Whisky Focus - Big Peat's Feis Ile 2016 Commemorative Bottling

Douglas Laing launch first ever Big Peat Feis Ile Edition.

Douglas Laing have announced the launch of its first ever Big Peat Feis Ile Edition Islay Blended Malt Whisky.

Big Peat Feis Ile 2016 has been launched in homage to Scotland’s Whisky island, the Big Peat Feis Ile Edition bottle and tube are adorned with Islay’s most notable landmarks. The round church at Bowmore and Port Ellen’s Kildalton Cross feature amongst a collage of travel stamps, in a colourful, hand-drawn design with Big Peat himself at the forefront.

Commenting on the new release, Fred Laing says: "Feis Ile sees Islay truly come alive, attracting Whisky fans from all over the world to this magical, week-long jubilee. We wanted to create packaging that does the Queen of the Hebrides and her Feis Ile Festival justice by creatively bringing together some of the wonderful symbols of the island that Whisky enthusiasts know and love. In true Douglas Laing style, our packaging is fun but the liquid inside remains as serious as ever, and this time he’s bottled at higher strength for an even punchier Big Peat hit."

As we have come to expect from Douglas Laing, Big Peat Feis Ile Limited Edition is bottled without chill-filtration or any added colour, and the special limited edition is also bottled at a higher alcohol strength that the standard offering, 48% ABV.

The Feis Ile edition will be a limited release of 500 bottles, each bottle will be individually numbered. If you won't be lucky enough to be on Islay during the 2016 festival don't worry as there appears to be no need to travel to Islay to get hold of a bottle as it will be sold on allocation to Douglas Laing's global distribution partners, but if you are one of the lucky ones on Islay it will also be available during the 2016 festival on Islay.

If you can't wait and want to secure a bottle right now then 50 bottles are available to pre-order now from the Douglas Laing website, with a limited edition poster included, and signed by Fred Laing, for good measure, although I am not sure if it is a poster of Big Peat or Fred Laing, I suspect it may be a Big Peat poster and you Fred Laing groupies may be disappointed.

In further Feis news, Douglas Laing have also announced a peaty partnership with Islay Ales. The two family firms have joined forces to create Big Peat Cask Matured Ale; a sweet, smoky and citric ale matured in ex-Big Peat casks and bottled exclusively for sale at the Feis Ile Festival on Islay in May 2016. Douglas Laing’s Single Cask Feis Ile Commemorative Bottling is yet to be confirmed, but I am sure it will be something special.

You will find Big Peat as well as Douglas Laing's current range of single malts available from specialist whisky shops such as The Whisky Exchange
 

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