New Releases: Octomore 14, Eifel, Milk & Honey, Wolfburn, and More

It’s the season of Octomore, the ultra-peated annual whisky from Islay’s Bruichladdich Distillery that is now in its 14th edition. Octomore 14 comes in the usual three separate Octomore offerings, and all three are available in the U.S. That’s a welcome departure from some years ago when only two of the three expressions were shipped stateside. These ultra-peated gems are noteworthy for their young age profile, heavily peated mashbills, and high ABVs, which somehow all combine to produce a remarkably gentle, complex, and tasty whisky. This year’s releases will be reviewed soon, but they were already showing beautifully in our initial tasting.

Elsewhere in the whisky world, Eifel Whisky from Germany is out with three new releases, while Israel’s Milk & Honey has a special edition for the High Holy Day of Rosh Hashana. Scotch whisky maker Wolfburn has released its first-ever 10 year old expression as part of its core lineup, and Bushmills has launched the World Wood series, a new grouping of cask-finished whiskeys that currently is available in Travel Retail only. Read on for details.

Octomore 14.1
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Islay)
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 59.6%
Price: $220
Peat Level: 128.9 ppm
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
In keeping with Octomore tradition, this .1 expression is the core whisky of the threesome—what master distiller Adam Hannett calls his “control” whisky of the group. Like previous Octomore .1 expressions, it's made with 100% concerto barley from the Scottish mainland and aged in bourbon barrels for 5 years. This one is bottled at cask strength and peated to a phenol level of 128.9 parts per million (ppm).

Octomore 14.2
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Islay)
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 57.7%
Peat Level: 128.9 ppm
Price: $260
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
Octomore 14.2 is designed to showcase cask maturation. This year's .2 edition was aged in a mix of 40% oloroso hogsheads, 44% second-fill amarone casks, and 16% first-fill amarone casks. The oloroso hogsheads are from Fernando de Castilla in Jerez. After 4 years in those casks, those whiskies were blended into Pauillac casks to add a fourth layer of flavor. Like 14.1, the 14.2 expression was distilled from Scottish concerto barley, and malted to 128.9 ppm.

Octomore 14.3
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Islay)
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 61.4%
Peat Level: 214.2 ppm
Price: $300
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
The Octomore .3 edition is traditionally about about Islay provenance. In keeping with that tradition, this one is distilled from 100% Islay-grown concerto barley harvested from Octomore Farm, which is located less than two miles from the distillery. It was matured in a mix of 50% first-fill bourbon, 15% first-fill red wine, and 35% second-fill red wine barrels. With a phenol level of 214.2 ppm, it's far peatier than the first two 14.1 expressions—but still well below the 309 ppm level of the 2017 Octomore Masterclass 08.3, which had a peat level of 309 ppm.

Whisky Advocate says:
By logic, says Hannett, “Octomore is a whisky that shouldn’t work—too young, too peaty, and too strong. And yet it does.” By comparison, Ardbeg is generally peated to around 50-55 ppm (with some exceptions), while Lagavulin is peated to 35 ppm. But although Octomore touts its off-the-charts phenol levels and is billed as the most heavily peated whisky in the world, its gentle spirit belies its numbers. All three of these Octomore 14 whiskies are in the market and available now.

Eifel Whisky 2023 Releases
Style: Various
Origin: Germany
Age: 10 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: $90
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
Details of the Eifel Whisky 2023 releases have been announced, which all carry a 10 year old age statement. Eifel’s husband-and-wife owners Stephan Mohr and his wife Carolin have been making whisky since 2008, using a variety of different mashbill combinations and drawing inspiration from Germany’s long distlling history. This year marks the first time Eifel has placed a 10 year old age statement on its releases. Except for limited amounts sold in the U.S., Eifel’s whiskies are available only in their home region.

• 10 year old German Single Malt, 10,800 bottles: initially matured for 5 years in 225-liter American oak Bordeaux red wine casks, then given a secondary maturation in 225-liter first and second-fill oloroso sherry casks.
• 10 year old German Peated Single Malt, 7,200 bottles: This is 100% malt peated to 35 phenol parts per million, initially matured for 5 years in 225-liter American oak Bordeaux red wine casks, with a second maturation in first and second-fill 225-liter dark moscatel casks.
• 10 year old German Triple Malt, 6,000 bottles: Made from a mash of equal parts malted barley, malted wheat, and malted rye. Each is aged separately for 5 years in 225-liter refill American oak Bordeaux red wine casks before being blended as a triple malt and aged 5 more years in 225-liter first-fill Bordeaux red wine barrels.

