Douglas Laing Big Peat 12-Year
46% ABV - Islay, Scotland
Nose: Initially light smoke, with sweet fruit, shoe polish, and then a peat storm starts brewing in the ocean.
Taste: Salty, thick peat smoke with clementine oranges, lemon tea and a strong oak character.
Finish: Lingering smoke, burning driftwood, and red pepper flakes.
At the time I am tasting this, the Big Peat 12-Year has been opened for nearly one year! Since I first tasted it back then, I feel that this blended Islay scotch whisky has improved.
Douglas Laing’s Big Peat series are one my favourites to buy regularly and when new releases come out I have my sights set on them. The 12-Year is reminiscent of the 10-Year that had been available in 2019… but that 10-Year is still my favourite!
I’m happy to have this one… and I am looking forward to adding it to my latest creation: a Big Peat infinite bottle. (The next step is to get a fancy looking label to stick on!)
Tasting Notes (Official): The nose opens clean, fresh, salty and oceanic, developing to sweet Malt dried over peat. On the palate, anticipate charred oak, chimney smoke, rock pools and summer tar, running to a long and lingering finish with brown sugar, bonfire ashes and a real phenolic quality.
Tasted 18 October 2022. (Posted 08 January 2023.)
