Whisky Names Explained: Octomore

It's time again to decode a whisky name for you. Today in Whisky Names Explained, we venture to Islay where the main character of this article originates: Octomore. According to the distillery, this is the most peat-complex single malt whisky on the market.

FAQ

The name Octomore comes from the Gaelic Ochdamh-Mor which means 'eighth estate' and at the same time pays tribute to Octomore Farm. Here, members of the Montgomery family ran a distillery from 1816 until 1852, near the village of Port Charlotte.

This distillery was most productive between the years 1826 and 1827. Annually, about 65 hogsheads barrels were distilled mainly to add value to the barley grown on Octomore's land.

In September 2002, the then-owner of Bruichladdich, Mark Reynier, and master distiller Jim McEwan, decided to establish in addition to the non-peated Bruichladdich, a heavily peated Port Charlotte, a third brand: Octomore. It is a super heavily peated single malt whisky.

In 2008, following maturation in ex-bourbon barrels, the first Octomore release entered the market with around 6,000 bottles. This was followed by edition 2.1, named 'Ochdamh-Mor'. This expression was peated with 140 PPM (parts per million*) which is more than two and a half times the standard Ardbeg.

After a long period of independence, the Bruichladdich distillery was sold in 2012 to the French multinational drinks group Rémy Cointreau. The French company has clearly committed to persistently innovating Octomore, much to the relief of lovers of the ultimate peaty dram.