Peated whisky is probably the most divisive juice in the whole whiskey world. Some folks love it for its medicinal vibes, ashen qualities, and tarmac depths, while others feel like they’re being forced to drink from an old ashtray full of used Band-Aids.
Hey, we all have different palates and desires based on those palates. So while peated malt whiskies are antagonistic to some, they still have a place in the pantheon of great whiskies. So let’s blind taste some and find one for you to try.
The whiskies I tasted below have a pretty wide range, from Scotland (obviously), Japan, the U.S., and Israel. Some of them are very peated. I mean, massively, heavily peated. It was… a lot. Others are so lightly peated that they might even pass as un-peated to the uninitiated. The point of that range was to point out that peated whisky isn’t a monolith. Multitudes, and so forth.
Our lineup today is:
- Octomore 13.3
- Bowmore 15
- Benriach Smoke Season
- Yamazaki Peated
- Ardbeg Hypernova
- M&H Elements Peated
- Lost Lantern 2022 Single Cask #12
- MacNair’s Lum Reek
- Laphroaig Càirdeas Warehouse 1
When it comes to ranking these peated whiskies, I went on taste alone. But with peaties, that means a little more. I was looking for depth of flavor, sure, but it was also about, what else is there? Are there layers of flavor that make sense and tell a story with the peat? Or is it just whisky-filled ashtrays with Band-Aid floaters? Let’s find out!
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Part 1: The Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
The nose is a subtle mix of salted caramel with sweet caramel malts, apricot jam, gingerbread, and a touch of nasturtium with a whisper of smoked apples and pears before the ashen peat starts sneaking in. The palate opens with smoked brown sugar next to rich marzipan with a hint of Almond Joy next to Kiwi boot wax, orange marmalade, dried roses, lemon pepper, and a hint of oyster liquor. The end has a caramel maltiness that’s just kissed with sea salt and potpourri cut with mild dark spices and more of that marzipan, finishing on a light fruit soda vibe.
This was pretty nice overall. It was very peaty, but more tied to fruit and caramel than ash and tar.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a dash of chocolate malts next to rum-raisin, meaty dates, and sourdough bread crusts with a hint of butter and fig jam. The palate has a woody vibe that’s part cedar box and part orchard wood smoking chips next to prune, dried cherry tobacco, salted pear chips, and a hint of smoked cinnamon. The end boils down some plums and figs into a hazelnut spiced cake with a touch of oatmeal cookie, walnut, sultanas, and nutmeg leading to cinnamon-apple tobacco packed into that old cedar box.
Damn, this was smooth and delicious. It’s also very lightly peated and much more akin to a sweet malt (or bourbon even) with a hint of sweet smoke lurking in the far background.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
Rich caramel comes through with old oak and burnt orange next to smoke vanilla pods, cold charcoal, and a hint of tarmac. The palate leans into that soft vanilla with a bold singed apple wood smokiness next to creamed honey, burnt cinnamon sticks, and more burnt orange rind. The end amps up the citrus and spicy smokiness with a smoked salted caramel maltiness next to burnt citrus peels and apple chips.
This was a lot. The peated fruitiness verged on bitter and burnt more than sweet and smoky.
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
There’s a light line of smoke that has a minerality to it alongside nuances of a pipping hot fireplace burning dried fir and cedar that leads to dried caraway on whole wheat toast with sour salted butter and bitter orange marmalade and a hint of orchard bark ash. The palate veers away from all of that toward seared pineapple and salted papaya with a sense of red-hot rocks in the dirt next to smoldering lime leaves and burnt orange. The end singes some cedar park and pine coal while leathery dark dates and prunes mingle with mulled wine spices, dark molasses, and rich vanilla cream on the lush finish.
This takes you on a journey. There’s nuance and depth throughout. But wow, this ends luxuriously. It’s kind of amazing.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
This is massively peated from the jump with freshly lain asphalt mingling with fireplace ash, old Weber grills left out in the rain, and hurricane lamp oil with a burnt wick and maybe some burnt apple chips next to smoldering hickory. The palate opens with burnt cacao nibs and over-roasted espresso beans with a clear peatiness tied to burnt oyster shells and fresh Ace Bandages with a mix of star anise, salted black licorice, clove, and fennel next to Mounds bars. The end has a heavily smoked vibe that’s kind of like smudging some wild sage while boiling heavily roasted coffee on the stove with a sense of an electric-coil burner raging in bright orange underneath the pot.
