Big Peat 12 yo

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Port Ellen, amongst others - Islay

Small Batch Bourbon Barrels

Independent Bottling

By Douglas Laing & Co. 

Core Range

Blended Malt 

Launched in 2020

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Peated around 40 ppm

 

 

 

For the first time, trading company Douglas Laing & Co. has decided to include an aged bottle in its core range of Remarkable Regional Malts. This range includes many aged limited editions, but no permanent additions. For the occasion, it seems that 6 distilleries on the island were used. The usual 4, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen, and 2 that we are told are from the south of the island. These can only be Lagavulin and Laphroaig, as Kilchoman, Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain are not in the south at all. Everything is aged in Small Batch bourbon casks.

 

Let's Taste It : 

A whiff of icing sugar, vanilla cream, then the smoke appears, quite ashy (good morning, Caol Ila), accompanied by thick, violent peat (hello, Ardbeg!). The background is chalky, iodised and even mineral, with gypsum, granite and fragments of salt. On the palate, the vanilla is very present, with a whole theory of white fruits, plums, grapes, pears, lychees. The peat becomes earthier, deeper, muddy (is that you, Lagavulin?), with a few charcoal hints, fuel oil, motor oil (I think we know each other, Laphroaig). Finally, it's slightly honeyed, leading to a fairly long, peachy, coaly, stony finish. A stream running between the pebbles. Finally, damp undergrowth, ferns, fresh forest (you've been waited for, Bowmore).

In Short, 

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Big Peat in a reduced version. I really like the Christmas Edition in Cask Strength, but all the other bottlings didn't really appeal to me until now. This one is different. I think it's well balanced, the right maturation certainly, and better casks, but also perhaps the influence of the two extra distilleries. It's really good. On the other hand, it's the price that makes me hesitate to buy it, I find it a bit expensive for what it is. That said, it's surely the best way to get Port Ellen without mortgaging your house. Or even the only way.

Score : 86

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Moderat - Ghostmother