Bruichladdich released Octomore Series 17 on 1 September 2026: 17.1, 17.2 and 17.3 are on the distillery website and at specialist retailers, with 17.4 to follow on 1 October. Peating levels are lower than in Series 16: the base bottling drops from 101.4 to 81 PPM, and the Islay-barley release from 189.5 to 132.1. We mention this for the PPM obsessives out there, this author included, even though PPM figures are relative.
The three expressions
Octomore 17.1 is the reference point of the series: Scottish mainland Concerto barley malted to 81 PPM, with the whisky matured full-term in first-fill bourbon barrels and bottled at 59.7%. The official notes speak of salt, smoke and sweetness, with vanilla milkshake, Scottish tablet and custard tart. It costs £143.
Octomore 17.2 comes from the same batch of 81 PPM barley, but it spent four years in second-fill French oak casks that had previously held Californian red wine and then bourbon, before a finish in first-fill Port barriques. This is the first time Bruichladdich has used this combination for Octomore. It is bottled at 59.5% and costs £158. The official notes list pepper, citrus and berries.
Octomore 17.3 is the Islay bottling: Concerto barley grown only in Irene’s Field, on Octomore Farm about two miles from the distillery, malted to 132.1 PPM. It spent five years in first-fill bourbon barrels and second-fill Ribera del Duero, Sauternes, Eiswein and Syrah casks. It is bottled at 60.9%. The price is £199. Master blender Adam Hannett calls it “elemental and expressive, powerful yet composed, weather-beaten, coastal”.
Prices and availability
US suggested retail prices are $204.99, $244.99 and $279.99. La Maison du Whisky, one of Europe’s main specialist retailers, lists the three bottles in France at €210, €240 and €295; Series 16 reached European shelves at €160 to €220. No Italian retailer is listing them as of 7 September 2026. 17.4 arrives on 1 October 2026: barley at 108.2 PPM, with the whisky matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks and finished in virgin French oak. In the UK it will be sold only through the distillery, at £178; in the US it will cost $249.99, online only and in limited quantities, the first time a .4 has been released there.
Series 16 pushed peat to its highest levels with 16.3 and 16.4; Series 17 lowers the numbers and leans on the casks, with Port, Ribera del Duero, Eiswein and Oloroso. As the comparison between the four Octomore 16 bottlings shows, PPM alone says little about what ends up in the glass: spirit, age and wood matter more. Within Series 17, 17.1 is the cheapest, and the only one matured in bourbon barrels alone.
