If you don’t know a lot about scotch and someone gave you a glass of an Islay single malt, you might assume that all whisky from Scotland was smoky, briny, and rich. But this is far from reality. The flavors vary by region, sometimes drastically. Speyside whiskies are known for vanilla, spice, honey, and only sometimes gentle smoke. Highland whiskies vary from sweet honey and heather to bold spice to smoke bombs. Lowland whiskies tend to be sweeter with more pronounced caramel flavors. Campbeltown, the Islands, and to a bigger degree Islay is where you’ll find briny, salty, and peaty smoked whiskies.
Here’s a refresher on peat-smoked whisky. For those unaware, peat is a decaying, highly compact organic matter that is found all over the island of Islay and various other places in Scotland, Ireland, and the world. It’s like thick mud that’s cut from the ground and used as a source of fuel. These whiskies get their flavor during the malting process when peat is burned to dry the barley and stop germination while imbuing the grains with billows of peat smoke. This adds the “smoky” flavor that peated whisky fans look forward to with every sip.
Today, we’re going to turn our attention to ten bold, brash, massively smoked expressions from Islay and beyond. Each of these whiskies are for those looking to either get into the style or take a step up with their already smoky palates. Also, if any of these bottles sound good to you, hit the prices to try and a bottle yourself!
Caol Ila 12
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $80
The Story:
A favorite of bartenders and scotch fans alike, Caol Ila 12 is well-known as one of the best smoky/briny Islay whisky gateway bottles. This dominatingly peated whisky was matured for 12 years and somehow manages to be reasonably priced at under $100. It’s herbal, smoky, slightly medicinal, and perfect for slow sipping near the ocean or in front of a painting of the sea.
Tasting Notes:
Take a moment to breathe in the aromas of pipe tobacco, vanilla beans, subtle ocean brine, and peat. Take a sip and you’ll find flavors of salted caramel, spicy cinnamon, dried fruits, and more peaty smoke. It all ends with a warming mouthful of immersive campfire smoke.
Bottom Line:
This is the bottle for peat beginners. Instead of diving right into the likes of Ardbeg and Bruichladdich and demolishing your palate, start with Coal Ila 12 and work your way up.
Kilchoman 100% Islay
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $100
The Story:
This is the tenth iteration of the beloved 100% Islay Series. The expression was distilled using Publican and Optic barley that was grown at Kilchoman and malted and peated on location. It was distilled and then matured in a combination of bourbon casks and Oloroso sherry butts for nine years.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’re greeted with aromas of ocean brine, almond cookies, vanilla, and a boatload of peat smoke. On the palate, you’ll find hay, dark chocolate, buttery caramel, and woodsmoke. The finish is long, warming, and ends with a nice herbal, peat smoke finish.
Bottom Line:
Depending on which year you find of this memorable expression, the taste will be subtly different, making each year a new flavor experience.
Compass Box The Peat Monster
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $65
The Story:
Compass Box is well-known for sourcing and blending whiskies from highly-regarded distilleries. The whiskies included in The Peat Monster are notably smoky and sourced from the Isle of Islay as well as the Highlands. This combination makes this expression both smoky and fruity.
Tasting Notes:
This complex whisky begins with scents of sea salt, iodine, dried cherries, and peat. Sipping this whisky will open your senses to a world of wildflowers, smoky bacon, tropical fruits, and more smoke. The finish is a nice mixture of sweet fruit flavors and rich, earthy smoke.
Bottom Line:
While this definitely fits the parameters of a “smoke monster” on par with the legendary Nessie, it also has a great, fruity sweetness that makes it really well-balanced.
Talisker Storm
ABV: 45.8%
Average Price: $60
The Story:
First released in 2013, this no age statement expression from the Talisker is matured in a combination of refill and toasted American oak barrels for under 12 years. It’s known for its bold, smoky, spicy, complex flavor.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll be greeted with aromas of crisp pear, astringent, bitter chocolate, and smoke. On the palate, you’ll find hints of wood char, toasted vanilla beans, peppery spice, and wood smoke. It all ends in a dry, pleasingly warm, smoky finish.
Bottom Line:
Talisker Storm lives up to its bold name. Sipping this whisky is like drinking in a swirling, rich, smoky hurricane of flavor.
Lagavulin 16
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $100
The Story:
One of the most well-known smoky whiskies in the world, this expression is matured in oak casks for 16 years. It’s well known for its combination of bold peat smoke as well as a mellow, sweetness, and a pleasing dry finish perfectly suited for sipping.
