As I have hopefully conveyed in the title of the blend, this one is supposed to be quite a bit more peaty than most of the blends on this blog. To achieve this goal I have selected two peated whiskies: Lagavulin 16yo, the sophisticated but savagely peated malt from the southern coast of Islay and, from a few kilometers along that same coast, Laphroaig Quarter Cask. This very medicinal single malt has been aged a further while on small quarter casks, which serves to couple the peat to a strong wood influence. To counterbalance the peat I based the blend on a sweet speysider: Glenfarclas 10yo. And last but not least I tossed in a bit of Glenmorangie 10yo, which should add a further sweet note.

The nose is surprisingly clean, with lemon and fresh cake taking the lead. It is also so completely devoid of any smoke I wondered for a minute if I had the right sample. The taste deepens the aromas in the nose. It is quite honeyed with a soft sherried base and here also does the smoke finally make its presence known. It’s mostly the campfire from the Lagavulin which penetrates the honey. The finish is not spectacular, but it is very well balanced: a soft symphony of sweetness is punctuated by slightly bitter peaty notes which I associate qith the Laphroaig.

Overall, this is not a high flyer, but it certainly does not dissapoint either. This is a great learning dram as it provides a unique flavour which I have yet to find in a single malt: honeyed peat. So even if the overall score is mediocre, this is one to blend if only to experience once…

The experimentation continues, as I strive to boldly go where no whisky anorak has gone before! (meanwhile keeping the living bottle topped up with the failed and semi-failed. Sort of like all those planets you never saw on Star Trek because nothing particularly interesting happened there).

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