Whisky Advocate says:
Eifel Whisky owner Stephan Mohr produces complex recipes for each of his whiskies, and his efforts have frequently resulted in some brilliant expressions. We’ve rated 9 Eiffel releases, and all but two have scored more than 90 points, with its German Peated Duo Malt 2021 Edition hitting 94 points. It’s a well-known label among savvy whisky lovers—if you see one on a menu or in a store, we’d highly recommend trying a pour or buying it.

Milk & Honey Elements Pomegranate Wine Cask Special Edition for Rosh Hashana
Style: Single malt
Origin: Israel
Age: Not stated
ABV: 46%
Price: $80
Release: September 2023
Availability: 3,678 bottles

Need to know:
Tel Aviv’s Milk & Honey Distillery is releasing this special edition for Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown on September 15th this year. The kosher single malt whisky has been matured in a pomegranate wine cask. Pomegranates are grown in orchards across Israel, and the fruits, imbued with tradition and symbolism, are popular to eat during this High Holy Day.

Whisky Advocate says:
Enjoying 300 days of sunshine a year, M&H Distillery experiences a high angels’ share of 12% a year: this results in the whisky reaching maturation in a shorter period of time than a similar cask in cooler climates like Scotland. M&H Elements focuses on the flavor and aromas of whiskies filled into casks, and to date, the series has included whiskies matured in peated, red wine, and sherry casks. Using wine casks from the Rimon Winery, M&H head distiller Tomer Goren previously released a Pomegranate Wine Cask expression under the Apex Collection, its innovative line of small batch and single cask releases.

Wolfburn 10 year old
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Highlands)
Age: 10 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: $100
Release: September 2023
Availability: 1,440 bottles for the U.S., but it will be an ongoing release

Need to know:
Wolfburn Distillery has released its first-ever age-stated bottling to its core lineup. The 10 year old single malt was fully matured in second-fill oloroso sherry butts.

Whisky Advocate says:
Wolfburn Distillery in Thurso was mainland Scotland’s northernmost distillery until last September when 8 Doors Distillery opened in nearby John O’Groats. While there are historical links to a former distillery named Wolfburn dating back to 1821, a new chapter of the Wolfburn story began in a newly built distillery in January 2013. The Wolfburn approach involves long fermentation and slow distillation, which helps create a fruity style of new make spirit. The distillery has a pair of copper pot stills, and all the casks are matured on-site in traditional dunnage warehouses.

Bushmills 15 year old Bourbon Cask
Style: Single malt
Origin: Ireland
Age: 15 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: $90
Release: September 2023
Availability: Global Travel Retail in Dublin Airport and Asia-Pacific markets only

Bushmills 21 year old Three Wood
Style: Single malt
Origin: Ireland
Age: 21 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: $265
Release: September 2023
Availability: Global Travel Retail in Dublin Airport and Asia-Pacific markets only

Need to know:
Bushmills has released the first expressions in a new Travel Retail collection called The World Wood Series, which is designed to showcase the distillery’s single malts in cask finishings from different parts of the world. The includes a 15 year old matured in first and second-fill bourbon barrels and a 21 year old matured in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks for at least 18 years before master blender Alex Thomas finished it for 3 years in casks seasoned with Marsala Fine Ambra Semisecco DOC from Sicily.

Whisky Advocate says:
Bushmills has launched a variety of whiskey series in different markets in recent years. While this World Wood Series is for Travel Retail, the Bushmills Rare Cask Reserve Series is exclusive to the U.S., and the Causeway Collection is available in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and other markets. The last major Travel Retail series from Bushmills was the Steamship Collection in 2016, while more recent partnerships with select airports led to a number of Causeway Collection airport-exclusive bottlings. In order to try this pair of new releases anytime soon, you will need to be traveling to the right country or score them at auction.