The fine folk at Loch Fyne Whiskies asked me to write about Octomore 7.1 - which has just hit the real and e-shelves of our wee store in Inveraray.

Despite sounding like a bargain basement James Bond villain, there is huge excitement about this release from Bruichladdich, for two key reasons – a) it’s from Bruichladdich and b) it is believed this will be the last whisky produced by industry legend and creator of the Octomore series, Jim McEwan, as he heads towards retirement in July.Described as “the world's most heavily peated whisky”, these limited editions sell out quickly enough as it is, but knowing this is the last McEwan creation means demand will go shooting through the whisky warehouse roof.

Octomore 7.1 is five years old, was matured in American oak and bottled at 59.5% abv without chill filtration. Seemingly, it's “like sea spray and caramel, lemon balm and pipe tobacco” and has “a texture like no other, satin soft and devilishly.”

Those are Bruichladdich’s words, not mine. We will just have to take their word for it!

Octomore 7.1 is available to buy from us for £100, but you'd better be quick if you want to grab a piece of peated history before it actually becomes history.