Blackadder Peat Reek Single Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Blackadder proprietor, Robin Tucek, is on a mission against the 'amelioration' of whisky - be it via chill filtration or the addition of caramel to add colour, he's dead against it. Tucek's Blackadder selection aims to keep your whisky experience as authentic as possible. The opening rant on his company website is not only informative, but makes good sense to anyone interested in getting the most for their whisky dollar.

He writes, "Most malt whiskies bottled by the distillery owners are a marriage of several different casks. These big cask vattings are then often chill-filtered and coloured with the addition of varying amounts of caramel before being bottled. Even whiskies that are not chill-filtered are normally bright-filtered. Chill-filtration - when the spirit is chilled to freezing point or below prior to bottling - is done for cosmetic reasons, as it removes any possibility of cloudiness. Unfortunately, it also removes many of the natural fats, oils and flavours in the whisky which in turn removes a great deal of the individual character of a whisky as the esters, or flavour congeners, in the spirit tend to gather around these fats. The more a whisky is chilled when filtering, therefore, the greater the proportion of fats and esters are removed. And caramel has its own flavour, which is added to that of the whisky. In fact, the majority of malt whiskies are treated in this way when bottled. Bright filtering also removes a large part of these fats and esters with losses of around two to three percent of the cask volume when bottling".

Not surprisingly, "Peat Reek" majors on the peat. In line with the philosophy of Blackadder, it's drawn from a single cask, giving you a malt whisky that is both richly rewarding in flavour and highly individual in style.

Tasting note: Pale straw gold with a greenish tinge. Compelling scents of choc-vanilla, incense and smouldering cedar are followed by a soft, silky and gently warming profile of choc-chip cookie, vanilla and sooty peat in a beautifully measured delivery. Vibrant spices surge at the finish. Very dry, chalky aftertaste with the smokiness lingering. 46% Alc./Vol.

Other reviews... A single-cask offering sourced from an unnamed Islay distillery and matured by Edinburgh-based producer Blackadder, it’s deceptively light in colour because, unlike many whiskies, it contains no caramel colouring. It’s also not stabilized with chill-filtering, so the lusciously round oils remain intact. Initially delicate, the flavour mounts with spice, then seaweed and iodine on the long finish. 91 points - Canadian Globe & Mail