Peated Scotch Blind Taste Test: Our Professional Taster Picks His Earthy Favorites

Peated Scotch whisky is perhaps the most divisive style of whisky. This earthy dram tends to either be beloved to the deepest reaches of your soul from the very first sip or hated for life with the fire of a thousand suns without much in between.

I tend to fall in the latter camp, but that really depends on the smokiness of the juice. Phenols are what people love or hate with peated whisky. Speaking very generally, “peated barley” is barley that has been introduced to moisture to begin the germination process (sprouting), then dried using smoke from peat — a type of mossy, carbon-rich soil that can be used as fire fuel — to halt germination and complete the malting process.

While that drying process happens, the malts are imbued with phenols. Which then manifest a certain set of flavors into the wash, the distillate, and eventually, the finished whisky. Think: medicinal, iodine-laced, minerally, earthy, smoky, ashy, umami, fatty, bitter, and, yes, smoky. But, as with all tasting notes in whisky, there are varying degrees to the softness and severity of those notes. That can actually be measured by the PPM (parts per million) of those phenols. 70 to 80 PPMs is very high. 50 to 60 is pretty average. 30 to 40 is low. 20 is pretty much the lowest you’ll find in the mainstream. Again, all of this varies the deeper you go.

Science aside, in order to parse out these peated whiskies, I decided it was high time for a blind taste test and ranking. I grabbed eight peated Scotch whiskies (both single malts and blends) at random from my shelves, had my wife pour them for me, and dug in.

Today’s lineup:

• Talisker 8 The Rogue Seafury
• BenRiach The Smoky 12
• Ardbeg Wee Beastie
• Johnnie Walker 18
• Laphroaig An Cuan Mor
• Bowmore 15
• Caol Ila Distillers Edition
• Compass Box Glasgow Blend

Let’s get tasting!

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Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

The sip opens with a matrix of smoked fruits, sea spray, iodine, and dry nori sheets with a hint of wet forest floor and wet marble countertops. The taste leans into smoked sea salt with an echo of dried rose, hints of green bell pepper, and dirty firewood bark. The mid-palate leans into that black dirt as smoked stone fruits lead toward a spicy tobacco vibe at the very end.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

Band-Aids, dark chocolate powder, and sandalwood drive the nose but stay pretty light. That lightness carries on to the palate with a dark chocolate orange next to a grapefruit pith with an earthy moss underbelly. The finish has a whisper of old campfire ash the morning after a cookout with a little more of that Band-Aid.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

Alcohol-soaked dried fruits mingle with saffron stewed pears and a vanilla woodiness that leans into dry peat on the nose. The taste is somewhat briny with smoked pears that lead to smoked bacon fat and black ash. The finish feels like fresh asphalt with smoked pear tobacco that’s been dipped in salty water.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

This is incredibly soft with applewood mingling with buttery toffee, worn leather, and winter spice on the nose. The palate is all caramel and marzipan as vanilla pudding layers with soft spice, fresh tangerines, and dark chocolate. That choco vibe lasts into the finish with sweet spices and dried chili rounding out the lightly peated end.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

This opens with a nutty nose next to old leather, oat biscuits, and a hint of Ace bandage. Raisins and plum skins drive the palate toward a medicinal vibe countered by a spicy nut with a hint of honey. The finish moves from light wood toward vanilla tobacco with a final spray of Windex.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

Smoked chocolate malts draw you in as smoked raisins, dates, and figs round out the nose with old leather and sourdough scones. A cedar box full of spicy tobacco opens the palate as Caro Syrup sweetens the whole taste toward more dried fruits. The finish holds onto those dried fruits as cinnamon oat cakes mingle with sweet tobacco on the slow fade out.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

Smoked apricot, honey, dark chocolate powder, and star anise drive the nose. The palate is bold with crispy salmon skins next to anchovy oils countered by smoked salt toffee candy, orange oils, and dark stone fruits. The finish leans into the fatty smoked salmon vibes as the smoke and peat lean towards a dampened seaside campfire after a rainstorm.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

Smoked prunes, nutmeg, and cherry lead the way on the nose. The palate is fairly thin with hints of smoked malts with a spicy edge, dry straw, almond shells, and ripe plums. The finish has a touch of a cold fireplace and BBQ charcoal next to a thin layer of dried figs and plums.

