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Top 10 Smoky Whiskies
There are many among us, however, who prefer their whiskies the traditional way - full of smoke. Here are our ten smokiest whiskies for those who like notes of bonfire, soot, and charred oak in their dram.
Bowmore 18 Year Old
The oldest distillery on Islay, Bowmore has been making drams with punchy island peat since its conception in 1779. Remaining hand-crafted, the distillery continues to release whiskies with lashings of smoke, including the spectacular Bowmore 18 Year Old. Big, sweet, salty and smoky.
Benriach Smoke Season
The most heavily peated single malt to come out of Speyside (as far as we know), Benriach Smoke Season is a smouldering collision of sweet and smoky spirit. With a smoke level described as 'Intense', Master Distiller Rachel Barrie has made this dram with 100% peated malt. Expect especially woody smoke, alongside notes of sweet vanilla, stewed apple and gentle spice.
Ardbeg Wee Beastie
The second, and far from the last, whisky from Islay on our list, Ardbeg Wee Beastie has been referred to as 'the smokiest Ardbeg', which is quite the feat for a distillery which has long prided itself on producing the smokiest drams full stop. A young and intensely smoky whisky, with notes of chocolate, creosote and tar.
anCnoc Peatheart Batch 3
This sleek black bottle from anCnoc distillery is an experimental, heavily peated bottling from the typically unpeated Highland whisky makers. The heart of the Scottish peatlands is found in the north-west, where Knockdhu distillery finds its remote home. This is the valuable fuel for this expression, which holds peat at the centre of its taste profile.
Ledaig 10 Year Old
Heading to the islands now, Ledaig is the heavily peated sister whisky to Tobermory, made at Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull. Their 10 year old is matured in superior oak casks, combining the dark, aromatic lochan water from high on the mountains with exclusively peat-dried malted barley, for a palate of charred oak, smoke and spices.
Port Charlotte 10 Year Old
Hailing from Bruichladdich's heavily peated range, expect even more smoke than their classic Islay drams. The phenol level (a measure of smokiness in whisky), reaches 40PPM, with the average peated malt reaching around 30PPM. Sweet and maritime, with strong smoke throughout. (I also enjoy the name!)
Octomore
If you thought 40PPM sounded high, you've not seen anything yet. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on an Octomore bottling (also produced by Bruichladdich), you'll be sipping on upwards of 128.9PPM. The 'super heavily peated' single malts employ special methods to retain more phenols throughout the milling, kilning and distillation process, for an ultra-smoky profile.
Ballechin 10 Year Old
Hailing from the more delicate Highlands, this punchy whisky hails from 'Scotland's Little Gem', Edradour distillery. Heavily peated Ballechin is known for its earthy smoke, which is balanced by notes of dark chocolate and spiced oak. First introduced in 2003, Ballechin is made with the same traditional, handmade methods as Edradour single malt.
Torabhaig Allt Gleann Legacy
Competing with the smokiness of the only other distillery on the Isle of Skye, Talisker, Torabhaig's first core expression is powerfully peated and maritime, with notes of brine, floral heather and orchard fruits. The whisky is drawn from small batches of no more than 30 barrels.
Lagavulin 16 Year Old
A firm favourite of peat heads, Lagavulin 16 is a humble Islay malt with a big reputation. The intense character comes from the distillery's own richly peaty water supply; the heavily peated barley; the unusually long fermentation - up to 75 hours; and the slowest distillation of any Islay malt. Expect punchy smoke on the nose, with earthy peat and dried fruit on the palate.
Explore all our Smoky Whiskies, here.
