Big Peat review

Big Peat is Die Hard. Offering smoky explosions and heavy blasting, yet hints of the soft and tender side, mostly for the nose. Big Peat’s personification, Beauregard I. G. Peat, is surely a citizen of Islay. You can tell that from miles away, when opening a Big Peat bottle. Beauregard is like John McClane – a sensitive tough guy.

Big Peat is mainly heavy on the nose and in the mouth. Salty smoke and peat dominate the palate until it reaches your throat. In the throat Big Peat downsizes the heavy action very much. Kinda like McClane midway through Die Hard, being vulnerable and opening up about his destiny. I know I’m getting bit dramatic about the finish, but the sensations before the quick and easy finish are just like a jackpot for smoky whisky lovers. After that the aftertaste a bit disappointing. Still, one would question if a finish as heavy as the start would simply be too much to handle.

Enough about the quick finish. Big Peat has to be one of the best vatted malts out there! The nose and the taste are just too good to worry about the finish. That’s why I even have to give the finish a bigger score than it deserves. Just to make the overall score as big as possible. This blend of Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen is like a peaty heaven. For me, adding water ruined the taste, so I won’t recommend it.

Nose: Heavy smoke starts the show, yet it’s smooth in other ways. Soft but intense. Smoked ham and earthly notes in a warm way. Bonfire in pure nature, fantastic nose!

Mouth: Peat and smoke with ashes dominate the palate. Earthly feel continues to linger. Salt and hints of tobacco.

Finish: Very quick finish with salt, smoke and peat. I know that 22 points is way too much but I just have to exaggerate. Beginning of Big Peat is just that good.

Balance: Whining about the quick finish tells you how much I love this dram. To make things as positive as possible: the best part about the quick finish is, that you’ll just have to pour Big Peat down your throat more often.

Big Peat is one of my choices for Christmas! Each year there’s a cask strength Christmas release as well. Here’s my review of the 2012 version.

Colour: Pale gold
Nose: 25  |  Taste: 23  |  Finish: 22  |  Balance: 24
Overall score: 94

Distilleries: Contains malts from Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen
Bottled by: Douglas Laing
ABV: 46%

This is what Big Peat does to you!