Packing peat.

Bruichladdich is one of the most impressive distilleries in Scotland, the World even. It was built in 1881 by the Harvey brothers, who came from a dynastic Whisky family. The brothers had wanted to create a distillery that was the very antithesis of an Islay farm distillery. They built a cathedral-like, state-of-the-art Victorian still house, where they used 6m tall stills, which was unheard of at that time, and way ahead of its time.

More than a hundred years have passed, but the mad scientists at Bruichladdich are still breaking new ground when it comes to Spirit production. The distillery once known for making only unpeated Whisky in a peat stronghold (Islay!) decided to break, even smash the tradition with their Octomore collection. It started out as a late night dram conversation round the fire – “what if we distilled the most heavily peated Whisky in the world?” And distil they did, yes sir. The rest is history.

Their latest radical experiment of the series, the Bruichladdich Octomore 07.4 Virgin Oak, was distilled from barley peated to a whopping 167 ppm (Phenols-per-Million), matured for 7 years in a combination of virgin oak and first fill bourbon casks and bottled at 61,2 % ABV. Holy smoke! The combination of peat-rich Octomore and sweet, honeyed vanilla derived from great French oak produces a dram unlike any other. It is as original as it is outrageous and a must try for any true peat-head.