Broken Barrel Isle of Peat

A little background

Broken Barrel Isle of Peat is a blended whiskey comprised of a one year old wheat whiskey (54.5%) and a one year old single malt whiskey (Indiana Malted Barley, 45.5%). To create Isle of Peat, these two are blended together and aged with charred oak staves from Islay scotch whiskey barrels. To stay true to the name, the staves are broken apart by hand and submerged into the blend. The whiskey is then aged with the broken barrel pieces for at least 30 days, imparting a unique flavor upon them due to the unusual aging process. This whiskey sits at a solid 110 proof and can be found at an MSRP of around $50.

(Tasted neat from a Halo Glass)

Color

Pale Yellow

Nose

The very first thing that hits me in the face is the smell of a dry-erase marker. You know, when it has been sitting on the board for too long and needs erased? A slight hint of wheat males an appearance, as well as a hint of brininess from the peat. The dry-erase marker scent is pretty overpowering.

Palate

The mouthfeel has a medium viscosity. The aroma of dry-erase marker translates very hard to flavor on the palate. It is fairly bitter with other notes of sweet corn, wheat, and some acrid oak. Baking spices appear on the back palate as well.

Finish

The finish is also medium, with notes of smoke, baking spices and marker lingering on the mid and back palate. Slight baking spices appear at the beginning of the finish.

In closing

In full transparency, I honestly was not a huge fan of Isle of Peat. I could definitely tell that it was not aged long enough, as typical notes of a very young whiskey kept on coming through on all fronts. The marker notes were off-putting and masked pretty much all of the other flavors. I think they have a good idea on this blend, but it certainly needs to be aged longer to level out the flavors and give it an extra layer of complexity.