TWO BEASTS HIT THE SCOTCH ROAD

 May is the month of the beasts in scotland

PEAT'S BEAST

A single malt with inimitable taste and distinctive strength, the Beast is a unique whisky ‘not for the faint hearted’. Straight from the Scottish Highlands, you’ll find a distinctive nose of spicy cinnamon with undertones of pear and apple. The taste is just as strong, with a hot and spicy edge that will warm the throat. To deliver full force, the Beast is never chill filtered.

Peat’s Beast, created in 2011, wasn’t just the brainchild of one person, but the collaboration of many great minds. Like any great drink, it’s the combination of key ingredients that makes all the difference. The makers think their team makes a pretty good dram.

Eamonn Jones was a regional director at Whyte & Mackay, responsible of the sales of Dalmore, Jura and other great brands. Gerald Erdrich was his importer, distinguished in the business. Together these two great minds decided to come together and use their expertise and ingredients to make a brand, a beast. Who could make their beast come alive? For that, a creative genius was needed. Their dear departed friend Mark Graham assumed the role of creator. In collaboration with LA-based Brazilian artist Dough Alves, the iconic Beast was born.

Now, it fell to more great minds to ensure the Beast would pack a punch. Lighting your senses with smoke and fire from the start, untamed and ferocious. Industry legend, Richard Paterson, also known as “The Nose”, confirmed that the attributes of the dram was never any less than awesome. Eamonn Jones’ business partner and 30-year industry colleague, Aidan Smith, ensured quality was maintained at every single step.

There you have it. A blend of great minds, great brains and great friends have created a fantastic single malt. The Beast was born!             

As the years have passed, the Peats Beast family has grown. Along with the Standard 46% single malt whisky un-chillfltered, no additives no colouring......the range now includes: a Batch strength version finished for 9 months in Pedro Ximinez casks.

The first bottling standard 46% single malt whisky, un chillfiltered, no additives, no E150A.

Colour: Straw yellow with glittering highlights.

Nose: A rugged fusion of sea spray, bonfire smoke, damp earth and spicy cinnamon immediately arouses the senses.

Taste: Strong and bold with plenty of backbone and structure as this great monster unfolds its fiery fangs on your palate. This is not for the faint hearted. Take a generous mouthful with a biting wind blowing furiously in your face. Hold it long in your mouth allow the thick tar, peat smoke and creamy liquorice to penetrate every part of your tongue. Time will tame it.

Finish: These powerful aromas of peat moss and wet grass must be fully respected before seductive notes of crushed pear, apple and freshly baked bread provide the perfect finish to this memorable melody.

A recent addition is a 25 year old Islay single malt, now available in the market from an undisclosed Islay distillery. The bottle is presented non-chill filtered at cask strength of 52.2 % and with a label that is far from a design classic. Let's look beyond the cover for the much more important contents.

Colour: copper-gold

On the nose: Lovely mellowed iodine, a nice subtle smoky peat, perhaps a hint of burnt hay. There is a definite coastal element, smoked seaweed. There is a fruity sweetness too, of overripe berries. A nose that requires plenty of time to appreciate.

Palate: A toffee sweetness up front which combines well with the dense oily spirit. The peat then comes through: ashy and drying, but not overly so. A world away from the more brutish young Islay malts of this day. Dry spice and black pepper kicks in and lasts into the finish, which is satisfyingly long.

Peat’s Beast is enjoyable, tamped down for a whisky whose retail price approaches £200. Therein lies the problem: the increasing cost of whisky, Islay malts and older expressions.

Why peat? What's it got to do with Whisky?

Until relatively recently, Peat was the primary source of domestic fuel in Scotland. Easily accessible and with what seemed like in infinite supply, it is the soft, spongy earth composed of decayed vegetation such as moss, plants and tree roots.

When burnt, it is extremely smoky and produces an extremely aromatic smoke; hence when peat was used to dry the malted barley in the nascent whisky industry, the phenolic characteristics it  gave became highly prized. The distilled spirit was imbued with rich notes of tar, iodine, smoke and briny sea spray.

