days, the malt is then shipped to Islay, where it is ground into grist using a mill made by Robert Boby, installed at the distillery in 1913. The grist is meticulously analyzed before being mashed and fermented in Douglas fir washbacks. The wash is then twice distilled in 17,275 liter steam heated copper distinct from the muc h wider pot stills that are traditionally used to distill heavily peated Islay whiskies. This is the first chapter in the Octomore odyssey to be entirely created by Head Distiller Adam Hannett. Distillation is also overseen by Production Director Allan Logan.

The only expression of the series to be aged five years instead of eight, Octomore 8.3 is aged in a variety of toasted ex-Bourbon and ex-wine casks crafted from European oak (56% ex-Bourbon American oak; 44% ex-Pauillac, Ventoux, Rhône and Burgundy European oak casks), which impart their own unique characteristics onto the spirit, collectively yielding a nutty, sweet, and floral aromas. Peat takes center stage in this Octomore expression, but this 5YO is also full of dark chocolate, peaches, and cherries. A bold whisky that reminisces back to the early days of the Octomore distillery. Bottled at a staggering 61.2% ABV.

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