Big Peat
Islay Blended Malt Whisky
46% abv
£34
$85 (USD)
Welcome to March! I haven't seen you since 2010. I have to get back on the horse and gallop towards the 400 landmark!
I am sure by now you have already met or read about Big Peat. Brought to you buy the good people at Douglas Laing & Co., he was released back in September 2009 and has since received word-of-mouth acclaim and awards from Whisky Magazine (World Whisky Awards) for Best Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Best Peated Malt Whisky(Daily Dram) 2009 by the Malt Maniacs, and Jim Murray called it Best Vatted Malt in his 2011 Whisky Bible.
Apparently, Fred Douglas Laing senior loved Port Ellen and thus invested heavily in casks from the now shuttered distillery decades ago. This legacy has left an emotional attachment to this distillery for his offspring with every nose of a Port Ellen likely reminding them of their father's goodnight kisses.
The vatting includes several anonymous malts but Bowmore, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, and the increasingly rare Port Ellen are all named in the mix with the youngest whisky coming in at 5 years old, the oldest at least 26.
Thanks to Kirsty and Fred for the sample and I will see you for a dram this weekend at WhiskyLIVE London. For other Douglas Laing bottlings enjoyed on the Malt Mission dig deep into this whisky blog's past.
TASTING NOTES:
Tarry, with some toffee, candied lemon, raw salmon, and a generally sweet core.
Salty and sweet, even more tarry than the nose suggested, earthy, but with only gentle smokiness wrapped in toffee and orange.
SUMMARY:
Extremely enjoyable drop that is at once industrial and sooty but equally confectionary with sweetness, creating a very well balanced whisky in a very 21st century package.
For other opions, JSMWS tasted Big Peat HERE, Whisky For Everyone HERE, Whisky Boys HERE, and Dramming share some tasting notes. In the medium of moving pictures, Ralfy shares his thoughts HERE and Dickie P and Fred Laing share a few HERE.
Malt Mission #395
