Peated whisky is a divisive topic—some adore it, while others find it overwhelming. When I started drinking whisky, I could not appreciate the heavily peated drams. But as I explored more, I began to appreciate the earthy, smoky complexity they offer.
Over time, I’ve grown to enjoy peated whiskies. Let’s delve into some of the best peated whisky available today. First, let’s understand what peated whisky is and how it’s made.
Peated whisky is distinguished by its earthy and smoky flavour, originating from the peat fires used to dry malted barley during the malting process. Peat, which forms over thousands of years from decomposing plant matter, is a nonrenewable resource that imparts unique flavours to the whisky.
The flavour profile of peated whisky is diverse. Typical notes include tar, ash, iodine, and smoke, with variations depending on the peat’s source. For instance, peat from Islay often has fishy and seaweed notes, while peat from the Highlands tends to have more earthy, heather, and root-like flavours.
Peat levels in whisky are measured in ppm (phenol parts per million). This measurement indicates the peatiness of the whisky, with lighter whiskies having up to 20 ppm and heavily peated whiskies like Bruichladdich’s Octomore range exceeding 300 ppm. However, ppm is just a rough guide, and the actual taste can vary based on other factors in the whisky-making process.
While Islay is famous for its peated whiskies, other regions in Scotland, such as Orkney and the Highlands, also produce peated whiskies. There are even peated releases from Speyside distilleries such as AnCnoc and Glenfiddich.
Additionally, distilleries in countries like Japan, India, the United States, and Australia have embraced peat, creating unique expressions.
Let’s move away from the usual peat releases, such as Ardbeg, Talisker, and the Laphroaig. I want to look at other peated whiskies that are delicious and can stand proud on any best peated whisky list.
First on my list of best peated whisky is one of my favourites. Launched by Elixir Distillers in 2009, The Port Asking 8 year old whisky is sourced from Islay distilleries and aged in a mix of bourbon barrels, toasted American oak barrels, PX sherry butts, and refill hogsheads.
It offers a peaty earthiness with salty seaweed, smoke, vanilla sweetness, salted caramel, nutmeg, liquorice, green grass, and fresh fruit.
From the Bruichladdich distillery, Octomore is known for being one of the most heavily peated whiskies. The current release, Octomore 14.1, has a 128.9 ppm peat level and is distilled from 100% Scottish barley, matured in first-fill bourbon casks.
The tasting notes include peat, vanilla and salted caramel with toffee, pepper and orchid fruit. It sounds amazing.
The innovative name was the first thing that caught my attention. This innovative single malt from Atom Brands is partially finished in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks.
Seaweed & Aeons & Digging and Fire has tasting notes of charcoal, bonfire smoke, and sherry. There is malt mixed with apples, vanilla and oak.
Next up is peat from Speyside. The Benriach Smoky 12 is a single malt whisky from the Benriach Distillery. It was launched in 2020 as part of its new core range.
This whisky combines unpeated and peated spirits matured in bourbon barrels, sherry casks, and Marsala wine casks. It is peated to about 35 ppm, and the peat used is from Caledonia.
The tasting notes include smoky peaches and roasted almonds, with a hint of peat and cloves. Sweet red berries dipped in dark chocolate. Oranges and vanilla with BBQ smoky notes. Rich, smoky, with sweet, fruity notes balanced with green, earthy peaty notes.
The Balvenie 14 year old Week of Peat is a 14 year old single malt Scotch whisky, inspired by distillery manager Ian Millar installing a peat burner at Balvenie. For one week each year, the distillery created peated whisky using Speyside peat.
The result brings a smokey note to the classic Balvenie flavour profile. The tasting notes include gentle peat smoke, heather and floral notes with barley and butterscotch honey. Hints of citrus, vanilla and oak.
A peaty expression from the Glen Moray’s Classic range. I love what comes from this innovative Speyside distillery. The barley is dried in a peat-fired kiln, for hints of smoke. Mixing this peated barley with traditional malted barley creates a lightly peated spirit.
It is reasonably laid-back for a peated expression where peaty whiffs and creamy butter mix with plenty of vanilla and orchard fruit. Fragrant elements balanced with hints of pepper.
Connemara was the first in the modern era of Irish whiskey revival to release a peated whiskey. In the past, Irish whisky was often peated. Connemara Peated whiskey is inspired by the whiskies that would have been made over the centuries in rural Ireland.
Turf (as the Irish often call peat) was available to early whiskey makers, so peated whiskey was commonplace in Ireland before the 20th century. Connemara whiskey is produced at the famous Cooley Distillery. It has a distinct but still delicate smokiness, balanced with heather freshness and floral notes. It also has notes of malt, honeyed smoke, and barley sweetness.
Looking around, I have even found some peated bourbon. This hybrid whiskey was made from a mashbill with malted barley exposed to peat smoke. The tasting notes include wood embers, vanilla, toasted cinnamon, and dark fruit. Hints of smoked brisket, coffee cake, chocolate and stem ginger. Yes, please, this sounds absolutely amazing.
A peated release from India is next on my list of best peated whisky. Paul John Bold is a fully peated single malt from Paul Distilleries. The peat is brought to Goa from Islay, where it is used to dry their 6-row Indian barley.
It has notes of smoke with fruit and honey sweetness.
Hints of peat and nuts, woody notes and spices. You can’t miss the Islay peat and smoky hints, which are balanced with baked apple sweetness and green notes. Bits of dark chocolate and oak spice. It is not Ardbeg Uigeadail intensity but more Ardbeg An Oa fruitiness.
Loch Lomond has a peated single grain whisky release available! Heavily peated malted barley was distilled in a Coffey still at the Highland distillery. This is definitely not something you see very often.
It was matured in a combination of first and refill American oak ex-bourbon casks, adding a whole host of sweet, fruitier notes to the smoky spirit.
It brings notes of sweetness and peat, with lemon blossom and heather, berry jam, oaky vanilla, and baking spices. Below, there is a layer of malt and lingering smoke.
Everyone’s favourite fisherman from Islay with his yellow jersey. I love everything that comes from this brand. Especially their destination releases. The Big Peat Cape Town Edition is one of my all-time favourites.
Big Peat is a blended malt from the Douglas Laing stable, the first in their Remarkable Regional Malts series.
The standard Big Peat is a blend of malt from Caol Ila, Bowmore, Ardbeg and Port Ellen.
He brings notes of sweetness balanced with ash, tar and peat, mixed with barley and vanilla. Fruity sweetness with hints of chocolate and nuts. The sea breeze is blowing the BBQ smoke all around. Easy drinking and delicious.
The sweetness from the nose is replaced with Islay notes. The sweetness comes through later with creamy chocolate, vanilla and bits of roasted nuts.
No best peated whisky list can be complete without the Compass Box Peat Monster. The Peat Monster is a blended malt that combines smoky and peaty single malts from Islay and the Isle of Mull with rich, medium-peated Highland whisky. It has some Ledaig, Ardmore, Laphroaig and Caol Ila as part of the blend.
It is a richly smoky dram with underlying hints of fruit and oak. There are salty notes with a hint of something medicinal. Oak, flowers, smoky bacon with a hint of papaya.
Which one is your favourite peated whisky?
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