Incredibly Smooth Peated Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, Tasted ‘Double-Blind’ And Ranked

Peated Scotch Whisky Reviewed — iStockphoto/UPROXX

In much of the country, the weather has shifted into full-on fall. That means fireplace smoke is slowly replacing backyard barbecue smoke in our lives. That in turn means that this is a prime time for some ultra smoky peated single malt Scotch whisky. To celebrate the smoke, I’m conducting a double-blind taste test of some seriously good peated single malt Scotch whiskeys.

So what do I mean by “double-blind” here? Well, I have a big box that I throw peated single malt Scotch samples into. There are around about 30 in there. I had my very patient wife grab 10 samples at random, pour them, catalog them, and take the samples away with me out of the room. I had no idea what was poured when I sat down. And ho-boy, it was a roller coaster of flavors and emotions. Some of these peated malts were … let’s just say “wildly bold.”

Since I didn’t know what I was tasting, you’ll have to scroll down to find out which whiskeys made the cut and how they fared. I’ll give you a hint, some major bottles that people clamour for did not do well. Intrigued? Let’s dive in!

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months

Part 1 — The Peated Scotch Whisky Double-Blind Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

Nose: There’s a clear sense of deeply plummy yet lightly tart sherry on the nose with buttery toffee, old leather boots, and malted treacle biscuits next to blackberries soaked in brandy and floating in vanilla-laced cream with a hint of marzipan and pear.

Palate: Molasses-cut toffee opens the luxurious palate with a sense of stewed blackberry, cherry, and plum with a thick crumble laced with cinnamon and plenty of buttery brown sugar before roasted and candied nuts arrive with a sticky toffee pudding married to mince meat pie vibe.

Finish: Those candied nuts take on a salted dark chocolate aura as the spiced sherry sticky toffee pudding adds a hint of dry orange zest, plenty of nutmeg, and a dash of sweet smoldering oak tobacco on the silken finish.

Initial Thoughts:

Holy, f*ck! This is amazing.

Now, that said, I had to triple-check with my wife that this was peated (as I mentioned above, she’s very patient). I got a tiny hint of smoke on the sweet oak at the end but nothing else. I was assured this was peated and carried on.

Taste 2

Peated Scotch Whisky ReviewedPeated Scotch Whisky Reviewed — Zach Johnston

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Fresh ginger coins and green apple pulp dance on the nose with caramelized pear cut with orange zest and ground cinnamon that’s all countered by a sense of old campfire coal that’s still just smoldering and spitting tiny drops of rain.

Palate: Honey malt cakes dipped in orange syrup draw the palate toward heavy oak dipped in Nutella and caramel before the peat kicks in with massive amounts of bandages, seawater, and smoldering orchard barks.

Finish: The smoldering bark gets ashy on the finish with a real sense of the inside of a cold smoker that’s smoked everything from pears to salmon to brisket before a lightly sea-salted dried pear comes in with a hint of brandy.

Initial Thoughts:

This is pretty damn good too. There’s some real depth here and a lot of fatty smoky vibes that all work. It’s a lot though.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a very Highland sense of floral honey next to soft minerality — kind of like walking on slate after the rain — before dark plums and figs mingle with caramel malts and a fleeting sense of smoked pears dipped in clove and anise syrup.

Palate: The palate follows that smoked pear toward old honey jars with plenty of crystallization and a faint hint of a rainy forest next to winter spice cakes full of fatty nuts and dried fruits with a note of bourbon vanilla and burnt orange lurking far in the background.

Finish: That burnt orange leads to more holiday spices with a creamy maltiness on the end that’s pure silk as a whisper of that floral honey returns with a spiced maltiness.

Initial Thoughts:

I didn’t get any smoke or peat on this one. Maybe it was there, but after the last pour, it was invisible. Still a great pour though. It’s so light yet distinct.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose opens with a bold sense of fresh rubber bicycle tires that’s hard to get past. Eventually, the sip reveals coconut cake, rich vanilla, soft buttery toffee, roasted almonds, and salted caramel all smoked next to a seaweed-fed fire as whispers of slow-smoked pork butt.

Palate: Smoked lemons preserved in salt open the palate toward vanilla buttercream cut with toffee and stewed pear, cinnamon bark, and clove before soft smoldering charcoal and burnt honeycombs veer the palate toward dark chocolate-covered espresso beans, floral honey, and eggnog spice.

Finish: That creamy eggnog spiciness mounts on the finish with saltwater-soaked applewood charcoal, nasturtiums, and a deep sense of old earthy peat that’s part black soil, part dry smoldering seaweed, and part smoked fatty pork meat with a light sense of red berries lurking underneath.

Initial Thoughts:

Wow. This was almost a disaster. That rubbery nose was a lot to get past. Giving it time, it opened up into a very deep and sweet/fatty smoked whisky. But it took a lot of patience to find all of that.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is all fresh yoga mats, more rubber, and more the tire section at an auto store before kind of hinting at green apples stewed with pepper and burnt winter spice barks, burnt oatmeal cookies, and a touch of ashy tobacco next to maybe some red fruit.

