Big Peat Christmas 2017 & Big Peat Feis Ile 2017

Big Peat Christmas 2017

Info: The now traditional full cask strength Christmas release of Big Peat for 2017, coming in at 54.1% abv.
Colour: Very light indeed, just a hint of gold. Snowey!
Nose: Sweetness comes out quickly followed by a good dollop of coastal ozone breeze and coal tar peat smoke. Very alluring.
Palate: Lovely and oily, the high abv quickly builds on your tongue to make this a spicy number as the peat and sweetness mingle nicely together. The coal smoke is there all along.
Finish: Slightly buttery, and nicely peaty, this gradually reduces to earthy embers which keep going for ages on your chest.
Thoughts: Big Peat Christmas is always a treat, and this is too!
Available: The Green Welly Stop – £49

Big Peat Feis Ile 2017

Info: Sherry Finished. 48% abv. My picture is somewhere on the bottle tube! (Along with 300 Big Peat fans)
Colour: Summery golden.
Nose: Rich, sweet and peaty, perfect! There’s a good drop of oak, of dunnage must and of sweet rich wintery fruits underlying everything along with a coastal ozone.
Palate: Super smooth with a great musty peat kick and a gentle sweetness mingling with puffs of smoke. The dram leads into a slightly more metallic gristy note, which works well.
Finish: The finish seems to be lead by some Laphroaig, along with milk chocolate and slight iodine peat, all finished off by sweet, dark and rich sherry tones. It’s warming and long.
Thoughts: Where has sherry finished Big Peat been all my life?! It needs to be produced again! Pleaseeee. It’s nice to have a good sherried peaty whisky at a reasonable price point.
Available: Sold out, probably only available at auction.

Thanks to Douglas Laing for the samples.