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PEAT TASTING |
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Peaty and smoky whiskies from Islay, Speyside and England. |
Peat is made up of decaying vegetation and grasses that have formed over centuries in boggy and wet marshland areas. It has been used as a burning fuel in communities across the world for centuries. In Scotland, in particular, peat has played a central role in the drying of barley for Scotch whisky making. When the Industrial Revolution brought trains, which, in turn carried coal across the country, many distilleries abandoned peat as a fuel, but it remained in use in the islands – and it is on the islands that it is still most widely used today.
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Islay distillery Bruichladdich is traditionally associated with unpeated whisky. However, since its renaissance under Mark Raynier it has experimented with a range of peated bottlings: the super peated Octomore, the acclaimed Port Charlotte range and this Peat expression which has replaced the popular 3D. Peated at 35 ppm, this is a smooth and highly quaffable whisky. |
Tasting notes:
Nose: Rich. The seashore, a barbeque, peat, burned fish.
Palate: Sweet pear and apricot juice in gentle, wispy smoke. A rugged peat carpet. Beautfiully balanced.
Retails for around £35-£40
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Big Peat is a Blended Islay malt made by independent bottlers Douglas Laing. A blended malt is a combination of only single malts, and Big Peat contains whisky from Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen. Since its launch in 2009, the Big Peat has won numerous awards, including the Whisky Magazine best blended malt Scotch of 2010 and Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible best blended malt Scotch of 2011 (with a score of 96). |
Tasting notes:
Nose: Unsalted butter. Sooty. Dry and bitter peat waiting to pounce.
Taste: A bitter and dry peat explodes onto the palate before softening to a sooty and oaky bitterness at the end.
Retails for around £35
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The BenRiach Curiositas is so named because it is a peated Speysider. This is a curiosity indeed, since the classic Speyside taste profile is unpeated. BenRiach is an independent, innovative distillery that offers a wide range of diverse whiskies such as the Fumosus range of peated whisky in a variety of finishes and the Septendecim 17 year old. We have no idea why they have this Latin fixation! |
Tasting notes:
Nose: Sweet peat, lemon drops. Tropical fruit jelly. A faint hint of apple and sandalwood.
Taste: Sooty smoke, lots of tinned exotic fruits, peat, and barley cocoa. A gorgeous mix.
Retails for around £30
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The English Whisky Company is housed within St. George's distillery, in the village of Roudham, 10 miles south-west of Norwich. The 2011 new release was Chapter 11, which is peated at the Ardbeg level of 55 ppm. In our opinion this is their best whisky yet. To quote Dominic Roskrow, “a perky peaty peppery powerhouse and definitely premier league”
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Tasting notes:
Nose: Cream and Jamaican ginger cake on the nose with aniseed and white pepper.
Taste: it’s a gentle giant, creamy and clean barley at first, then the peat and pepper slowly build and fill every corner of the mouth without becoming overpowering. The finish is soft and lightly peppered.
Retails for around £45-£50
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Laphroaig is an iconic Islay distillery and produces one of the archetypal peated whiskies and it's no secret that Prince Charles is one of its biggest fans. Few distilleries can match it for its big, phenolic, medicinal and coastal malts. In 2009 it began its annual releases of its cask strength 10 year old, and Batch 003 (55.3% abv) is the 2011 release. |
Tasting notes:
Nose: Sweet peat and lemon sherbet. Floral, custardy. Carroway seed. Vanilla pastry.
Taste: Tarry rope with a burst of lemon, soon developing into coconut macaroon which softens to a lemon and honey coughsweet.
Retails for around £ 45