This is a slap in the face with a diamond ring turned toward the palm of that slapping hand. …I kind of want another slap.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
There’s a nice sense of light orchard fruits next to sea salt malts with a slight caramel vibe and some fresh lemon oils with a dash of black pepper. The palate has a mild brininess with a hint of vanilla pudding, gingerbread, and more of that bright lemon. The end brings it all together with a lemon cake vibe with smoked sugar icing and a dash of vanilla and winter spice.
This whisky feels downright soft compared to the last pour. That said, it’s subtle but vibrant.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Holy shit! You can smell the ABVs on the nose of this one alongside heavily smoked maple bacon with freshly cracked black pepper and a hint of smoked brisket fat next to old figs, smoked almonds, and some bitter orange soda. The palate is blown out by the massive ABVs. Hints of bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers mingle with prune jam and old burnt caramel malts next to burnt cacao nibs and orange rinds. The end just keeps getting hotter as a whisper of old porch wicker and boot leather sneaks in under the fire of a thousand suns burning malts and coffee beans.
This needed a rock ASAP.
[I had to take a five-minute break and palate cleanse after this. It completely blew out my palate.]
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
Soft toffee and old leather mingle on the nose with a dash of freshly ground nutmeg over a mocha latte with a hint of cinnamon and toasted clove/orange. The palate leans into the chocolate malts with a slightly singed twinge that leads to spiced honey, fresh heather, and old boot leather. The end is full of that dark chocolate malt and spiced honey with a touch of smoked espresso and salted caramel.
This was nice. It wasn’t amazing but hit the spot for something easy-to-drink and rewarding.
Taste 9
Tasting Notes:
Here we go again. The nose opens with a huge note of smoked grainy malts next to an un-opened box of Band-Aids, peppery smoked brisket with plenty of smoked fat, and smoked sea salt counterpointed by vanilla sheet cake with a honey icing and dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg. The palate opens with burnt yet buttery toffee next to white wildflowers, dried fennel, and rich and creamy honey smoothness and sweetness. The end gets a little woody with a fatty smoked peppery vibe next to more toffee and a dash of seawater-washed granite.
This is a pretty solid finish to this panel. It’s not my cup of tea but, goddamn, it’s well-rounded and easy to drink.
Part 2: The Ranking
9. Lost Lantern 2022 Single Cask #12 — Taste 7
ABV: 74.45%
Average Price: $130
The Whisky:
This whiskey is made from a mash bill of 100% malted barley imported from Scotland to Colorado. The hot juice is filled into a new American oak barrel and left to mature for five years. Then the good folks at Lost Lantern came along and found this single barrel to bottle completely as-is, only yielding 164 bottles.
Bottom Line:
This Hazmat whiskey (any bottle over 70% ABV/140 proof) was just too hot. It needed a lot of water and a rock or two to both calm it down and let it bloom in the glass. On its own, it blows out your palate and you’re left with a buzzing mouth more than any flavor profile. But hey, maybe that’s your thing.
8. Benriach Smoke Season — Taste 3
ABV: 52.8%
Average Price: $74
The Whisky:
This new whisky from the famed Dr. Rachel Barrie is a blend of peated malts from deep in the warehouses. The blend is a mix of American virgin oak and bourbon barrels that held peated malt for an undisclosed amount of time. Those barrels were vatted for this batch and just kissed with that iconic Speyside water before bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was nice enough. There was a lot of peatiness that was very burnt though, which was ashy and bitter. Again, that might be your jam. It’s just not mine.
7. MacNair’s Lum Reek — Taste 8
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $229
The Whisky:
This blended malt from the famed Glenallachie Distillery in Aberlour is probably better known for providing juice for iconic blends like Chivas. This blend marries peaty malts with sweeter Speyside malts to create a sherry-forward dram.
Bottom Line:
This was subtle but a little unremarkable. It got the job done and had a nice flavor profile. It just didn’t stick out as bad or great. It was just… fine.
