Big Peat The Rock Edition

Big Peat The Rock Edition is a Douglas Laing Islay blended malt built around peated malts, Port Ellen included. The blend draws the peated names of Islay together into a single smoky whole. The range has grown into a cult of its own among peat lovers.

Blended malt means malt from more than one distillery, in this case Islay's smoky houses. Built without an age statement, Port Ellen adds its elegant, citric smoke to the mix. An Oloroso butt held it, sherry and smoke twining together. Time in the cask rounds the spirit, the smoke settling into a soft, waxy depth. A modern Islay dram with a thread of the past inside. The Islay malts give it a smoke quite unlike a mainland blend. Vattings like this let the smoky malts of Islay shine together. The peat is the point here, drawn from Islay's smoky distilleries. Bottlings carrying closed distillery malt grow rarer each year.

At cask strength 48% it is muscular. A coastal peat smoke carries maritime salt and citrus, with soft vanilla and a touch of coconut from the cask. Beneath the peat run lemon, wax and a mineral note. It closes long, smoky and maritime. A rich Islay dram threaded with rare Port Ellen.