PEAT PLANTS: OUR FIRST CREATORS COLLECTION

“We’re excited to unveil The Creators Collection, a new addition to our tradition of innovative whisky releases. Each new release will explore unique flavour stories with both creative and technical inspiration. Themes will explore subjects such as our traditional home at The Vaults in Leith, the diversity of our peated whiskies, and whisky production techniques and cask maturation. We look forward to sharing these exceptional releases in the near future.” – Kai Ivalo Whisky & Supply Chain Director

Moss and mist

Peated

Cask NO. 29.293

RegionIslay
CaskRefill ex-Bourbon Hogshead
Age25 years
Year11 November 1998
Outturn152 bottles
ABV53.3%

Salted butter slowly melted over ripe mango, pineapple and lemon in an old coal scuttle. The oily tears mingled with fine ash before being poured over cured ham and mackerel fillets shrouded in a veil of lavender and heather smoke. Tropical fruits merged with clove-studded gammon on the palate, glazed with fragrant runny honey. A few drops of water unveiled smouldering leaf mulch and charred pine logs with sticky sap and creosote on the nose. Then a handful of dried apricots and seaweed, steeped in antiseptic cream, were served with melon, peppermint, and chamomile petals on a bed of salty seaside pebbles.

Peat Bloom

RegionIslay
CaskRefill ex-Bourbon Hogshead
Age33 years
Year23 January 1991
Outturn211 bottles
ABV44.1%

On the sea breeze came wafts of smoked trout and coal tar from a trawler carrying hessian sacks of sweet-scented barley grains. Puffs from its polished brass funnel dropped fine ash on to smoky apple sauce sprinkled with a few coriander seeds. Fruity notes developed after a dash of water. Now, sour apples and pineapples rolled across the sandy beach as the hot sun baked the stone walls of the harbour. Gentle floral characters then embraced lavender and elderflower, before sage, thyme and gooseberries were served on lemon tarts with orange chocolate and toffee-coated nettles.

Peated

Cask NO. 53.495

Fern & Flame

Peated

Cask NO. 66.257

RegionHighland
Initial CaskEx-Bourbon Hogshead
Final Cask1st Fill American Oak ex-Oloroso Hogshead
Age26 years
Year27 October 1997
Outturn257 bottles
ABV53.2%

Coconut rain drops trickled from minty and menthol green leaves before splashing on to steak charred by an applewood fire. A haze of thick smoke then drifted between hop vines and sage shrubs before teasing beef and venison carpaccio. A few drops of water caused tropical fruit to plummet from the green canopy above, landing with a thud on to damp earth infused with oil-covered hay from the back of a tractor. An elegantly herbal finish fused sweet vermouth with cocktail bitters, before butterscotch, T-bone steaks and peppered mackerel arrived in a soft leather satchel. After spending 24 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead this was transferred to a first fill American oak oloroso hogshead for the remainder of its maturation.