Big Peat The Heavy Metal Edition

Big Peat The Heavy Metal 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. Maturation in a refill ex-Bourbon barrel kept the malt lean and smoky. Time in the cask rounds the spirit, the smoke settling into a soft, waxy depth. 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 46% it is balanced and smoky. A smoky, mineral note carries salted citrus and a soft wax, with a whisper of coconut from the cask. Soft embers and brine sit behind the smoke. Salt, smoke and wax draw out the close. A smoky, characterful blended malt built on Islay peat and Port Ellen.