Big Peat Big Peat Big Peat Christmas Edition 2013 Douglas Laing A real cracker 54.9 % Vol. NAS

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (83)

2059As usual, this baby contains Bowmore, Caol Ila, Ardbeg and Port Ellen. Christmas? I know, I'm late...

Colour: white wine.

Nose: there must be quite a few young casks in the vatting - yup, obviously not the Port Ellen - because there's a lot of smoked porridge, smoked water, even dairy cream... Sour smokes, I'd say. A lot, really a lot of brine too. Can you smoke pickled gherkins? With water: raw tarry peat, fisherman's ropes, pitch.

Mouth (neat): ultra-young! Raw peat, wheelbarrows of pears (sign of youth) and a blend of apple juice and liquid tar. Quite extreme. With water: smoked seawater, cold lapsang souchong tea...

Finish: long, very tarry. Tar liqueur, that's it.

Comments: I know heavy peaters can be great at a very young age, and this is another fine example, but a little more polishing would have been welcome. Now, it does what it says on the tin, doesn't it.1

BOW (84)

A shoveful of Islay single malts Scotch Whiskies including malts distiled at: Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore, Port Ellen.