Big Peat

As a peat fan, this is ostensibly a blend I can get behind. And the price (at least when I bought it quite a while ago) is nice so I’m definitely looking to see if it tickles me well enough to be a mainstay on my shelf.

Big Peat, Islay Blended Malt, 46% ABV

Minutia: Comprised of Ardbeg, Bowmore and Caol Ila, but probably about 99% Port Ellen. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Jonquil, ripe corn; 0.4.

Nose: Dirty, earthy, ashy, salty. Burnt rubber.

Taste: Spicy, smoke, medicinal, brine. Coffee.

Finish: Ash, a sweet smoke, some pepper. Medium.

This is very representative of Islay, and it’s a nice blend. I hope it maintains some semblance of its price going forward, as I see myself enjoying it occasionally for years to come if that holds true.

Score: 84

Musical Evocation: Amon Amarth – “Gods of War Arise”

*In the event it wasn’t obvious, the claim about Port Ellen’s role in this blend is exaggerated because of how little is likely in it.

 

Port Ellen 13 1979 Douglas Murdoch

For a very long while I've wanted to try a Port Ellen expression. Nearly all are just about unobtainable for me at this point, so when I saw this was available as a sample for a price that's not quite so upsetting to pay for 30 ml, I jumped on it. It's not terribly old, but I think that's a bonus as opportunities to try pre-closure Port Ellen will only skew more and more aged.

Port Ellen 13, 1979 Vintage, Douglas Murdoch, Islay Single Malt, 40% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in 1979 and matured for 13 years. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Deep gold, 0.8.

Nose: Earthy, medicinal, salty peat. Something I can’t place, in the medicinal family.

Taste: Thin. Earthy-style peat impact. Ashy. Hint of something sweet.

Finish: Ashy and smoky, fairly long.

The proof is more disappointing than low proof usually is. There was a lot going on in the nose, and the finish was longer than you’d expect from that, but the taste was just too thin to fully work. I can say with certainty that the score would improve at least 3 points with a bit more substance.

Score: 86

2019 Advent #2 - Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost & Rare Port Ellen

This is a newer thing Johnnie Walker is doing under the Blue Label branding, this specifically being the second edition of it. The gimmick is that the spirit is sourced in part from distilleries which have since closed their doors (ghost distilleries). The other distilleries are “rare” somehow, but who knows in what way. This edition is the Port Ellen release (the prior one being Brora). Being an Islay fan I was intrigued by this, but the price was just nuts. I happened to see a sample for sale and figured I at least wanted to try it. Incidentally (or not), the first two namesake distilleries of this line are Brora and Port Ellen, two distilleries Diageo is in the process of reopening.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Port Ellen, Scotland Blended, 43.8% ABV

Minutia: At least some part of the malt used in this blended whisky is peated, and it’s not marketed as a blended malt so some of it is grain whisky. Port Ellen is the most prominent ghost distillery in this one (at least the one that they used for the name), the other two are Lowland grain distilleries Caledonian and Carsebridge. With this line and the Brora before it, it seems three of the source distilleries are ghost distilleries, but that could change. The blend is rounded out with single malt from Mortlach, Dailuaine, Cragganmore, Blair Athol, and Oban. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Dark straw.

Nose: Fruity malt, smoke, red apple.

Taste: Like the nose but with some burn. The burn is like red pepper, not in flavor, but in the way red pepper is hot relative to other peppers.

Finish: Like the taste but with very prominent malt. Smokier after a bit with some fruity sweetness

Guess: Bowmore, either young or very old, at some point in a sherry cask.

Wow, I’m quite surprised. I’m not sure why I thought Bowmore, but it was where my mind immediately went when I was pouring it in the glass. The nose and palate didn’t exactly contradict it, so I stuck with it. I am super surprised to learn this is a blend based on how much this felt like a single malt tasting it blind, mostly because of how malty it is, particularly in the finish. It’s super malty ages after swallowing. Finishing the dram with that information I can kind of see spirit derived from anything other than malted barley being the source of the lightness in the palate that I initially perceived as the spirit being very well aged. While this initially* got the same score as the standard Blue Label I enjoyed it quite a bit more. It’s nowhere near worth what it costs, but I wouldn’t be terribly upset to pay regular Blue Label price for this. 

*I actually adjusted the score of the finish while typing this out. The maltiness persisted so long, I felt compelled to upgrade the score I wrote initially because I was enjoying that lingering taste in my mouth so much more than when I wrote my notes. I think I just expected it to die but it just didn’t. The initial score was 82, but that finish that didn’t quit was just so compelling. Particularly, while I like maltiness a little, it’s never really been my favorite part of a dram, so that fact that it shined as it did here really took me. I’ve been storing my bottle of Bunnahabhain 12 since I didn’t quite appreciate it the first time around, and my appreciation for this has me eagerly anticipating my return to that bottle. While I have zero interest in paying the MSRP for a bottle of this, much less the marked-up price, I am rather upset I only had 30 ml to enjoy.

Score: 86

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar: