The Peat Faerie 7 Year old 2010

The Peat Faerie is a blended malt from the famous Scotch Malt Whisky Society. This 7 years old is the fourth batch and was discovered by their tasting panel during the concoction of the previous batch. It is composed of casks from both Islay and Speyside, with the emphasis on the island on the west coast.

However, the nose at first is very light and fruit with lots of vanilla. Think pineapple, young apples and pink plums. White chocolate with coconut. Only after a few moments of airing do I get some sea salt and chalk, some dried celp and salted butter. Hay. Nice, all in all, but somewhat light. Alas, after five minutes, the nose completely falls apart. So do not delay.

The arrival is oily, soft and sweet with a smoky middle. Toffee apples, water melon, coconut and pineapple return, lifted by some mint. Then some fruit tea, smoke turbot and some pepper. Midpalate it becomes very sweet again with a truckload of vanilla.

That goes crescendo in the finale, in which sweet and smoke vie for supremacy.

Lovely spring whisky with a smoky edge, but still a bit difficult to appreciate. It’s neither fish nor flesh. One moment it wants to be a light and fruity Speysider, the next it pretends to be a peaty fellow, but in the end fails in both. Thanks, Anthony.