So, we finally have ourselves a bunch of smoky whiskies from Scotland’s Speyside district. This is great news, because I feel that most Speyside whiskies are big enough to handle the extra peat, and I think it adds a new dimension to the whiskies.
However, a lot of these peat smoke infused whiskies are still quite young (or blends of young peated whiskies and older unpeated whiskies) and taste young. I think some are better than others.
So, let’s get some dialoge going. Which ones do you like? Which ones don’t you like? And why?
The BenRiach 10 yo Curiositas, hands down. I’m an Islay fan, but Curiositas’ peat smoke is different, more tame, and it lingers to a pleasant, long, finish.
Two-bit: does that mean you like it? (I do.)
I like most of the peated BenRiachs (Curiositas, Authenticus and even the finished Maderensis / Arumaticus Fumosus).
I also like the recent Caperdonich 10yo 1998 that The Whisky Exchange released in their Single Malts of Scotland series.
Most of all, I like the older style Speysiders which used peat as a standard way of drying the malt. For instance older Glenrothes, Balvenie, Glenfarclas, Strathisla… can contain lovely whiffs of smoke!
The Ardmore 94 fairly fooled me when I first tasted it, unbelievably smokey for a Speyside.
I’ve had the Benromach Traditional which I find to have a good amount of peat. Overall it’s fine, but I don’t think the peat has the complexity of a Laphroaig 10 or a Lagavulin 16 (especially). A good bang for the buck overall though…
I must admit I haven’t had a whole lot of experience with heavily peated Speysiders.
Tomintoul’s take on the subject, Old Ballantruan, was fairly uninspiring. Lots of character, to be sure, just too bad it’s the character of a dimwitted bully.
On the other hand, and I suppose in line with a most of the above commenters, I’ve had a couple of very nice richly peated BenRiachs. Mind you, I haven’t tried any of the regular product line, only two single casks that were released exclusively for the Finnish market. Both were 1994 vintage, the first a 13-year-old Port cask, while the second was a 14-year-old Madeira cask.
I only had a dram of the Port matured one, and while it was quite juicy and certainly very peaty, there was a strong buttery note (at the time anyway) that I wasn’t too fond of. As for the Madeira, I ‘requested’ a bottle for my birthday last Nov, and it turned out delicious. Took a few months for the flavours to open up fully, but it’s very, very good indeed; starts on a big peaty note, followed by a nice bit of butterscotch/fudge and red berries (raspberries, redcurrants, maybe cranberries) and a lovely ‘campfire’ smoke in the middle, turning towards a lightly winey dryness in the end and finishes softly woody, still with a hint of berries, and the softest wafts of smoke in the background. Alas, all sold out since December, and I’ve only got the one bottle…
Benriach peated whiskies have the peated speyside market almost cornered, but I would like to put forward the already mentioned Caperdonich from TWE. It’s outstanding.
But the nicest is from Tomintoul : Old Balantruan
Maybe not the obvious choice, but try it if you can get hold of one.
There are 2 varieties, a 50 % abv and a 60 % abv.
John,
I actually liked the Tomintoul ‘with a peaty twang’ more than you did, at least for the around $35. But I do like the way you used the term ‘brooding’.
Slainte.
Louis
John,
Yes, I like Curiositas very much.
The Benriach Limited Edition 12 yo is another dandy. Finished in a sherry cask, it’s not at all like the standard issue. The peat isn’t quite as prominent, nor is the finish as long. Still terrific, though.
Just to be clear, I haven’t had a peated Speyside I didn’t like.
Have to agree the Curiositas is fantastic, very peaty, but without the iodine of Islay whiskies, making it rather unique.
Also had some single cask Ardmores that were peaty and enjoyable, but I haven’t tried the traditional yet.
Dislike them all, not a peat fan, they taste like burnt wood, not a flavor I enjoy. Give me a Irish or bourbon or even a nice highland and I’m happy (Woodford Reserve in the glass as I type)
Benromach Peat Smoke is pretty good (nice mix of sweet and smoke) as is the Benriach Curiositas – Back in the 90s the Glen Garoich 15 YO was peated and I loved that one – Only a little left in my bottle unfortunately…
The one dram I had of Curiositas was weak and uninspiring. A bottle of Ardmore was okay, but nothing I’d buy again. So far nothing peated from Speyside–seriously peated–has struck me as being worth the bother, but it might be a matter, as John says, of them being too young–generally I think heavy peat needs time to mellow and mature. It might also be a matter of the quality of the peat. I don’t generally buy into terroir theory, but if there’s anything to it, it could be the nature of peat in Islay and Orkney, where several distilleries do a portion of their own malting, or get malt from Port Ellen. The Speyside peating strikes me as more dirty and not so agreeable. On the whole, as more and more distilleries try to jump on the peat bandwagon, my reaction is a big shrug, as I seem to be moving the other way.
I’m not a big peat fan.. but have enjoyed the following:
BenRomach
BenRiach (very nice!!)
also Banff is great
some older MacDuffs (although technically it’s on the wrong side of the Deveron river to be Speyside.)
Has anyone had CraigDuff? I think that was the “evil peaty twin” bottling from Strathisla a while back.
I haven’t had Ardmore but would like to try it.
John or anyone –
Is Ardmore 30 yo peated? Has anyone tried it?
