TOP 10 Peated Whiskies

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 48%

Two of the things that single malt fans like the best are peated whisky and sherry casks, so this 10-year-old Laphroaig Sherry Oak Finish is a nailed-on winner if ever we saw one.

Introduced to the distillery's core range in spring 2021, Laphroaig 10-year-old Sherry Oak Finish begins life in refill sherry and bourbon casks, before spending the last 12-18 months of its maturation in Oloroso sherry casks to add extra complexity to the flavour profile. Like the distillery's Quarter Cask, Laphroaig 10-year-old Sherry Oak is bottled at the higher strength of 48%. A must for fans of full-on Islay whisky.

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Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 46% 

The excellent Kilchoman Machir Bay is one of the core range bottlings from Kilchoman, and makes a perfect introduction to what was until recently one of Islay's newest distilleries, having been founded by the Wills family in 2005.

Bottled at a hearty 46% without colouring or chill filtration, and named after the beautiful local beach where Islay's west coast faces the Atlantic, Kilchoman Machir Bay is the soul of the distillery, a beautiful marriage of ex-bourbon casks with a judicious smattering of sherry casks in the mix giving a unique balance of aromatic and coastal peat smoke, citrus and tropical fruit.

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Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 46%

*Comes with free Benriach branded Spey glass whilst stocks last*

Benriach distillery has a long and successful history of making smoky Speyside whisky, as anyone who has tasted the extraordinary peaters from the mid-to-late 1970s can attest.

Nowadays in the careful hands and supremely talented nose of Master Blender Rachel Barrie, the renaissance of Benriach instigated by Billy Walker in 2004 continues apace. Given the prevailing trends, peated whisky was always going to continue to be a big part of that revival, and the relaunched Benriach Smoky Ten 10-year-old is the standard-bearer in that regard.

In common with its sister bottling The Original Ten, Benriach Smoky Ten has been matured in three types of wood, with rum casks replacing their sherry counterparts for the Smoky edition. A further difference is that the Smoky Ten has been bottled at a higher strength - 46% - to emphasise the contrasting but intermingled smoke and  fruit in the spirit and the balancing sweetness from the casks.

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Tasting notes

Colour: Bright gold.

Nose: Ripe orchard fruit syrup, smoked honey glaze and oak spice.

Taste: Smoked applewood, honey maple and spiced pear finishing with lingering fruit and smoked oak.

RACHEL BARRIE MASTER BLENDER
"Three cask maturation in bourbon, Jamaican rum and toasted virgin oak casks bring out intense smoked applewood flavour with honeyed sugar maple, all woven together with rich layers of smoke."

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 
Bottled by: Ian Macleod Distillers 70cl / 40%

A mystery Islay single malt whisky from the fine folk up at Ian Macleod Distillers.  Macleod's Islay Single Malt hails from an unrevealed Islay distillery and has been selected by Malt Master John Glass and bottled at an easy-drinking 40%.

We're curious types here, so we had a quick dig around, but there's no info we can find as to who actually made this. At this bargain price for an Islay single malt whisky it's not really important, particularly as Ian Macleod only release good stuff.

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Peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky
70cl / 52.1%

Peat's Beast Cask Strength (or Batch Strength as it is now called) is a mystery peated single malt Scotch whisky - not necessarily from Islay, mind, but if it tastes good that doesn't really matter.

This cask strength variation of Peat's Beast has been bottled without colouring or chill filtration, and at a natural strength of 52.1% Peat's Beast Cask Strength carries all the smoky impact of its standard strength sibling with a hefty extra kick. A robust, earthy, dram with a powerful phenolic punch.

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Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 46.8%

Released towards the end of 2022, this batch of Ardnamurchan's AD comes in the distillery's updated packaging. In keeping with their green credentials, Ardnamurchan have discontinued their recycled cardboard presentation boxes altogether, and now use a slightly different bottle mould which is made with a greater percentage of recycled glass and a chunkier, embossed base.

As to the whisky inside, our QR scanner's on the fritz but we'd wager that this release sticks to the winning AD formula, which is a 50/50 ration of unpeated and peated Ardnamurchan spirit matured in 65% ex-bourbon and 35% ex-sherry casks. 

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Irish Whiskey
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 46%

Teeling Blackpitts Irish single malt is the first peated whiskey from the Teeling distillery, one of the most exciting of Ireland's new wave distillers. This whiskey was inspired by the old Blackpitts district near the new distillery, which was once the home to some of the largest malting houses in Ireland.

Teeling Blackpitts whiskey is triple distilled in the classic Irish style, and this has subdued some of the medicinal notes associated with peated Scottish whisky. Blackpitts is then matured in a combination of two-thirds ex-bourbon and one third ex-sauternes casks before being bottled at 46% without colouring or chill filtration.

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Tasting Notes

Nose: Inviting nose where barbeque smoke and cloves are intermingled with fresh notes of butterscotch and orange peel.

Palate: On the palate, a fascinating blend of Applewood smoke, honey and allspice are married with stewed pears and fresh grilled pineapple.

Finish: This whiskey finishes with the return of a savoury smoke over a lingering wood undertone, which combines delightfully with notes of salted caramel.

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 48%

It is a tradition for Laphroaig's Distillery Managers to pass on their skills and traditions to the next generation to create the richest ever Laphroaig.

John Campbell has created Laphroaig Lore to carry on this tradition.

Laphroaig Lore is drawn from a selection of aged casks making it a rich deep malt with distinctive smoke, peat and seaside minerality.

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Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 61.1%

Torabhaig's Allt Gleann Batch Strength was released in autumn 2023 as the first full strength release from Skye's second legal distillery. This Batch Strength edition is expected to be the final Allt Gleann bottling in the distillery's Legacy Series, which charts the evolution of Torabhaig's 'well-tempered peat' style.

Allt Gleann is made by Torabhaig using heavily-peated barley that starts out at almost 80ppm and retains over 20ppm after distillation. Allt Gleann Batch Strength was matured in first fill bourbon barrels and refill casks and has been bottled at its exceptionally potent natural cask strength of 61.1%. We're big fans of Allt Gleann at its standard bottling strength of 46% - this Batch Strength edition should be a humdinger.

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Tasting Notes

Nose: Typically Torabhaig with bonfire smoke, peat, and light, sweet, vanilla-led oaky spice.

Palate: More smoke, salinity, maltiness and quite an obvious wood spice with subtle grain, capsicum, and green apple touches. Weighty peat embers, a touch of cedar and sawdust.

Finish: More oaky spice with a tickle of fire.

Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Bottled by: Murray McDavid 70cl / 44.5%

A Croftengea (one of Loch Lomond distillery's peated spirits) bottled by Murray McDavid at an easy-drinking 44.5% in 2022 for their Cask Craft range.

This Murray McDavid Croftengea Cask Craft spent the final period of its maturation in casks that formerly held the sweet Sicilian fortified wine Marsala, which provides a layer of cooked dried fruit to the expected Croftengea smokiness, and like the rest of the Murray McDavid Cask Craft series it's extremely reasonably-priced, so peat fans should grab it while they can.

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Tasting Notes

Official Tasting Notes

The gently peated malt and the Italian wine cask combine to create sumptuous flavours of sweet hickory, honied cereal and bbq tropical fruits. A fine dance between oak and spirit leaves a long moreish finish with elegant, sweet smoke.