BUT WHAT’S DEFINITE IS THAT PEAT’S BEAST IS A CLASSIC PEATY WHISKY WHICH EMBODIES ALL THAT’S GOOD ABOUT USING PEAT SMOKE…

Peat’s Beast might be from Islay; it might not be... Peat Smoke was, and is used at distilleries in the Highlands, Islands and Speyside as well; many large distilleries will distill once or twice a year using peat dried malted barley in order to be able to compare and contrast their spirits distilled and matured in different ways or using different ingredients or maturation techniques.

Product Description:

A limited release from the Peats Beast team, this time, a complex, full-bodied, punchy Islay beauty aged for 30 years in oak casks and bottled at 50.6% ABV. Don't let the terrifying monster on the label put you off – a magnificent balance coastal smoke, floral heather, and bright citrus awaits.

Nose - Enticing peat, medicinal, citrus, fruity, aniseed, soft floral and cereal top notes

Palate - Sweet and savoury, peat and sea salt, citrus fruits and toffee balanced with woody spice

Finish - Long with peat, heather and oak with delicate herbal and citrus notes

TIMOROUS BEASTIE UNLEASHES “MEET THE BEAST” CASK STRENGTH LIMITED EDITION

MEET THE BEAST

Douglas Laing & Co, the family firm behind the “Remarkable Regional Malts” Scotch Whisky range, unleashed Timorous Beastie “Meet the Beast”, a limited edition of the sleekit dram to amplify the flavour experience of their Highland Malt brand end May 2021.

Offered at a natural cask strength of 54.9% and matured exclusively in ex-American Bourbon barrels, the spirit is said to be a “massive amplification” of the original.

Packaged in a black bottle with red capsule and premium gift tube, the striking livery features the brand’s trademark mouse character and monochromatic colourways, complemented by flashes of bold red. With tasting notes including “complex oak”, “buttery pastry” and “rich spices”, the team behind Timorous Beastie Meet the Beast say it is “bound to appeal to an adventurous whisky drinker with an appetite for big flavours”.

The original Timorous Beastie may look cute and unassuming, but the spirit inside is a seriously credible Highland Malt, offered at high alcohol strength and without colouring or chill-filtration. This new limited edition “Meet the Beast” is designed to unleash Timorous Beastie’s wild side in line with a repositioning for the core brand, which seeks to enthuse and excite consumers via premium, credible messaging with a feisty edge. It’s true what they say – beware of the quiet ones!

Timorous Beastie Meet the Beast is expected to retail at £50 and will be available from selected specialist retailers globally from May 2021. Just 3,600 bottles are available.

Tasting notes   

Nose: expect a burst of sweet vanilla, complex oak and orchard fruits.

Taste: The beast of a palate delivers wonderful notes of candyfloss, creamy honey and buttery pastry,

Finish: Satisfyingly long with spices that go on and on…

ABOUT TIMOROUS BEASTIE

Established in 2014 by Douglas Laing & Co, Timorous Beastie represents “ultimate distillation of the Highlands” in a small batch marriage of Single Malts distilled at Glengoyne, Glen Garioch, Blair Athol and Strathearn Distilleries, amongst others. The multi award-winning Scotch is distributed in over 50 markets globally and has amassed a loyal following.

Douglas Laing & Co. is a leading independent Scotch Whisky distillery, blender and bottler specialising in the selection and release of Single Cask Single and Small Batch Malt Scotch Whiskies. The company was founded by Fred Douglas Laing in 1948 and is still owned and run by the Laing family – Fred Laing Jr and his daughter Cara Laing.

Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts, the Ultimate Distillation of Scotland’s Malt Whisky Regions, encompasses The Epicurean Lowland Malt Scotch Whisky, Timorous Beastie (Highlands), Scallywag (Speyside), The Gauldrons (Campbeltown), Rock Island (Islands) and Big Peat (Islay). Beyond its Blended Malts expertise, the award-winning Douglas Laing portfolio also includes Provenance, Premier Barrel, Old Particular, Xtra Old Particular and XOP Black, collectively known as the firm’s “Exceptional Single Casks”.