The Peat Project: Islay Peat in an Ex-Bourbon Cask - Macaloney's Island Distillery & Twa Dogs Brewery

House Character & Tasting Notes

From our ‘peated’ single malt range, this island whisky undergoes double distillation using traditional Scottish methods, uses only the finest local malted barley and is uniquely peat-smoked at the distillery – a practice exclusive to a select few. Our patient, purposeful distillation yields acomplex, layered, and balanced ‘clearach’ (new-make spirit).

Renowned whisky maturation expert Dr. Swan has lauded the original newmake from our copper pot stills as ‘the best I have tasted in any distillery at this stage,super fruity.’ This peated distillate maintains the smooth and fruity character, now adorned with delicate, intricate peat-smoke notes. Peat smoking contributes the truest ‘terroir’ in whisky appreciation.Therefore, our Peat Project TM range allows you to explore how peats fromWashington USA, Canada, and Scotland dier in their unique flavour profiles.

This expression was distilled using local barley peat-smoked at our distillery to 54 ppm with Scottish peat traditionally hand-cut on the island of Islay. It was then fully matured in a carefully selected Bourbon cask,blanketed with fresh maritime island air. This single cask allows comparison with other peat terroirs encompassing Washington-USA, Canada and Scotland, and across our range of wine, virgin oak and Bourbon casks.

The nose is lightly medicinal leading to fruity and floral notes.Following the light peat-reek, iodine, sphagnum moss and watercress comes juniper, pine, carnation flowers, cherries and lychees. Then malt extract,toasted bread, treacle, hazelnut, walnut and peanut shells finish to dark fruitcake, leather, furniture polish, coee grinds, smoked mussels and fragrant pipe-smoke.

 

The palate is velvety with vanilla pods, sweet aromatic Glüwein, blackberry jam, and fresh blackcurrants. The Islay peat presents as iodine and seaweed, dried tobacco leaf and leather. Sherbet, sour-doughand malted milk yield to clover honey then finish to dark cardamom,dried ginger, cellared oak casks, dulse and pot pourri.

We take pride in the quality, care and attention we put into all of our whiskies. The new-make spirit,from which this whisky was crafted, won World’s Best at the prestigeous World Whiskies Awards.

Our single cask whiskies are remarkably consistent,with the sister cask to this one winning gold and Canadian Best at the World Whiskies Awards.