Octomore 12.x Extravaganza (Octomore 12.1 / 12.2 / 12.3)

This time of the year is upon us with a trio of brand new Octomores in their 12th batch. this time we’ve got all 3 available for purchase including the X.2 which is a travel retail edition but will also be widely available in case you’re wondering.

We’ll taste all 3, starting with the 12.1, of course.

Octomore 12.1 5yo, 59.9%, £131

Facts:

Distilled in 2015 from the 2014 harvest of 100% Scottish grown Concerto barley, Malted to 130.8 PPM 

Bottled unchill-filtered and coloring-free at Bruichladdich Distillery.

Maturation profile: Full-term maturation in first-fill American whiskey casks Matured entirely on Islay for five years 

Nose: Fresh and lemony on the nose, with lemon zest, yet still packing a nice peaty punch (130 ppm right?) which is softened by the sweet malty notes of cereals and barley sugar. further nosing reveals more vanilla custard, honey, and bits of dried coconut along with oak, and a hint of pine. Not the strongest of peaty noses, but still very much Octomore. water brings up even more spice, heat, and pepper.

Palate: Peppermint attack on the first sip, with chili heat and hot and spice cinnamon gum, then it becomes sweeter and quite oily, with big peaty, ashy notes, along with wood and hints of orchard fruit. The lemony zest is gone and replaced by more char, earth, and soot but also sugar and honey, with a touch of orange marmalade.

Finish: long and spicy with more peppery heat, and a salty touch, herbal peat, and smoke. quite long.

Conclusion: You get what you’re expecting here: a feisty spicy, and zingy Octomore, more towards the fresh lemony profile with enough going on on the palate. Maybe not the most complex Octomore of all time, but still for a 5-year-old this is pretty nice.

Score: 84/100

Octomore 12.2 5yo, 57.3%, £137

Facts:

Distilled in 2015 from the 2014 harvest of 100% Scottish grown Concerto barley, Malted to 129.7 PPM 

Maturation profile: A 50/50 combination of 1st and 2nd fill American whisky casks which were vatted together in 2019 and finished in first-fill French Sauternes wine casks. Matured entirely on Islay for five aged years

Nose: A nice twist with the Sauternes – More fruity on the entry with sweet smoke interwoven with ripe melon, overripe blood orange, and earthy notes, the smoke is everywhere, and the peat reek is softened by the ripe fruits sitting on vanilla cream and crushed caramel and honey biscuits in addition to more pine needle notes we’ve also seen on the 12.1.

Palate: Sweet and lovely with the fruit really evident on the first sip: peaches in sweet syrup, more melon, and honey. Pepper comes on the 2nd wave of sensations, as as well as sweet peat smoke, earth and chili heat, fresh vanilla cream and wood spices, a bit of ash and

Finish: sweet-ish with a salty edge, with more earthy peat, sweet bonfire smoke, a hint of smoked fish.

Conclusion: This, my friends is what i’m talking about! this is a terrific Octomore. I am a fan of Sauternes aging for those lovely peaty monsters and this is no different. Lovely stuff. Get one. It’s not cheap, I know – but it’s a keeper.

Score: 89/100

Octomore 12.3 5yo, 62.1%, £171

Facts:

Distilled in 2015 from the 2014 harvest of 100% Octomore Farm grown Concerto barley, Malted to 118.1 PPM

Maturation

Two parcels of super heavily peated spirit were married together to create this 12.3 

— The first parcel (75%) was matured full term in first-fill American whiskey casks. 

— The second parcel (25%) was matured full term in first-fill PX sherry butts from Fernando De Castilla. 

Nose: We’re in sherry land for sure here. Although this is only 25% PX, it’s very much evident on the nose with sweet sherry and the dried fruit (Fig, raisin, and some dates), The Octomore backbone brings more citrus notes (we’ve seen from 12.1), there’s a honeyed note as well, and milk chocolate infused with caramel, smoky tea leaves, and a hint of unsmoked cigar leaf, along with a nice touch of oak. Complex, sweet and sherried.

Palate: Spicy entry on this one as well, with an avalanche of pepper, peat, and hot cinnamon, then turning ashy, smoky, and earthy along with a wine-y touch (tannins). Smoky chocolate comes next. The fruit arrives on the 2nd wave of sensations (i mean the dried fruit in the form of fig, sultana, and prune in a sweet syrup) more oak spices, and quite some oak char, tobacco, and black tea, soot, and more earth.

Finish: sweet fig paste, lapsang tea, earth, and charcoal. Very very long.

Conclusion: Px can be overpowering, but the Octomore distillate is so strong and heavy with peat and flavor, it just blended wonderfully with the sherry and dried fruit. A real treat for Octomore lovers and sherry heads. This is my favorite of the bunch, along with the Sauternes. Sherry and peat lovers should really want one (and yes, it’s not cheap I know).

Score: 89/100

Summing it all up:

The new 12.x trio is good news for peat lovers and Bruichladdich fans. I really think Octomore and wine casks (be it Sherry or Sauternes, or whatever) really go well with the big bad Octomore character, from the early days of Octomore 2.2 Petrus cask which was divine !!!) I know Octomores are not cheap, and most people would say they they are expensive for 5-year-olds.. but you can not argue with quality.

For me, 12.2 & 12.3 are brilliant peaty whiskies, and while 12.1 is not bad – I must admit I’ve had better naked-Octomors (no wine or sherry cask- natural in American oak) as to speak in recent releases (all a matter of taste of course). If you enjoy a good Sauternes aged whisky, you will not want to miss on 12.2 – good it’s not only Duty-free release this time!

12.3 is wonderfully sherried and sweet and just a good example of BIG BOLD peat with sherry. can’t go wrong there if you dig this profile. and not tannin-y at all (which is a huge plus for me).

Slainte!