Given the maltings is a big toy really, you can play with it and that is what Ian Miller, distillery manager decided to do when he ordered in a batch of heavy Speyside peat to trial at The Balvenie in 2002.

Whisky: Spring Bay Sherry CaskABV: 46% Tasting notes courtesy of Mark NicholsonColour: Dark copperNose: Caramel & raisinsPalate: Lifted floral notes, caramel and dried fruit sweetness with some whitepepper savory hintsFinish: Delicious long and slightly dry finish which is indicative of some veryfine old wood. A slightly smokey note that suggests peat but comesfrom the heavy cask charring

Second fill American oak, ex-bourbon casks, followed by a period of further maturation in first fill Spanish oak, ex-Oloroso casks. Intense and warming. Welcoming chocolate and creamy vanilla, with rich honey sweetness tempered by vibrant spices. A whisper of flowery fruitiness yields to crisp bursts of citrus and apple. Chocolatey indulgence layered with honeyed spices and Christmas cake. Floral note lend a dash of finesse, while zesty hints of citrus and green apple enliven a lovely long finish.

While some prefer Port Charlotte, you have to admit Octomore is rarely ever boring. We're now into the lucky thirteens of what is arguably the most heavily peated whisky in regular production. There are three variants on offer in this batch. 13.1 is a 5 year old (as usual), bourbon-barreled, and peated to 137.8ppm of phenols. Distilled in 2016 from a 2015 harvest, like all the other .1 editions, it's made using Scottish mainland barley. 59.2% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered.