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. Big Peat is a remarkable blended malt Scotch whisky from Douglas Laing, an independent bottler and blender of Scotch whisky. It is a key player within the company's Remarkable Regional Malts series, which aims to represent and celebrate the unique qualities of each whisky-producing region in Scotland. Big Peat, in particular, embodies the robust and untamed spirit of the Islay region, known for its heavily peated, smoky whiskies. And then, despite having more conventional forms of heat on hand, other places started to replicate this. Peaty scotch whisky is now produced all over the world, with some of the best-peated whiskies faring from places very far from Islay, including India and Japan. How is Peated Whisky Made?

Each year, Big Peat launches a Christmas Limited Edition expression, which is bottled at natural cask strength – around 53% abv. This particular review is based on the 4th sample provide by the Whisky Wire as part of the Big Peat Tweet Tasting.

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We may, but are not under any obligation, to release new functionalities and tools or other features for the Service every now and then. Any new functionalities, tools and features shall be part of and governed by the Terms from the moment they are launched and/or available. Further, we reserve the right to modify, change, discontinue the Service, add or remove features, update the Service, change its appearance, temporarily and permanently, at any time, in whole or any part thereof. Finish: A light sour note. The flavour of the finish is medium to short, but then my tongue feels like an ash tray. 21/25 With water, the ashtray is cleaner and a little menthol on the finish. (22/25) For instance, we sampled some Big Peat while preparing the comparative review of Davidoff and Romeo y Julieta’s Year of the Rat cigars. Both of these cigars feature exceedingly different blends with the Romeo y Julieta being quite mild and floral while the Davidoff was particularly full-bodied. Nothing in the Terms shall exclude or limit our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or for death or personal injury resulting from gross negligence or willful misconduct by us.

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. Regardless of whether the Service offers the functionality to contribute, you are solely responsible and liable for any content and information that you create, upload, post, publish, link to, duplicate, transmit, record, display or otherwise make available on the Service or to other Members, such as chat messages, text messages, videos, audio, audio recordings, music, pictures, photographs, text and any other information or materials, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted (“Contributions”). 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.Meanwhile, candied fruit marmalade adds an element of zest while a warm malt cereal nose adds a touch of vanilla softness. Additionally, I couldn’t help but notice a touch of woollen lint in there too. Overall, Big Peat offers a salty primary taste with a zesty citrus tartness throughout the opening. This is combined with a succulent and oily mouthfeel and a bracing eucalyptic effect. Nose: A puff of smoke and vanilla rise from the glass. Once you wriggle yourself through these initial flavours, a sandalwood cigar box filled with grinded coffee beans is opened. Some eucalyptus and light sulphur make it slightly more interesting. This flavour profile reminds me of young Ardbeg. Nose: a summary of Islay, with salty peat, some vanilla and a great aniseed note. Some mocha. Overall rather sweet with a big emphasis on tarry notes. On top of this, I get some youngish fruit like pear and peach, which reminds me of Ardbeg Rollercoaster in a way. Nice ambiguity of younger and older elements.

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, the remainder of the Terms shall continue in full force and effect. It is very sweet on the nose – think vanilla and yellow apples – with a bit of smoke bacon and some sea salt. There is a lightly medicinal touch and some cow stable. But the whole is quite soft. 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. Big Peat has an extensive family: a 5cl infant, a 20cl toddler, a 70cl adolescent and a really big 4.5l man. Rationality abides me to confess that there's probably a very small amount of Port Ellen in this blend. But nonetheless a very fine one. A little rough around the edges, as a good fisherman should be.Finish: There is a salty taste here that accompanies the smoke and peat. The grassy taste lingers a bit and slowly fades. Neat – Dry peat, some rubber. I asked my daughter to sniff it and tell me what she smelled like a sandy beach with “stuff” (by which she meant seashells and stuff). My son could not specify but said it smelled “strong” and made his nose feel tingly. Slightly over-toasted rye bread crust. Wet (but clean) Elastoplast woven bandages. I think I get a hint of Port Ellen (yeah right). 21/25 Buy it here (Dan Murphy’s) Buy it here (Vintage Cellars) Buy it here (The Whisky Exchange) Kilchoman | Image: Supplied 8. Kilchoman Distiller recently exclusively interviewed Fred Laing. We talked to him about his beloved Big Peat and the inclusion of Port Ellen, as well as his fondness for blending. Unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise, your use of and membership to the Service are exclusively governed by Dutch law. We shall first try to settle any dispute over a dram of whisky. Disputes that cannot be settled over multiple drams of whisky shall be solely submitted to the court of Amsterdam, The Netherlands unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise.