scotch doesn’t have to be aged for at least a decade to obtain complexity of flavor. “For me, getting to push this liquid to its very limits is a pleasure and a welcome challenge year on year,” said head distiller Adam Hannett in a statement. “This 13th series is made up of a selection of incredible single malts with a real complexity and depth of flavor.
Octomore 13.1 is sort of the control whisky here, as is the case each year with the first whisky in the series. It was distilled in 2016 from 100 percent Scottish Concerto barley and matured in first-fillbarrels for five years and then re-casked in 2021 into fresh first-fill barrels to add a burst of toffee, coconut and vanilla flavors, according to the tasting notes. The peat level is a whopping 137.3 ppm, which translates to super-duper smoky for the uninitiated. This whisky was bottled at 59.
Octomore 13.3 is a study in Islay terroir, having been distilled from 100 percent Concerto barley grown on the Octomore Farm near the distillery. This too was distilled in 2016, but was matured in a combination of first-fill American barrels and second-fill French oak casks for five years. The peat level is a bit less aggressive here at 129.3 ppm, and it’s bottled at a higher 61.1 percent ABV with notes of vanilla, brown sugar and green fruit.series for yourself when the whiskies launch on 10/18 here in the US, ranging in price from $219.99 to $299.99.