Palate: Charred oak and smoldering orchard barks drive the palate toward hard rubber and asphalt with a sense of burnt coffee beans, burnt pepper, and almost burnt rubber before soft notes of pear brandy and dry fruit cake arrive to calm things down.

Finish: Burning fall leaves and the crusty inside of a meat smoker drive the finish with a sense of fall fireplaces stoking up again after a long summer with a hint of tart red berry.

Initial Thoughts:

I had my wife pour this again. It was a lot and I really had a hard time finding anything redeeming about it. I often am able to see the value beyond my personal palate, but that’s really hard here with all that burnt rubber and burnt everything.

It felt like this Simpsons moment but replace “doughnuts” with “peat”…

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Grilled and smoked tropical fruit — smoked mango, grilled pineapple, stewed papaya — open the nose toward saddle soap, fresh green chili pepper, and vibrant spearmint next to floral honey with a whisper of sea breeze.

Palate: The taste is luscious with a sense of fatty roasting herbs next to winter spice barks, fatty smoked bacon, powdery white pepper, and clove-studded oranges next to a sweet sense of oyster shells.

Finish: Floral honey and smoky buttercream meld on the finish with a sense of those smoked and grilled tropical fruits returing with a savory note of guava and lychee.

Initial Thoughts:

This is wildly different and tasty. All the smoke and peatiness is attached to sea salt and tropical fruit, which is enticing.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose is so rubbery but eventually gives way to buttermilk biscuits covered in smoke apricot and pear with a smoked honey vibe next to candied orange and hints of butterscoth laced with vanilla.

Palate: Tannic oak drives the palate toward smoldering peat next to floral honey, malted vanilla cookies, and oatmeal raisin cookies next to creamy vanilla-laced toffee dipped in burnt dark chocolate.

Finish: Burnt and smoldering barley arrives on the finish with more rubberiness next to grain sugars, caramel, and bourbon vanilla.

Initial Thoughts:

This took forever to open up beyond the rubbery nose. Once opened up (with a lot of air and time), it was… fine.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Old pear and apple orchards mingle with singed vanilla pods, salted toffee, rum-raisin, and grapefruit pith next to smoked peach and melon over cinnamon bark dipped in seawater.

Palate: That grapefruit leads to burnt orange with a deep smoked plum, cherry, and apple vibe next to grilled peaches, toasted coconut, and burning wild sage with a slight sense of moist marzipan and apricot tobacco.

Finish: Apricot jamminess and chewy malty spice drive the finish toward smoldering coals in a barbecue and a bit more of that smudging sage.

Initial Thoughts:

This is delightfully subtle and full of great peated fruit character.

Taste 9

Tasting Notes:

Nose: You’re drawn in with hints of honeyed smokiness on a cold fall day, salted caramel apples, mild hints of rich and real vanilla, and smoldering coffee grounds with touches of chocolate nuttiness before a whisper of dry cranberry arrives.

Palate: The taste ties the honey to a soft oakiness next to vanilla chocolate coffee, seaside salted taffy, and a touch of fish oil that leads back to smoldering sage, old oak staves, and whisper of salted dried plums.

Finish: The end is very long and pure velvet on the tongue as the sweet oak fades towards a sweet smokiness, with a hint of salty roasted almonds and burnt vanilla husks.

Initial Thoughts:

This is just freaking delicious. It’s so well-balanced while providing a deep and fun profile.

Taste 10

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose runs deep on this whisky with mild hints of beachside campfire smoke whispering in the background as hints of red fruit, wet driftwood, and green peppercorns draw you in.

Palate: The palate embraces the red berries with a slight tartness next to the sweetness as the peat remains dry and distant and tied to the brine of the sea with an almost oyster liquor softness.

Finish: The finish lingers for just the right amount of time as sweet berries and dry peat lead towards soft dark cacao powder with a tiny note of vanilla and one last spray from the sea.

Initial Thoughts:

This is a dream to sip (especially on this exhausting panel of whiskeys).

Part 2 — The Peated Scotch Whisky Ranking

This is Christmas in a glass. It’s delectable, nuanced, deep, and delightful. Yes, the peat was barely there — that’s to be expected after four decades of aging — but what was there melded so well with the overall profile that it just worked.

This is memorable and second to none.

Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky

I know, I know. The winner was a nearly impossible to get bottle of Scotch whisky. I don’t care. It is beyond reproach.

That aside, the Talisker, Lagavulin and Port Charlotte are all winners too. I’d focus on the latter if you’re a deep peat head and want the boldness. The other two are silky and nuanced with a subtle peatiness. Both offer greatness in the glass in their own ways. Re-read my tastings notes and find your path.