Part 2: The Ranking

8. BenRiach The Smoky Twelve — Taste 2

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $72

The Whisky:

The base is a mix of unpeated and peated malted barley. Those juices are then mellowed for at least 12 years in a combination of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and ex-Marsala wine casks. The results are then blended by whisky icon Dr. Rachel Barrie into this arresting whisky.

Blind Tasting Notes From Above:

Band-Aids, dark chocolate powder, and sandalwood drive the nose, but stay pretty light. That lightness carries on to the palate with a dark chocolate orange next to a grapefruit pith with an earthy moss underbelly. The finish has a whisper of old campfire ash the morning after a cookout with a little more of that Band-Aid.

Bottom Line:

This was perfectly fine. There was no wow factor but it did deliver a mild peated whisky. Still, this feels more like a mixing whisky than a sipper.

7. Laphroaig An Cuan Mor — Taste 5

ABV: 48%

Average Price: $98

The Whisky:

“An Cuan Mor” means “Big Ocean” in Gaelic. This whisky leans into the ocean by being aged right next to the sea on Islay. The whisky spends years maturing in first-fill ex-bourbon casks. After a while (there’s no age statement), the whisky is then transferred to ex-sherry casks made from European oak. Those barrels are then vatted and proofed down with that soft Islay water before bottling.

Blind Tasting Notes From Above:

This opens with a nutty nose next to old leather, oat biscuits, and a hint of Ace bandage. Raisins and plum skins drive the palate toward a medicinal vibe, countered by a spicy nut with a hint of honey. The finish moves from light wood toward vanilla tobacco with a final spray of Windex.

Bottom Line:

This was a bit much in the opposite direction. The Ace bandage and Windex are a lot to take in. Still, there was a clear presence of each flavor on the nose and palate. It just really wasn’t for me.

6. Ardbeg Wee Beastie — Taste 3

ABV: 47.4%

Average Price: $50

The Whisky:

This is a new-ish expression from Ardbeg (it was released in April of 2020). The juice is aged for only five years in both ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks before marrying for the final product. The idea is to give a sense of the quality of the peaty juice from Port Ellen’s malting house without too much wood influence.

Blind Tasting Notes From Above:

Alcohol-soaked dried fruits mingle with saffron stewed pears and a vanilla woodiness that leans into dry peat on the nose. The taste is somewhat briny with smoked pears that lead to smoked bacon fat and black ash. The finish feels like fresh asphalt with smoked pear tobacco that’s been dipped in salty water.

Bottom Line:

This felt a little young on the palate without a lot of depth, especially for an Ardbeg. The phenols, or peat, were off the charts with that asphalt vibe, and that sort of muted everything else. At the very least, it was a point of view; and as with the Laphroaig above, that counts for a lot.

5. Compass Box Glasgow Blend Scotch Whisky — Taste 8

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $40

The Whisky:

This expression is a marrying of whiskies from all over Scotland. 65 percent of the juice comes from single malts from a “distillery near the town of Aberlour,” Laphroaig, and Clynelish. The rest is part Highland malt blend (from the Glen Moray, Tomatin, and Balmenach distilleries) and a grain whisky from Cameronbridge distillery. Those whiskies were barreled in sherry and bourbon casks with a French oak barrel thrown in too.

Blind Tasting Notes From Above:

Smoked prunes, nutmeg, and cherry lead the way on the nose. The palate is fairly thin with hints of smoked malts with a spicy edge, dry straw, almond shells, and ripe plums. The finish has a touch of a cold fireplace and BBQ charcoal next to a thin layer of dried figs and plums.

Bottom Line:

This was another whisky that was just fine. It was smoky, fruity, and easy to drink. That said, I would likely lean more towards using this as a cocktail base for a great drink than a sipper.

