Craigellachie 10 Year (Douglas Laing's Old Particular)

 

I picked this up on a lark, to fulfill a minimum purchase requirement to get free in-city shipping on a Mother's Day gift. I do love Craigellachie quite a bit, and I'm always impressed by Douglas Laing bottlings, which are often characterful... so why not?

Douglas Laing's Big Peat Christmas Edition 2019 Cask Strength blend, Second Take

 

I don't know why, but I am still finding Douglas Laing's Big Peat Christmas Edition from 2019 (you can tell because it's bottled at 53.7% ABV) on the shelves of local Washington D.C. liquor stores. At *very* competitive prices. We're talking ~$50 for a cast strength Islay blend that includes Ardbeg and Port Ellen (however small the proportions might be) and Bowmore and Caol Ila. 

I guess this is still something of a secret in the Scotch community, perhaps only known to Islay maniacs and smokeheads. But boy did I love my last two bottles, and now I'm going to review this third version, even though it's been two years since it came out. 

Rock Oyster Batch No. 1 Malt Blend, Cask Strength

 

Here is a bottle I found totally by chance in a small DC liquor store (shout out to Central Liquors on E St in Chinatown! Great selection), after having reading about it here and there. After trying - and loving - the Big Peat Cask Strength offering from the same company, I had to give this a go. 

Apparently Rock Oyster had two small batch Cask Strength releases (this is the first of the two), but then was rebranded to "Rock Island," so you may see it near you under that name. Unsure if they have released any cask strength Rock Island.

Big Peat blend, Cask Strength (Christmas Edition 2019)

 

Big Peat is a blend from independent bottler Douglas Laing that delivers exactly what you think it does: big, peated whisky. An Islay blend (including Ardbeg! as well as Bowmore, Caol Ila, and Port Ellen - yes, THAT Port Ellen), delivered with craft presentation at 53.7% ABV (Christmas edition only) with no filtration and no coloring. Let's see how Mr. Laing delivers his big peated whisky: