🥃🥃 Tasting Notes
Appearance:
Sunlit gold, bright and luminous despite the whisky's enormous peat concentration and complex mixture of American and European oak.
Aroma:
Immediate and unmistakably coastal, with salty, tarry, medicinal peat smoke evoking sea spray, coal smoke, and weathered rope.
As the initial phenolic intensity settles, the Islay barley becomes increasingly expressive. Warm malted grain, brown sugar, and fresh barley flour emerge alongside lemon peel and crisp orchard fruit.
Green apple, pear, and pear drops provide freshness while vanilla and marzipan introduce sweetness. Herbal notes reminiscent of marram grass and wildflowers reinforce the whisky's distinctly coastal Islay character.
Palate:
Full-bodied, viscous, powerful, and remarkably layered:
Salted caramel provides rich sweetness
Smoked apple combines fruit with peat
Toasted coconut reflects the first-fill bourbon influence
Praline contributes roasted nut richness
Vanilla cream provides softness against the high proof
Sweet barley remains clearly identifiable
Green apple adds crisp orchard fruit
Pear contributes softer fruit sweetness
Citrus oils cut sharply through the smoke
Earthy peat builds progressively
Deep char introduces darker smoky character
Dry ash adds mineral intensity
European oak contributes additional structure
Maritime salt provides tension and freshness
Mineral salinity keeps the palate precise
132.1 PPM delivers enormous peat concentration
60.9% ABV creates tremendous weight and intensity
Water reveals additional malt, vanilla, orchard fruit, florals, citrus, and coastal character
Finish:
Exceptionally long, dry, smoky, and resonant.
Initial malted sweetness, soft florals, and vanilla gradually surrender to earthy peat, dry ash, and maritime salt.
The smoke persists for an extraordinary length of time—savory, warming, coastal, and unmistakably Octomore.
Bruichladdich Octomore Edition 17.3 represents the terroir-driven centerpiece of Series 17.
Where 17.1 establishes the bourbon-cask reference point and 17.2 explores the transformative power of wine and Port casks, 17.3 shifts attention toward provenance—100% Islay Concerto barley grown in one field on Octomore Farm, just two miles from the distillery.
Combine that extraordinary traceability with 132.1 PPM, 121.8 Proof, five years of Islay maturation, and a sophisticated combination of bourbon and European wine casks, and the result is an expression that captures everything Octomore was created to explore: barley, place, peat, oak, strength, and time.
For collectors and enthusiasts of Octomore, Bruichladdich, Islay-grown barley, super-heavily peated Scotch, high-proof single malt, and terroir-driven whisky, Octomore 17.3 is the essential conclusion to the Octomore Series 17 trilogy.
Description
Bruichladdich Octomore Edition 17.3 Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700mL) — 5 Year | 132.1 PPM | 121.8 Proof | 100% Islay Barley
Experience the most terroir-driven expression of Octomore Series 17 with Bruichladdich Octomore Edition 17.3, an extraordinary super-heavily peated Islay Single Malt created entirely from barley grown on Octomore Farm, Islay, just two miles from Bruichladdich Distillery.
While Octomore 17.1 and 17.2 are produced from Scottish mainland barley, 17.3 brings the focus home to Islay.
Every drop begins with 100% Concerto barley grown exclusively in Irene's Field at Octomore Farm. The barley was harvested in 2019, distilled in 2020, and malted to an enormous 132.1 PPM before being transformed into one of the most traceable single malt whiskies in the Octomore range.
Bruichladdich describes 17.3 through three defining ideas: single farm, single field, single vintage.
After distillation, the whisky matured for 5 years in a carefully composed combination of first-fill bourbon barrels and second-fill European oak casks, including casks that previously held Ribera del Duero, Sauternes, Eiswein, and Syrah.
Bottled at a formidable 60.9% ABV (121.8 Proof), Octomore 17.3 combines enormous peat intensity with sweet Islay barley, orchard fruit, vanilla, salted caramel, toasted coconut, citrus, mineral salinity, and unmistakable coastal smoke.
It is powerful, elemental, and deeply connected to the island where both its barley and whisky were created.
🥃 Product Details
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Brand: Octomore
Producer: Bruichladdich Distillery
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Edition: Octomore 17.3
Series: Octomore Series 17
Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Bottle Size: 700mL
Age: 5 Years
Barley: 100% Islay-Grown Concerto Barley
Farm: Octomore Farm
Field: Irene's Field
Barley Harvest: 2019
Distilled: 2020
Malting: Super-Heavily Peated
Peat Level: 132.1 PPM
Maturation: Full-Term 5-Year Maturation
Cask Types: First-Fill Bourbon & Second-Fill European Oak
European Oak Includes: Ribera del Duero, Sauternes, Eiswein & Syrah Casks
ABV: 60.9%
Proof: 121.8 Proof
Style: Super-Heavily Peated
Series Role: Islay Barley / Terroir Expression
Character: Coastal Peat, Sweet Malt, Green Apple, Pear, Salted Caramel, Vanilla, Toasted Coconut, Citrus & Maritime Salt
🥃 Single Farm. Single Field. Single Vintage.
