Douglas Laing Big Peat Whisky, 1 x 700ml

Product Information

I’ve had this bottle for only a few days, so this review is based on my third dram. If I notice some changes over time, I’ll add them to the comments section down the road. Finish: Medium-long. A swath of menthol and a hint of orange peel. The same peat notes from the palate continue here, but fade without change. A ghost of cherry or tart plum concludes the finish. With Caol Ila spirit bringing sweetness, Bowmore the perfect balance, Ardbeg the medicinal, earthy quality and Port Ellen, a degree of elegance, Big Peat represents all that is Islay in a bottle. Fred Laing tells us that of course, there are a couple of Blender’s Secrets in Big Peat too – but even after a few drams, he won’t share that info – and so it remains our peaty little secret! I like this, a little more with water than without. I admit though, that this is probably suited to a cooler season of the year. Anticipate salty sea spray, beach bonfire smoke and a punch of sweet peat. Big Peat’s Whisky is offered at a Natural Cask Strength of 54.2% ABV and proudly without colouring or chill-filtration, just as he believes it should be. With serious commitment to smoke, you’ll find Big Peat searing well-charred meat on the grill at this year’s festival.

The mouth: Peated indeed. More powerful than the nose. Tarred peat. It is harder to go behind the peat, but there is still some fruits. It opens up with a few drops of water. The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein. No partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship is created as a result of your use of the Service.As a side note, the wax stamps on the bottle aren’t conventional. In fact, my stepdaughter opted for this optional service at La Maison du Whisky in Paris so the bottle would feature my initials. Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates. You would expect that Big Peat demands bold flavours to match its smoky character. However, this isn’t necessarily the case! Nevertheless, weaker or milder pairings may struggle against its wisps of smoke. An authentic Scottish summer doesn’t always bring blue skies and golden rays, but come rain or shine, our feisty Ileach fisherman is ready to embrace a smoke-filled beach barbecue in celebration of Fèis Ìle,” marketing director Cara Laing said in a news release. “Hand-selected for their charred meat, salty sea-air flavour profile, this remarkable limited edition is a marriage of Single Cask Single Malts, only from Islay. Big Peat looks forward to headlining the Islay Festival with a series of tasting events, both in person and online, bringing the true taste of Islay to whisky enthusiasts the world over. After all, he is Seriously Committed to SMOKE!” At first, I honestly found the label and box’s gaudy design to be somewhat off-putting and even a little garish. Admittedly, this actually caused me to refrain from buying it for myself in the first place. However, I’ve come not only to appreciate but even love the label the more I look at it.

Although not overly complex and quite youthful in character, it does have a smooth texture, which is particularly apparent during the heart. To set the rhythm for the palate, its rich candied citrus opening offers marmalade, festive mince pies with a generous dash of sea brine. Douglas Laing proudly states that no colouring was used to darken Big Peat’s hue. Consequently, it’s a relatively pale spirit that’s reminiscent of dry straw or Chablis white wine. Another bottle I bought because of Jim Murray’s sacred scriptures. This one earned a 96 from him. This bottle brings me a step closer to “interpreting” Murray’s words for my own taste – always valuable. I opened this bottle in July of 2011. This is the combination of different tasting notes I did a few days after the bottle was open, then in June of 2012, and this past week. After the June tasting I decanted the remainder of the liquid into a 200mL bottle filling it to the brim. My score changed from an 80 up to an 85 in the first year, but virtually no change over this past year (84.5). Tasting it just last night I confirm my assessment of this bottle. This expression is reviewed in my usual manner, allowing it to settle after which I take my nosing and tasting notes, followed by the addition of a few drops of water, waiting, then nosing and tasting. The nose was peaty, but not overly so. It contained a little bit of smoked ham, flanked by a soft touch of iodine. But all so soft that it leaves you wanting for more. The nose remains – despite patience – closed. After the bottle was revealed, I couldn’t resist some feeling of disappointment. The nose does not reflect the label of ‘Big Peat’.Mouth: very smokey and ashy. Quite explosive with a rubbery edge. Big peat indeed. Sweet liquorice and again some vanilla. Not much fruit here.

That’s Fred Laing remembering the introduction of Big Peat. He’s the Chairman and paterfamilias of the family business. He runs Douglas Laing & Co—the company his father founded—together with his daughter and Director of Whisky Cara Laing, and his son-in-law and CEO Chris Leggat.If you’re a peat head, and c’mon… you know who you are, then the Big Peat Whisky is for you. It’s a tasty blended malt put out by the Douglas Lang folks. Blended malt meaning there is no grain whisky used in this blend, it’s a 100% malt blend and specifically, it’s a blend of 100% Islay whiskies.