Singapore plays a pivotal role in Octomore’s Southeast Asia expansion as both a mature Scotch whisky market and a regional trendsetter with a highly engaged community of collectors and experimental drinkers. The launch of Octomore Series 16 in the city underscores a strategic shift from niche, trade-led activations to a larger, immersive, consumer-facing experience aimed at rewarding loyal fans while attracting new followers. With its strong appetite for luxury and craft spirits, openness to discovery beyond established names, and influence across neighbouring markets, Singapore serves as a natural launchpad for Octomore’s bold, limited-edition releases and long-term brand-building ambitions in Asia-Pacific. Here Oreal Goh, Trade Marketing Manager, Remy Cointreau talks about Octomore’s footprint in Singapore and beyond. Excerpts of the interview…..
What strategic role does Singapore play in Octomore’s expansion plans across Southeast Asia, and why launch Series 16 here?
Octomore has been a cult favourite, with a great following here over the years. Singapore is one of the top markets in SEA for Scotch whiskies—with a high demand for luxury and craft spirits, driven by sophisticated drinkers who value high-quality, collectible bottlings. We also noticed whisky drinkers in Singapore increasingly exploring beyond the big names, and thus Octomore has had the opportunity to garner a following—due to its reputation of the world’s peatiest whisky, its brand identity of being edgy, experimental and progressive, along with its limited number of bottles per release every year.
We’ve always been in Singapore—We have launched the various series at whisky events or more intimate events to the trade and media. But this year, we decided to scale up our launch to reach out directly to our fans as a ‘thank you’ but also spark the curiosity outside of them and garner more new followers of the brand.
How does the Octomore Series 16 align with your long-term vision for the brand in the region? Are there plans for exclusive regional releases in future?
Following the launch of our 15 & 16 series, we have identified more opportunities to engage with our community and elevate our brand presence amongst new and experimental drinkers. We definitely have seen more new drinkers being totally intrigued by our brand story and blown away by the product vs its perception. Bruichladdich Distillery (where Octomore is produced) is always releasing exclusive products and Singapore is always one of the key markets considered for exclusive releases, so stay tuned.
With Singapore’s growing community of whisky collectors, what steps is Octomore taking to strengthen its presence among connoisseurs and premium spirits buyers?
We’re a tight team who appreciate our whisky community, in the last couple of years, we’ve been putting in extra effort to strengthen our relationships with these regulars by forming real connections and relationships, we call them our “Friends of Bruichladdich”, and now we’re reaching out to more in the community through small events, tastings, partnerships, targeting and outreach. Bruichladdich Distillery is known for producing limited releases and exploratory products, even the Octomore series being limited to that year, that in itself makes connoisseurs and collectors notice us. We hope to continue to keep them engaged and recruit more of them.
Are there plans to expand Octomore’s retail footprint or tasting experiences in Southeast Asia beyond this pop-up exhibition?
Yes, we’ve been present in retail and e-retail but do definitely have plans to be more prevalent in the market through expanding our retail footprint and doing more tasting experiences.
How does Octomore intend to differentiate itself in a market where peated whisky already has strong competitors like Ardbeg and Laphroaig?
Our brand identity and what we stand for.
Octomore is known for extreme peat levels yet surprising elegance. How do you communicate this unique flavour profile to new drinkers in Asia, where smoky whiskies can be polarising?
Education, storytelling, advocacy and the opportunity to taste. We know that peated whisky is not for all. But then, there’s the group that would appreciate this acquired taste. With education and advocacy and that opportunity to try, it makes the liquid more approachable. We’ve seen people who have never tried peated whisky or claim to not like it much, change their minds after trying Octomore at our events.
Along with the distillery’s craft and experimentation of casks, and barley types etc, it will always deliver different taste profiles and depth, that will always a surprise in every variation, in every series—which keeps people coming back for more every series. Abi, our global brand ambassador, compared the reaction to every new Octomore series launch to a new iphone drop. The anticipation, craziness and talkability around it.
For starters, what we like to do is remind consumers that though our PPMs are over 100, you’ll always be surprised by how smooth and elegant it tastes and goes down—because when people hear the numbers, they’re always expecting to be overwhelmed. But they’re always pleasantly surprised, which makes them like the liquid even more.
Is Bruichladdich considering deeper collaborations with bars, independent bottlers, or whisky clubs in Singapore and neighbouring markets?
Yes, that is always our goal—to expand and grow our brand presence. With time and effort, we will.
How do Octomore’s sustainability commitments—from barley provenance to energy use—influence its brand positioning in Asia? Are consumers here asking more about traceability?
It is greatly appreciated! It is not necessarily the first thing someone looks out for with a whisky, but given the information, consumers appreciate the brand and what they’re drinking even more. Sometimes when you know what you’re drinking, it builds more trust and affinity with the brand and product, it also helps them to also appreciate the craft and genius behind each product.
And with the younger generation, this is truly important and a plus—our younger generation is more about the transparency and the ability to choose what they want to consume, they appreciate the B Corp certification and all the sustainability efforts Bruichladdich Distillery stands for; this is what makes us differ from the masses and we’re proud of it. The transparency also teaches the new whisky drinkers about whisky and opens doors for them in a world where the huge range of whiskies can be overwhelming and intimidating.
We aim to make thought-provoking and exceptional spirits over everything else and we are willing to share that information with you, and sometimes that is enough for a consumer to advocate for us. This is why we really believe in our brand story-telling and advocacy.
What role do experiential events like this multisensory exhibition play in your broader marketing strategy for Asia-Pacific? Will we see similar showcases in Malaysia, Thailand or Hong Kong?
Again, Octomore is something you need the opportunity to try, and experience. With the multisensory aspect, it just helps bring consumers down to what it’s like in the distillery in Islay. When you look at a bottle, especially such an unconventional modern bottle like ours, you forget about the whole traditional aspect of whisky making. The smell of peat, the sounds of the Islay waves, and burning peat & the machinery, looking at and touching the barley, the barrel, the story of Bruichladdich and each Octomore product etc, it all evokes the senses that will help you appreciate the experience the of Octomore. Though we are modern and unconventional in what we produce, we are as traditional as traditional can get when we make our whisky, everything is done in Islay, old school, minimal, our barley, our spring water etc—we had to try to bring that to our consumers.
I’m sure you’ll see this more in Asia-Pacific. Japan, who’s one of our biggest peat and Bruichladdich/Octomore markets, was actually one of the first to create this exhibition-style experience, and it was a hit! And they came up with a whole term, Octomania! Which is what we strive to achieve one day in Singapore, Octomania!
As Octomore continues pushing boundaries with peat, terroir and cask innovation, what can whisky lovers in Singapore expect in the next 3–5 years? Any hints about future experiments?
Definitely, expect more innovation and impossible equations. Friends of Bruichladdich already know that’s what we do, and what keeps our following on their toes and coming back for more—we’re always dropping surprises, innovations, limited editions and more. Every time I bump into one of our friends of Bruichladdich, they hound me about what’s new and what’s coming up, asking if we have a certain limited edition, and even sharing a dram of something they managed to acquire that isn’t available here (somehow they always have bottles in their bags)—they know we always have something under our sleeves and are always willing to share amongst our Bruichladdich community. And we truly love and appreciate them for being our walking brand ambassadors.