Put down that smooth mellow Scotch that hails from Speyside or the Highlands.

Take an adventure to Islay, the home of all things peated.

The blenders at Compass Box have sourced several single malts from Caol Isla and one expression from Laphroaig. The net result is what is termed a blended malt. At school during my M.Sc. studies I was led to believe that blended malts were the exception with blended Scotch whisky being more common. The distinction is, a blended Scotch comprises a base distillate to which malt whisky has been added. A blended malt is a blend of just malt whiskies with no base distillate to take away from body, texture and mouthfeel.

Powerful, assertive, in-your-face, are descriptors that apply to the Peat Monster. When I pour myself a dram and settle into my leather armchair, my wife says she cannot handle the peat aromas coming from my glass and runs screaming from the room. Like I said….this stuff is powerful.

I have done the usual suspects from Islay, at least to the extent that they are available to me in Canada. I have sampled Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Bowmore and a couple variants of Ardbeg. All good to be sure. But nothing impresses me like the Peat Monster.

To John Glaser and his team at Compass Box, I say well done gentlemen! Keep the creative expressions coming. And keep sending product to Canada.