Duncan Taylor expands award-winning Octave whisky collection
Independent bottler Duncan Taylor has dramatically expanded its Octave collection to meet rising global demand.
The Octave collection can trace its roots back to the 1970s, when octave (or one-eighth-sized) casks were used to train coopers and distillers discovered they could be used to rapidly transform and elevate the whisky’s flavour profile. Each Octave cask holds 64 litres of liquid and yields an average of 85 to 90 bottles.
The accelerated second maturation process expanded the flavour profile of younger malts by utilising a high wood-to-liquid surface area ratio.
Duncan Taylor, a prominent whisky merchant, blender, bottler, and cask broker with a large private collection of vintage and rare whiskies, launched its first Octave line in 2003 and has since seen incremental annual demand growth.
Today, the company has ‘Octivated’ every distillery’s whisky in its Scottish warehouse.
Late last year, their Octave Premium Strathclyde won the World’s Best Single Cask Single Grain at the World Whisky Awards, hosted by Whisky Magazine.
Since 2009, they have won 55 global awards for this portfolio.
Duncan Taylor’s growth
Now, the whisky firm has launched nearly 1,000 new Octave casks and has more than doubled its inventory levels,
The Aberdeenshire-based firm has introduced new cask finishes to its line-up this year, including Jamaican rum, port, and Madeira alongside traditional sherry options.
The company also updated its packaging designs last year to align more closely with its environmental sustainability ethos.
Ian Logan, Senior Spirits Manager, commented: “The ongoing success of our Octave range is now enabling us to push the boundaries for experimenting with new finishes. From our vast collection of whiskies, we always want to ensure that we keep the original character from the distillery whilst adding a layer of complexity to it.”
When asked what his favourite Octave is within the Duncan Taylor collection, Logan added: “It was a truly exquisite bottling of 15-year-old Royal Brackla that spent its last three months in a first-fill Ruby Port Octave. It showcased an abundance of red berries, honeyed fruit preserve and sweet syrup. It has been fascinating seeing how these new Octaves and different seasoned casks have raised the bar even further for the Octave range.”