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Douglas Laing Big Peat Whisky, 1 x 700ml

£9.9£99Clearance
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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. Big Peat with other Douglas Laing & Co bottlings /Photo Credit: Douglas Laing & Co Distiller: What gives you more satisfaction: finding a gem of a single cask landing on the right recipe for a blended malt? With water – feels a little richer on the tongue, the peat hits the palate just a little sooner on the arrival and the chocolate is very prominent. More menthol(23/25) 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: Heavenly! Despite the 46% ABV, it's very soft on the nose. Big peat (duh) along with a bit of vanilla and maybe some sugary/fruity notes?

Balance: Excellent balance between the nose and the palate. A little thin, but a pleasant dram. 21/25 Big Peat Platinum Edition 26 Year /Photo Credit: Douglas Laing & Co Distiller: A single drawing does not a whisky make. How did you actually create Big Peat’s whisky? No partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship is created as a result of your use of the Service. Douglas Laing’s Big Peat scotch whisky brand revealed a new bottling for Fèis Ìle 2022, aka the Islay Festival.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.

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. In 2017, Douglas Laing produced another Big Peat Fèis Ìle featuring the faces of more than 300 of Big Peat’s ‘pals’, who were asked to submit photos imitating the ‘handsome’ protagonist online over a two-week period. The whisky was again bottled at 48%, with a bottle run of 500. 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?

Mouth: very smokey and ashy. Quite explosive with a rubbery edge. Big peat indeed. Sweet liquorice and again some vanilla. Not much fruit here. 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) I rarely comment on colour of whisky but this one is so refreshingly pale I can’t help but assume that no caramel has been added. 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

Mouth: Lots of peat and smoke and ash. The earthly feel continues with salt and some wee tobacco notes.

Welcome!

The smoke from the burning peat imparts a distinct flavour upon the grains, which finds its way into the final liquid, much to the joy of most peaty scotch lovers (and the chagrin of a few).

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