With today’s review of the Big Peat, I am closing the mini-series of reviews dedicated to Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts and starting one on Peated Blended Malts. The two previous reviews from the Remarkable Regional Malts, Timorous Beastie and Scallywag, didn’t exactly blow me away or manage to represent the character of their respective regions. Will this be a lucky third time?
TL:DR: A classical medicinal and maritime take on Islay
Score*: 6, good stuff
The one that started it all
Big Peat is the Blended Malt which started Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts series in 2009. The cartoony Ileach Fisherman on the label is one of the most recognisable on the shelves. There are tens of special editions out there. Some are seasonal, some have specific age statements and some have been blended for specific markets. The blend proportions of the standard Big Peat I will review today are not provided but we know that it contains:
Caol Ila spirit bringing sweetness, Bowmore the perfect balance, Ardbeg a medicinal, earthy quality and Port Ellen, a real degree of elegance
Big Peat’s own website
The Port Ellen statement comes across as a bit of a marketing gimmick. Before anyone from Douglas Laing decides to sue me: I am not doubting that there actually is some in the blend. I just wonder how much of it there is. After all, any malt from Port Ellen lying around would be from 1983 or older. That makes it at least 41 years old. The cheapest port Ellen I saw in a recent auction went for just under 500€. Considering the price of the Big Peat, you can draw your conclusions.
Douglas Laing’s Big Peat
Specs
Price paid: Gifted, available online for around €45 and often discounted 35-40€
Bottled date: 31/01/2022
ABV: 46%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Blend components: “only contains Islay Malt Whiskies, including Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen”
Tasting Notes
Colour: Very pale straw, immediately pointing towards ageing in refill bourbon casks.
Nose: Unmistakeably Islay. The first impact is medicinal and sooty peat, with a rich maritime character. Underneath it all there is some pear and green apple fruit, some lemon peel, a sugary pastry-like sweetness, vanilla and a good grind of black pepper.
Taste and finish: Immediately intense on the palate, steering more towards medicinal peat than on the nose. Once the peat subsides there is pepper, a bit of rubber, salty and chalky maritime notes and an underlying fruity sweetness.
The medium-long finish keeps the same aromatic theme of peat and maritime note, closing on a sweeter, vanilla-heavy note.
Score*: 6 Good Stuff
After giving my review, I am happy to see Big Peat does what it states well. It is clearly an Islay Malt marrying the medicinal and maritime characters well and adding a layer of spice and sweetness to keep things interesting. It won’t win any prizes for complexity but don’t count that against it. The only thing I would count against it is the gimmicky marketing-driven Port Ellen mention.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Would I buy it again?
This Big Peat is the whisky from Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Malts I have tried that has left a more lasting impression. It does what it says on the tin, and it does so well. I would probably look at one of the special editions of Big Peat for a future purchase.
Would I offer this to a new whisky drinker?
Caol Ila 12 is my choice for introducing Islay to new drinkers. Especially when they are unsure about peat. The Big Peat could be a contender for, if not that spot, that of an alternate. It does bring an unmistakable Islay character, and while it is certainly intense, it doesn’t land in the Laphroaig hospital on fire aromatic camp, something not everyone enjoys.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of Douglas Laing’s Big Peat I enjoyed:
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