Octomore 17.3 takes whisky provenance to an extraordinary level.
The barley isn't simply described as Scottish.
It isn't even simply described as Islay barley.
Bruichladdich can trace it to one individual field—Irene's Field at Octomore Farm.
Located approximately two miles from Bruichladdich Distillery, Octomore Farm has become central to the philosophy behind the .3 releases.
The barley used for Edition 17.3 was grown and harvested on Islay in 2019, before traveling the short journey into Bruichladdich's production process and being distilled in 2020.
That makes 17.3 an exploration not only of peat and oak, but also of place.
The island influences the whisky from the agricultural beginning of its barley through maturation on Islay.
🥃 An Extraordinary 132.1 PPM
Octomore has built its reputation around challenging conventional ideas about heavily peated whisky, and 17.3 pushes peat considerably beyond its Series 17 siblings.
Octomore 17.1: 81.0 PPM
Octomore 17.2: 81.0 PPM
Octomore 17.3: 132.1 PPM
At 132.1 parts per million, Edition 17.3 begins with substantially more heavily peated malt.
Yet the objective isn't simply to create the smokiest possible whisky.
The peat provides a framework around which the Islay-grown barley, fruit, oak, sweetness, coastal salinity, and mineral character can develop.
The result demonstrates the central contradiction that makes Octomore so fascinating: enormous peat specifications can coexist with remarkable elegance and complexity.
🥃 A Complex Full-Term Maturation
Unlike 17.2, which uses a distinct finishing stage, Octomore 17.3 undergoes its maturation full-term across a combination of different casks.
The recipe incorporates:
First-Fill Bourbon Barrels
Providing vanilla, salted caramel, toasted coconut, sweetness, and creamy oak.
Ribera del Duero Casks
Contributing structure, dark fruit influence, and European oak character.
Sauternes Casks
Adding richness, sweetness, and concentrated fruit.
Eiswein Casks
Providing another dimension of sweet fruit and acidity.
Syrah Casks
Introducing additional fruit, spice, and wine-driven complexity.
Rather than allowing any individual wine cask to dominate, the components work together around the central character of Islay barley and super-heavy peat.
⭐ Why You'll Love It
- Official Octomore Series 17 release
- Super-heavily peated Islay Single Malt
- Extraordinary 132.1 PPM
- 5-year age statement
- Bottled at 60.9% ABV
- Massive 121.8 Proof
- Produced from 100% Islay-grown barley
- Uses Concerto barley
- Barley sourced exclusively from Octomore Farm
- Grown exclusively in Irene's Field
- Octomore Farm is only about two miles from Bruichladdich Distillery
- Single farm provenance
- Single field provenance
- Single vintage barley
- Barley harvested in 2019
- Distilled in 2020
- Matured for its entire five years in a complex cask combination
- First-fill bourbon barrel maturation
- Second-fill European oak maturation
- Includes Ribera del Duero casks
- Includes Sauternes casks
- Includes Eiswein casks
- Includes Syrah casks
- Intense coastal peat smoke
- Rich Islay barley character
- Salted caramel and vanilla balance the smoke
- Orchard fruit adds freshness
- Citrus oils provide brightness
- Maritime salinity reinforces its Islay identity
- Ideal finale to an Octomore 17.1, 17.2 & 17.3 tasting
- Highly collectible annual Octomore release
🍽️ How to Enjoy
Octomore 17.3's enormous proof and peat concentration make it particularly rewarding to explore slowly:
- Serve neat at room temperature
- Use a Glencairn or tulip-shaped whisky glass
- Allow 10–15 minutes to open
- Experience the first sip neat at full 121.8 Proof
- Add several drops of water after the initial tasting
- Allow the whisky to rest again after adding water
- Continue adding water gradually to reveal additional fruit and malt
- Compare directly with Octomore 17.1 and 17.2
- Pair with smoked salmon or grilled oysters
- Excellent alongside charred steak
- Pair with smoked brisket or barbecue
- Enjoy with roasted lamb
- Pair with mature cheddar or blue cheese
- Excellent alongside salted dark chocolate
- Pair with toasted nuts
- Try with caramel, apple, or pear-based desserts
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