I am pretty much a card-carrying peat freak with a special affinity for Laphroaig and Ardbeg. When I originally tried BenRiach Curiositas last year, I was not overly impressed, undoubtedly because it did not have the Islay flavor. Since then, I have become more open-minded. I now think it is excellent, albeit different. I am also very taken with Authenticus 21 because it has a beautiful smokiness followed by wonderful oak, honey and spices. I find it is best not to compare Speyside peated whiskys against Islay, but to think of them as entirely different whiskys, worthy in their own right.
I think one thing that is sometimes lost in Speyside peat, is the source of the peat. In old distilleries like Banff, they got their peat from local sources, and while Coastal, it simply had a different organic composition and flavour from Islay peat. Now, distilleries are simply ordering malted barley with specific peat levels (ppm), but are they really bothering with the source of the peat? Could it be that even some Islay now have non Islay peat imparting the flavour. I do believe though, that were the whiskey is mashed, fermented, and especially distilled has more importance to it’s flavour profile than where it’s aged. One of my favourite coastal distilleries went some years ago to sending their barrels down into “lower” Scotland, away from the coast, yet the whisky still has the coastal flavour.
Sorry for the delay in commenting guys. I have a boat down at the New Jersey shore and spent some time getting her ready for the summer season.
Looks like the majority favorite here is BenRiach. Admittedly, they have a bit of an advantage given their stocks of smoky whiskies are more mature than some of the younger “up and comers” discussed.
The peat influence for these Speysiders is definitely different than some of the Islay whiskies. Different kind of peat, for one thing.
Rick Duff: Yes, I have tried the Craigduff. A rare treat for sure.
Two-bit: Funny you should ask about the Ardmore 30. I was told by the PR company that I was getting a review sample like three weeks ago. Never got it. I have a call out to them. Will let you know when I get a chance to taste it.
I think it’s a good thing that not only Islay Destilleries produce peated malt. It shows that peated malt cannot exclusivly be produceed there and helps to keep the prices acceptable. I had quite a few smokey whiskies from Japan that were very good and I also like the peated version of Amrut from India. When it comes to peaty Speysiders I also like Beriach. I remember a beautiful heavily peated benriach with a Chateau d`Yquem finish in the Signatory decanter Collection and I als like the Authenticus OB. I also have a heavily peated Ardmore from The Single Malts of Scotland Series that I can recommend.
a friend of mine bought the Ardmore “Traditional Casks” bottling on the recommendation of a store owner. we approached it with an open mind, but it just didn’t work for us. the whisky presented as heavy on the grain with a layer of peat that seemed somewhat one-dimensional.
our ultimate impression was of Cheerios mixed with a wisp of smoke. not very charitable, i’ll admit.
i’ve not tried any others, and i certainly wouldn’t buy a bottle until i’d sampled one i liked…
I think we have a winner already.
BenRiach Curiositas is highly appraised by almost everyone,including myself.
Of course Benromach’s peat smoke was a good and decent try on the subject,but BenRiach stands out above all.
My only concern,as i haven’t tried it,is the “Balvenie Islay Cask”.Does anyone have any personal opinion on it?
Maltakias, the nice thing about BenRiach Curiositas is that it is both good AND affordable. That’s a winning combination.
I have the Balvenie Islay Cask 17 and also enjoy that whisky very much. Good luck finding a bottle now though…
I’ll offer up props to the Caperdonich from TWE – it’s really great. Strong. Heavy on burnt bananas, citrus, and powerful puffs of smoke, with a rich, peaty finish, over layers of sweet cream and pastries, with some minor bitterness & bbq to keep finish lasting longer. Odd, unique & quite enjoyable. Haven’t shared it with anybody who didn’t long for a second glass!
As mentioned by several members, most of the peated BenRiach are very good or even excellent (at the exception of fnished version), in particular the ones distilled in the 1970s and 1980s.
I haven’t tried the Caperdonich from TWE, but the young peated Caperdonich from Jean Boyer caught me off-guard: a very good surprise.
I am very fond of the old Ardmore distilled in 1977 (OMC, Cadenhead’s and others), but less impressed by the 1990 and onwards bottling. The Ardmore traditional cask is a good whisky, but a bit too young for me. I hope to have once the chance of trying the new 30 YO.
The Glenfiddich 12 YO Caoran is okay, but nothing stunning.
The peated Benromach are still young, but are very promising.
A whisky that I would like to taste once is a peated An Cnoc.
The Ballechin (Edradour) might be okay, if only they could do some sherry or bourbon only maturation.
I tried a 23yo Ardmore at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Edinburgh yesterday (I’m an Islay fan, and they suggested this as a starter, since they were out of the Laphraoig 16yo). Single-cask, cask strength (former bourbon fill). I didn’t check the distilling date, but I’m guessing it’s going to be mid-1980s.
This is a very smooth whisky with quite a sweet undertone (nosing it, it had an almost sherry-like nose). It needed some warmth and water to
bring it out. The peat was present, but not heavy like a strong Islay, more
like a peated highland or island malt. It had a typical dry bourbon finish (having also had
this in the Laphraoig 16yo, I’m becoming a definite fan!). There is a very slight oiliness
to it, but it’s not unpleasant. Unlike e.g. a Laphraoig 10yo, there was no fire in this whisky – it makes a very well-rounded dram.
Overall, this is a smooth, well-balanced whisky that could appeal to a lot of people’s tastes, but I won’t be giving up the Uigedail for it!