Tasting Notes:
Take a moment to give this whisky a proper nosing and you’ll notice hints of fresh Band-Aid, sea salt, and a wallop of peat smoke. Sipping this whisky will reveal flavors of toasted wood, buttercream frosting, spicy pepper, and a mouthful of smoke. The finish is salty, peaty, and smoky.
Bottom Line:
If you only buy one bottle on this list, make it Lagavulin 16. In our opinion, there’s no better peated whisky for the price.
Port Charlotte 10
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $70
The Story:
If you take a look at the bottle, you’ll immediately notice the words “heavily peated” and you’ll know exactly what you’re about to get in to. First released in 2018, this is the flagship expression for Bruichladdich’s Port Charlotte line. This super smoky Islay single malt was matured for ten years in a combination of virgin American oak barrels, second-fill American oak barrels, and French wine casks.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll be struck by the vibrant aromas of candied orange peels, ocean brine, vanilla beans, and astringent peat. Take a sip and you’ll find notes of campfire smoke, salted caramel, sugar cookies, and spicy cinnamon. The ending is dry, smoky, and spicy.
Bottom Line:
This is not a smoky whisky for beginners. It’s briny, salty, subtly medicinal, and full of potent peat smoke throughout.
Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength
ABV: 60.1%
Average Price: $85
The Story:
Laphroaig 10 is one of the most well-known gateway Islay malts. It’s astringent, smoky, perfectly salty, and sweet. If you’re ready to level up to a bolder, brasher, more high-proof version that’s aged for ten years in ex-bourbon barrels before being bottled at cask strength, Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength is the bottle for you.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find scents of clover honey, almond cookies, toasted vanilla beans, and smoky astringency. Take a sip and you’ll be greeted with flavors of salted caramel, seaweed, buttery caramel, and peat smoke. The finish is dry, warming, and ends with a nice combination of vanilla, smoke, and brine.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to high-proof, potent, smoky whiskies, it’s pretty difficult to beat this expression from Laphroaig. It’s surprisingly wallet-friendly for the bold flavors in the bottle.
BenRiach 10 Curiositas
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $60
The Story:
Obviously, when drinkers think of peated scotch, Islay’s distilleries immediately come to mind. But, this smoky, peated, flavorful whisky comes from BenRiach up in Speyside. The malted barley is peat-smoked with Speysides more forest-driven peat and then it’s aged for ten years in oak barrels.
Tasting Notes:
Before you dive right in and take a sip, take a few seconds to fill your nostrils with the smells of caramel apples, vanilla beans, wood char, and rich smoke. Next, you’ll enjoy hints of dried fruits, wildflowers, butterscotch, and bold peaty smoke. The finish is peppery, smoky, and subtly sweet.
Bottom Line:
While Islay gets all the press for peated whiskies, it’s important to note that there are plenty of mainland distilleries making peated expressions. This bottle from BenRiach is one of the best.
Bruichladdich Octomore 10.4
ABV: 63.5%
Average Price: $250
The Story:
When it comes to peaty, smoky Scotch whiskies, no list is complete without the godfather of all smoke bombs, Octomore. 10.4. The youngest Octomore to date, it was distilled in 2016 and spent only three years aging in virgin oak barrels. This whisky isn’t just in your face with smoke like some of the previous expressions in this series, it’s more well-rounded with fruity sweet flavors.
Tasting Notes:
Take a few moments to breathe in the scents of cinnamon apples, sea salt, dried fruits, and dried peat. Take a sip and you’ll find flavors of pipe tobacco, raisins, sticky toffee pudding, and campfire smoke. It all ends with a nice, spicy, warming smoky heat.
Bottom Line:
This is definitely not the first smoky scotch you’ll add to your collection. But, once you’ve tried some of the beginner malts, this is the kind of bottle that will find a “forever home” on your whisky shelf.
Ardbeg Corryvreckan
ABV: 57.1%
Average Price: $95
The Story:
The name Ardbeg is synonymous with peat smoke. You can bet that if you crack open a bottle from this Islay distillery, there’ll be a fair bit of smoky goodness paired with sea brine. Corryvreckan — named for a nearby whirlpool in the sea — is a perfect blend of those two notes.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find vanilla cream, dried fruits, charred wood, and herbal, smoky peat. The palate is swirling with candied orange peels, sweet treacle, peppery spice, iodine, and smoked bacon. The finish is a nice mix of salted caramel and campfire smoke.
Bottom Line:
You can’t go wrong with any of the expressions from Ardbeg. They’re all a little different. If you enjoy Corryvreckan, make sure to try Ardbeg 10, An Oa, Uigeadail, and the other outstanding expressions.
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