Big Peat

Big Peat is definitely the Die Hard whisky. Like the first three of the Die Hard trilogy, it offers heavy blasting and lots of smoky explosions on your mouth but gives you a soft and tender side as well (mainly for your nose). It is like John McClane – a vulnerable badass.

Beauregard I. G. Peat is a citizen of Islay and that you can tell from miles away, when someone opens a bottle of Big Peat. What Big Peat gives you on the nose and in your mouth, is some heavy action of salty smoke and peat but on your throat it downsizes it's best parts. It is just like John, weeping it's tears down your throat. I might be too dramatic about the finish but when you get the kind of sensations Big Peat gives you at the start, you'll be a little bit disappointed on the way too quick aftertaste.

Never mind the quick finish. Big Peat must be the best blended malt there is! The nose and taste are just too good to worry about the finish. Containing spirit from Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen, it was a peaty heaven for me. And for this one I don't recommend any added water, it ruins the taste.

Nose: Heavy on the smoke but smooth in other ways. Softly intense. Smoked ham. Warm and earthly, pure nature's product.

Mouth: Lots of peat and smoke and ash. The earthly feel continues with salt and some wee tobacco notes.

Finish: Quick salty smoke and peat. I think that even the 22 points are too much but then again it would lover the overall score too much...

Balance: Whining this much about the finish really tells me how much I love Big Peat. If the only bad thing about it is that it runs too quickly down your throat, it's not too big of a shame. You'll just have to run it more often.