6. M&H Elements Peated — Taste 6
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $72
The Whisky:
This Israeli peated malt is aged in ex-bourbon and ex-Islay peated malt casks for an undisclosed amount of time. Those barrels are vatted and then proofed down with local water before bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was pretty good overall. It wasn’t revelatory but had a good balance and delivered a subtle peated flavor profile with layers. Though I think I would use this more for cocktails than as a sipper.
5. Laphroaig Càirdeas Warehouse 1 — Taste 9
ABV: 52.2%
Average Price: $90
The Whisky:
This year’s Càirdeas release celebrates the Friends of Laphroaig and how they keep the brand going. The juice in the bottle is made from Laphroaig’s high-phenol peated malt right next to the sea on Islay. The hot spirit was then filled in first-fill limited edition single barrel Maker’s Mark bourbon barrels. The barrels were then stored in the famed four-story Warehouse 1 right next to the crashing sea until they were just right and then bottled as-is after vatting.
Bottom Line:
This was really solid but just not my cup of tea. That said, the layers, complexity, and depth were spot on and delivered a really great overall profile. If you’re into those medicinal peaties, then this is for you.
4. Ardbeg Hypernova — Taste 5
ABV: 51%
Average Price: $215
The Whisky:
This whisky starts with heavily peated malts with phenol levels above 170ppm. Translation: this is a peat monster. From there, mad scientist Dr. Bill Lumsden selected the peatiest of the peaty barrels for a batch and dumped them into Ardbeg’s special tun (mixing vat) for a final rest before adding a little Islay spring water and bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was a lot, but in the best way possible. It almost is daring you to not like it. And that’s somehow endearing and delicious. I don’t know how the math works but it just does.
3. Octomore 13.3 — Taste 1
ABV: 61.1%
Average Price: $215
The Whisky:
This brand-new limited edition Octomore from Bruichladdich is all about Islay. The whisky is made from heavily peated malts grown on the island (most malts are shipping in from the mainland) back in 2015. In 2016, the whisky was distilled right by the sea at Bruichladdich and then loaded into first-fill, ex-American whiskey casks and second-fill European oak casks from the Rivesaltes region of France and the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. After five years, the casks were vatted and then bottled completely as-is.
Bottom Line:
This was subtle and really nice overall. The sweetness helped calm down the peat to the point that you had a nice balance where nothing overwhelmed you on the palate.
2. Bowmore 15 — Taste 2
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $99
The Whisky:
This bottle from Islay’s Bowmore is a 15-year-old whisky that’s a blend of American and European oak. For the first 12 years, this whisky rests in ex-bourbon barrels. For the last three years, the whisky is transferred to Oloroso sherry casks. The whisky is then finished with local spring water, bringing it down to a very approachable 86-proof.
Bottom Line:
This was super supple and subtle. There’s a very minor note of peat that’s an accent to the rest of the palate. This also has a subtle bourbon-y vibe that makes it a great candidate for anyone looking to test the Islay-peated waters if coming from the bourbon world.
1. Yamazaki Peated — Taste 4
ABV: 48%
Average Price: $3,999
The Whisky:
This “hidden” gem from Japan is made from heavily peated malted barley, grown and malted locally. Once barreled, those whiskies are left to mature until they hit a stellar flavor profile (not a year number). Those casks are then masterfully blended and just touched with local spring water.
Bottom Line:
This was above and beyond. It was so clearly the best whisky. It’s also just a delight to sip on. You’ll always find something new and interesting that’ll only deepen your love for this amazingly well-crafted juice.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
This was a bold flight of whiskies. I think that Yamazaki Peated Malt is impossible to beat this year — in the peated whisky world. And look, I get it, the price is crazy. But, my god, that’s an amazing pour of hooch.
Coming down from the stars, grab yourself a bottle of Bowmore 15, especially if you’re already into bourbon or rye whiskeys. It’s a great stepping stone and has a wonderfully nuanced and subtle vibe. And if you want to go hog wild on the peat, then the new Ardbeg Hypernova is the bottle for you. It’s a peaty slap in the face with a nice sting that’s a little addicting on the palate.
