Big Peat Christmas Edition (54.1%)

Big Peat Christmas Edition is a peated Islay blended malt from Douglas Laing, with rare Port Ellen inside. The vatting brings Islay's smoke together with the prized Port Ellen thread. The Port Ellen thread is what many collectors prize most in it.

The category marries malts from different distilleries, here the peated malts of Islay. Built without an age statement, the rare Port Ellen at its heart brings a structured, briny smoke. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon American oak, gentle wood beneath the peat. Decades in oak soften the phenols, turning sharp peat reek into mellow embers. Smoke, salt and citrus run through its Islay character. It wears the big, coastal smoke of the island with pride. 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.

Undiluted at 54.1%, it is deep and smoky. An elegant, structured smoke runs over a waxy, briny lift, with a gentle vanilla note. The texture is oily and coating, the smoke threaded with sea salt. The finish runs oily, saline and slow. A bold Islay blended malt carrying a thread of legendary Port Ellen.