Octomore is the super heavily peated whisky produced at Bruichladdich . This release was peated to a mind boggling 307.2 phenol ppm, more than double the other releases in this series! The concerto barley used for the whisky was all grown on Octomore farm, right down the road from the distillery.

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Whisky: Octomore 15.3

Country/Region: Scotland/Islay

ABV: 61.3%

Cask: First Fill Bourbon, Oloroso

Age: 5 Years (Distilled 2018, Bottled 7 Aug. 2024)

Notes: Spirited and robust, the aroma assaulted my senses with lemon-scented cleaning solutions, sweet burning mesquite wood, and taco seasoning: dried coriander, cumin seeds, and smoked chilis. A backyard, poolside taco bar came to mind, an idea rather than a memory— though what a glorious one— with wooden picnic tables, green grass, woody mulch, and an acrid cloud of charcoal grill smoke. Medium-bodied, the whisky was feisty and sweet with plenty of youthful, spirited pepper. Lemons and taco seasoning were right back in the mix with a wood-burning grill top and iron stove. Masa, a cooked corn sometimes stuffed in corn husks or banana leaves, offered a starchy sweetness with dried herbs and chilis in the background of the peppery spirit. The finish was medium to long and peppery with lemon, wood smoke, and smoked pepper.

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Score: 6-7  (79)

Mental Image: Community Pool Food Trucks

Conclusion: This was just as brash and spirited as the other releases in the 15.X series, but the flavors were more unusual and a better match for the peppery spirit. It was obviously still quite young, and not terribly refined; again I wondered what this would have been like with a bit more age to round off some of the sharper corners. That may not be what the Octomore faithful want though, and I might as well be an outsider intruding on their hallowed grounds.

Overall, an interesting whisky.