...where distraction is the main attraction.

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Peat's Beast Single Malt

I think the only reason this sample got into my stash is that Peat's Beast kept showing up at LA and OC Scotch Club events in 2015 and 2016. Because I never actually drank it at this those events — not because I'm a snob, but a man needs to make choices before he drives home from a spirits event — I've been curious about what the whisky actually tastes like.

Before today, the only thing I knew about its bottler was that Fox Fitzgerald is an awesome cocktail name. "Yeah, I'll have a Fox Fitzgerald up, please. Easy on the Clynelish, I have two onboarding meetings this morning."

They have a "cigar malt" called Corriemhor, they run the oft-expensive Rest & Be Thankful single cask line and then there's Peat's Beast. Though the official site says The Beast is peated at 35ppm, it never says the whisky is from Islay, so I'm betting it's not. Benriach, maybe?

I tried this along with Friday's whisky while watching the MLB All Star game.

Company: Fox Fitzgerald
Brand: Peat's Beast
Type: Single Malt
Distillery: ???, my guess is Benriach
Age: ???
Maturation: refill American oak?
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? not much, if any

NEAT
There's menthol, pine, limes and pink Caladryl in the nose. Armpit peat. And more armpit peat. Talcum powder and oatmeal. Buffalo wings sauce. Salty, roasty peat in the palate. Charred meat and graphite. A little creamy, a little bitter. Hints of chocolate-covered cherries. The finish is a little roasty and bitter too, but the cherry note balances it out. Simple grassiness, a whiff of florals.

DILUTED TO 40%abv, or <1 tsp water per 30mL whiskey
The nose is essentially the same. Less stinky, more candy. More limes? The palate is simpler, but picks up a brown sugar sweetness. Roses and cologne. No so much peat, but rather smoke residue. Mild sweets and smoke in the finish. Hint of mint. Kinda flat.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Friday's whisky has more indie cred and is cask strength, but I liked Peat's Beast better. Beastie's nose was more adventurous than I'd expected. It tastes fine, though it does leave one pining for southern Islay's best. It delivers a bigger peat punch than Compass Box's Peat Monster, but lacks that one's complexity. I prefer Beastie without water; the nose holds up but the palate doesn't once water is added. It's less than $40 (ex-VAT) around Europe, which is about as cheap as craft-presentation peated single malt gets unless you're feeling filthy for Finlaggan.

Availability - Europe and Asia
Pricing - $30-$40 (ex-VAT) Continental Europe & Japan; $45-$55 (ex-VAT) UK; 
Rating - 82