Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Bruichladdich (Rèmy Cointreau)
Official website: www.bruichladdich.com
And here we are at the end of 2025 version of the Bruichladdich peaty bomb, with the three bottles plus one with a progressive numbering.
As always, the .1 serves as the “base” for the subsequent ones, with the .2 playing on the casks, the .3 featuring barley sourced exclusively from Islay, and the last one, unlike usual, being released alongside the others and not distinguished by the level of peatiness.
Octomore 16.1 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 59.3%abv
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon 1st fill
Average price: € 180.00
Scottish-grown Concerto quality barley, harvested in 2018, malted to 101.4 ppm and distilled the following year, matured for the usual five years in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels.
Tasting Notes
Nose characterized by acrid smoke from burning logs infused with fruity notes between fresh (apple, pear, apricot, ripe pineapple) and citrus (lemon), along with a solid vegetal component of burnt grass and Caribbean cigar. The second layer features braided syrup of maple and pecans, cooked cream, and toasted malt, with a subtle coastal and mineral influence, just hinted at. Solid and balanced.
Subtle nuances on the palate, a good sprinkle of black pepper, ginger, and cloves pave the way for a fruity bouquet where lemon takes the lead, accompanied by pastry notes leaning towards burnt shortcrust, crème brûlée, and nuts (pecans, roasted almonds), along with more prominent and defined vegetal notes, featuring burnt shrubs, licorice root, and a lit cigar. Dark chocolate and toasted malt. The smoke confirms an herbal quality, thick but less pungent than on the nose, harmonizing with the flavors without overpowering them. Saline hints linger throughout.
The finale is long and salty, amidst extinguished embers, lemon, burnt shortcrust, liquorice, and nuts.
Review: The first Octomore is always the most “predictable” and reassuring, a full and satisfying drink without surprises but also without pitfalls; a continuity that may seem a bit tiring when revisited year after year, but its solidity cannot be denied.
Vote: 85/100
Octomore 16.2 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 58.1%abv
Ageing casks: Ex-Sherry and ex-Wine
Average price: € 180.00
We remain in line with the previous series, in which the second bottling starts from the same base as the first regarding the raw material, including the level of peat and harvest, the same year of distillation, but matured in different woods: first maturation in ex-sherry oloroso and ex-Bordeaux casks, finishing in ex-Madeira and ex-Portuguese moscatel casks.
Tasting Notes
As always, on the nose, the massive peat proves to be quite gentle overall, just like the alcohol strength, and it is the sherry that wins the race to the nostrils with a blackberry and blueberry tart that paves the way for a fruity segment of sour cherries, ripe plums, blood orange, dried pineapple, and mango. There is a pronounced umami aspect, between miso, Worcestershire sauce, and vegetable broth cube, while in the background, dark chocolate, coffee praline, and tamarind syrup emerge. The smoke is vegetal, at various levels of toasting (wood, shortcrust pastry, coffee beans). Opulent.
So much sweetness on the palate, bordering on cloying, with a remarkable concentration of citrus and ripe red fruits. The umami aspect glides to the background, with a pronounced saltiness, while dominating are sweet licorice, milk chocolate, maple syrup, crème brûlée, fudge, and a hint of chestnut cake. A bittersweet finish that brings coffee back into style. More prominent smoke from lit logs, accompanied by a handful of aromatic herbs.
Finale long with dense and woody smoke, where umami and salt return with blackberry jam, dark chocolate, coffee, and citrus.
Review: Rich and balanced on the nose, but the same cannot be said for the taste, where the fortified wines dominate, tipping everything towards a sweetness that is too pronounced, at least for my tastes. Perhaps one of the Octomores that I liked the least so far.
Vote: 84/100
Octomore 16.3 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 61.6%abv
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon, ex-Wine and ex-Sherry PX
Average price: € 230.00
Concerto barley, grown on their farm and harvested in 2018, malted at 189.5ppm and distilled in 2019, with aging in ex-bourbon, ex-Sauternes wine, and ex-PX sherry casks.
Tasting Notes
Fleshy and darker than the two previous ones at the nose, with a pronounced spicy note of cloves that leads into the pastry of panforte, made up of blackberries, cooked honey, sweet licorice, and toasted cereals, very present. Surrounding it in a random order are cooked apples, fizzy cola candies, candied orange peel, and maple syrup. Despite having the highest level of peat, the tone of smoke is lesser, earthy and subterranean, with hints of mold and moss and a slight coastal note at the base. Imperceptible alcohol content. Chewy.
The palate confirms the dark character of the whisky, with intense spicy notes (always cloves with nutmeg, black pepper, and anise) that highlight the strong citrus component of candied and jammy orange, accompanied by salted caramel, pecans, miso, blackberry tart, licorice, and a hint of brined olives. The peat builds over time, slowly but relentlessly, from fishy smokiness to charcoal, marking an oily and full-bodied sip with sparkling touches. It has a lingering amaro, maintaining the balance of a sweetness that is never cloying.
Sticky and iodized, spicy finale made of marmite, dried fruit, citrus, BBQ sauce, and licorice.
Review: Octomore at its best, where ppm and alcohol content on paper seem impossible, are revealed to be balanced and well-managed, with an oiliness and compactness that rivals much older ages of maturation.
Vote: 88/100
Octomore 16.4 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 62.6%abv
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and new
Average price: € 210.00
Again, locally grown barley, harvested in 2018 and distilled the following year, with 189.5ppm of peat level and parallel maturation in ex-bourbon barrels and new French oak barrels.
Tasting Notes
A challenging alcohol strength completely absent on the nose, which, riding the waves of a bonfire, leads to an unexpectedly elegant and composed aromatic palette, featuring cocoa, toasted hazelnuts, chinotto, sweet licorice, crème brûlée, aromatic herbs (rosemary, thyme), and a dusting of spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric). A coastal vein runs through the aromas, not very pronounced, allowing for more space for the vegetal nature of the burnt peat, between wood and brushwood. A veil of coconut. Structured.
On the palate, spices become more pronounced, as do the aromatic herbs, with a greater presence of cloves and rosemary, alongside a generous handful of licorice powder. Less sweetness and more bitter notes, with an abundance of citrus (blood orange, chinotto), cocoa, nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, toasted pine nuts), and camphor. The smoke remains vegetal but with a marked saline note that runs through the entire sip, between brine and nori seaweed. Dry and astringent in length, with peppery notes and star anise to finish.
Finale long and dry, bitter, with spices, extinguished embers, citrus fruits, nuts, burnt cocoa paste, coffee.
Review: More disjointed in taste than it promises in aroma, it loses its compactness, succumbing to somewhat too pronounced bitterness. Nevertheless, it remains an interesting drink, albeit less engaging.
Vote: 86/100