Big Peat The Japan Rugby Edition

Big Peat The Japan Rugby Edition is Big Peat, the Douglas Laing Islay blended malt that carries Port Ellen. Big Peat folds the island's peated malts into one assertive dram. Each release is a fresh vatting of Islay's smoky malts.

It brings together single malts from across Islay rather than one distillery alone. Built without an age statement, Port Ellen lends the vatting a graceful, maritime smoke. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, the classic wood for Port Ellen. Maturation in old refill casks keeps the distillery character front and centre. The peat is the point here, drawn from Islay's smoky distilleries. Bottlings carrying closed distillery malt grow rarer each year. Douglas Laing has long specialised in the malts of the islands. A dram built for those who take their whisky smoky. The Port Ellen within ties it to one of Islay's lost legends.

At a full 50% it is concentrated and oily. Crystallised lemon and a salty tang ride on a coastal peat smoke, with soft vanilla and a touch of coconut from the cask. A crystallised lemon and a saline tang lift the smoke. It closes long, smoky and maritime. A rich Islay dram threaded with rare Port Ellen.