4. Johnnie Walker 18 — Taste 4

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $90

The Whisky:

This blend used to be called Johnnie Walker Platinum, which was also aged for 18 years. You might still see some of those bottles on shelves where scotch sells slowly. This is the same juice, which is comprised of 18 whiskies all of which are a minimum of 18 years old. The primary distilleries in the bottle are Blair Athol, Cardhu, Glen Elgin, and Auchroisk.

Blind Tasting Notes From Above:

This is incredibly soft with applewood mingling with buttery toffee, worn leather, and winter spice on the nose. The palate is all caramel and marzipan as vanilla pudding layers with soft spice, fresh tangerines, and dark chocolate. That choco vibe lasts into the finish with sweet spices and dried chili rounding out the lightly peated end.

Bottom Line:

This was soft and nice. That saved it a lot as it was also one of the lighter whiskies on this list. Lightness aside, there was real flavor in this whisky that stood out and made sense. It’s well-rounded and inviting. It’s just not very bold.

3. Bowmore 15 — Taste 6

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.

Blind Tasting Notes From Above:

Smoked chocolate malts draw you in, as smoked raisins, dates, and figs round out the nose with old leather and sourdough scones. A cedar box full of spicy tobacco opens the palate as Caro Syrup sweetens the whole taste toward more dried fruits. The finish holds onto those dried fruits as cinnamon oat cakes mingle with sweet tobacco on the slow fade out.

Bottom Line:

This was just … nice. There was nothing overtly off-putting about the low phenols, and that lack of heavy peat meant that more nuanced flavors could shine through. Overall, this felt like a great end-of-day sipper that’d also work wonders in a cocktail. It’s versatile and delicious.

2. Talisker 8 The Rogue Seafury — Taste 1

ABV: 59.7%

Average Price: $142

The Whisky:

This year’s Talisker sticks with the classic age statement of 8-years while leaning into the smokier side of the island whisky. The build on this expression is a marrying of the “Smokiest Reserves” from the Talisker warehouse. That juice is vatted and bottled at cask strength.

Blind Tasting Notes From Above:

The sip opens with a matrix of smoked fruits, sea spray, iodine, and dry nori sheets with a hint of wet forest floor and wet marble countertops. The taste leans into smoked sea salt with an echo of dried rose, hints of green bell pepper, and dirty firewood bark. The mid-palate leans into that black dirt as smoked stone fruits lead toward a spicy tobacco vibe at the very end.

Bottom Line:

This is freakin’ delicious. It’s so complex and unique while still feeling dialed in and accessible. The only fault is that it wasn’t quite as funky as it could have been, which is why it’s just shy of first place.

1. Caol Ila Distillers Edition — Taste 7

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $88

The Whisky:

This yearly release from the tiny Islay distillery, Caol Ila, is all about the finish. The 12-year-old juice is finished in Moscatel sherry casks to give it a truly deep fruitiness next to that briny Islay peat.

Blind Tasting Notes From Above:

Smoked apricot, honey, dark chocolate powder, and star anise drive the nose. The palate is bold with crispy salmon skins next to anchovy oils countered by smoked salt toffee candy, orange oils, and dark stone fruits. The finish leans into the fatty smoked salmon vibes as the smoke and peat lean towards a dampened seaside campfire after a rainstorm.

Bottom Line:

It was close between this and the Talisker above. But, Caol Ila won out for that little bit more depth and funk. This really is a bold whisky that has a softness that’s very enticing. You’re never overwhelmed by the flavor notes and they all build to a bigger whole at the end. It’s truly a classic pour of whisky.

Part 3: Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m not that surprised by this outcome. I love Caol Ila and Talisker deeply. What can I say? I dig that seaside funkiness and lower-peated vibe.

In the end, I think my first statement up top remains true. These whiskies are going to be very hit and miss for folks, especially if you’re coming from the very sweet bourbon world. Sweetness is not the name of the game with these. This is about earthiness, fruit, and smoke with the side of the ocean in all its glory. If you’re into that, these are for you, especially the Caol Ila and Talisker.