Launched in October 2021, the 12 series is claimed by the distillery as the world’s most heavily peated single malt, and explores barley provenance as well as cask maturation in combination with very high peat levels.
Distilled from the 2009 harvest of Scottish-grown Optic barley, this 2010 vintage was then malted to 90.3PPM. After five years maturing in first-fill American oak casks, the expression was recasked into Ribera del Duero wine barriques from northern Spain for another five years.
The distillery describes the resulting Octomore single malt as viscous, sweet and structured, with a touch of dryness from the tannic European oak. It is also the first whisky in the 12 series with an age statement of 10 years (the others are, generally, five years old). “At that age, with the quality of those casks, this Octomore is absolutely singing”, said Adam Hannett, head distiller at Bruichladdich Distillery.
Bottled at 56.3% ABV and limited to 3,500 bottles, Octomore Ten Aged Years is available now.