Elements of Islay Peat – 59.3% abv

Info: ‘Peat’ is Speciality Drinks / Elements of Islay’s first ongoing release. It’s a blend of non age statemented single malts from around the island.
Colour: Light straw, lovely pale Islay natured dram.
Nose: An instant peaty goodness; a nose to dive into, and one that feels immediately soothing. That’s if you like peat, of course. There’s a mixture of earthy, mossy peat, but also a more coastal, coal smoke type of thing. Behind all that there’s a gentle redcurrent sweetness and a gentle oak tone.
Palate: Thick and oily, raw whisky as it’s best. For the strength it’s fairly easy on the palate to start with, but the alcohol heat builds after a short time. The peat is there, the coal notes from the nose coming through on to the palate along with a balanced sweetness.
Finish: The finish is mostly held on your palate, with your tongue and mouth staying warm and peaty for a long time after the dram has gone.
Water: A drop of water doesn’t seem to hurt the dram one little bit, it maybe brings out more mossy tones one the nose, and a little more wine like sweetness. It remains quite thick feeling and sweet, but makes it much easier to drink with the lower abv.
Thoughts: If this were Ronseal, I’d be using it’s slogan. Peat. It does exactly what it says on the tin. It really does though; it says Peat on the bottle, and it’s got plenty of peat in it. A very nicely blended drop of Islay drammage. It’s an unusual move for Speciality Drinks’ to send out samples to bloggers, something historically they’ve not often done. It’s a very welcome move, especially for folks like myself who don’t often make it to London tastings. Thanks guys! If you’re up in London for Whisky Live, I’m sure you’ll be able to check this dram out… don’t miss it if you get the chance to try and buy.
Available: The Whisky Exchange – £34.95 / 50cl (i.e. £48.93 / 70cl).

Thanks to Elements of Islay for the sample.