Entry level peaty scotch

Without knowing what you've tried it's hard to know what to recommend.

Some good intros to Peat are:

1. Bruichladich PEAT (if you can find it...no longer made)

2. Talisker 10

3. Caol Ila 12

4. Amrut Peated Cask Strength.

These are not "challenging" and are fairly straightforward. They do have their complexities (and the Amrut is one of my favourite malts) but lack some of the strong (asphalt, burnt rubber, medicinal) notes that can initially put someone off).

As a relative newcomer to whisky I tried Octomore 4.1 and any doubts that I liked peat were immediately erased.

Another I like is Laphroaig Quarter Cask. It's as close as I can come to a "Go To" peated dram. I also use it to beef up other poor performers. It made a Bladnoch that was simply off, quite drinkable.

@Liquidsteele if you've already tried expressions like Ardbeg , Lagavulin and Laphroaig you probably don't like heavily peated whiskies . You could try Springbank or even Benromach. These two are lightly peated and if you like them you could move on to Talisker or Caol Ila which have a more medium leaving level.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've tried Lagavulin and Ardbeg by they did not strike me the right way. I'll likely give Talisker and Laphroaig as well as the Octomore. It all depends on what I can find stateside.

@Liquidsteele If you like, or would want to try a single malt with a 'pinch' of peat - might I suggest the Bunnahabhain 12 yr.

Some others with a moderate amount of peat would be the Benromach 10 yr, Highland Park 12 yr, and Springbank 10 yr.

There are gentler kinds of peat out there than Lagavulin or Laphroaig, where the peat is medicinal and somewhat bitter and more to the fore. Ardbeg is less medicinal, but also very strong and tastes to me like sweet road tar.

You might try Talisker 10 or Oban 14, which are more smoky than peaty, pleasantly spicy and well balanced. Real pleasures to drink.

Then there are whiskies where the peat is not to the fore and is just one element. To me the peat in Springbank 10 is barely discernable. Highland Park 12's peat is smooth and more gentle ("heathery," they say) and complements the sherried influence well.

You might also try the Bruichladdich Heavily Peated Scottish Barley. To me, it's really not that heavily peated. The peat is smoother and more nuanced, and not of the bitter burnt inner tube variety of peat like Laphroaig or Ardbeg. Plus you'll get to enjoy the almondy, buttery Bruichladdich base malt, which complements the peat perfectly. It's very well balanced. This is now readily available in the US at $55-65/bottle. But I might be biased here since it's actually become my go to dram lately.

If you think you might not like peat, I would recommend staying away from the mescalinization-inducing peat and ABV of the mighty Octomore, also by Bruichladdich. But if you do try it, please be sure to let us know how it went.

@Liquidsteele You may be not an Islay fan, but that doesn't mean you don't like peat. If you want a very light peat, you can try any Arran. And if you are looking for a strong peat but not in any way an Islay peat, I suggest an Hazelburn CV or a Benriach Heredotus with a big sherry finish.

I have tried a few big and little peat types. If too much peat is the issue maybe go the simple route and try some blends. Johnnie Walker Red Label may be a place to start that doesn't break the bank.

@Bilbo161

I wouldn't give Johnny Walker to someone in whom I hoped to create an interest in whisky.

@Nozinan I know you're an advocate of hand - warming Amrut Peated CS . How long do you recommend I should do it in order that I can taste it at it's best.

@maltmate302

depends on the glass. If it's thick glass longer. A glencairn would be a little longer. a stemmed glass where you can wrap your hand around the bowl easily, I would recommend about 5 min, unless you have poor circulation.

maybe I should try it to be sure...

All the wisdom of this thread is summarized in what @maltmate302 said.

@FMichael mentioned Bunnahabhain. I respectfully disagree. I think many of us perceive a wee bit peat in Bunnahabhain just because it's from Islay. For me, at least, it's not there.

@Robert99 mentioned Hazelburn. Maybe he meant Longrow? Hazelburn doesn't have any peat.

My advice, assuming you actually own some peated whisky at this point —and you didn't just have the odd glass out or pour an unappealing full bottle down the drain—is to "spike" a glass of a whisky that you do like with a splash of your peaty stuff. It'll go a long way, so don't overdo it. If you don't like a slightly peatified version of that whisky you normally enjoy, then peat's not for you. At least not today. Put it out of your mind for a while—say, until this winter, the next time you're around a blazing fireplace.

Also, try it with dark chocolate.

@OlJas I did mean Longrow. Thank you for the correction and your advise is one of a wise man. It does make sens. I only have one concern. If you try only Islay peat, you need to make sure it is the peat you don't like as it could be the iodine or the seaweed if you are not familiar with these flavors. Therefore, after the experiment with the peating of an unpeated dram with a splash of a peated Islay, I would suggest two more glasses: one of an unpeated Islay and one of a peated Speyside.. That is just to make sure... Plus, having three very different drams is educational... And fun!

Many good recommendations already posted. It appears that you have tried mainly Islays to date so I would recommend giving the other Scottish regions a go since their kind of peaty whisky is a little different.

For something totally unusual, have a try of the Glenfiddich 125th Anniversary Edition an uncharacteristically peaty Glenfiddich.

Now for something unique, have a try of a Yoichi, a subtly smoky Japanese malt.

For peaty but non-medicial whiskies (that are still heavily peated, but where the peat isn't over-powering or too smoky) I'd go for Benromach Peat Smoke or pretty much any Bowmore.

Also, some of the peated Bunnahabhain's are very approachable - Gordon and Macphail's 8 year Bunnahabain heavily peated, for instance.

Benriach Curiositas is also quite a nicely mellow peated number.

I'd go for caol ila and longrow aswell. Maybe you just don't like peated malt?

Peated whisky is an acquired taste. As you gain experience trying different peated whiskies, you may grow to like it. As suggested above, Highland Park 12 is a good place to start, because the peat is inoffensive and mild, and does not dominate the other flavors.

I see you live in Wisconsin. If you ever get to Europe try the Ileach. It can be amazing but it is a no name bottling so you never know but cheap enough to risk it. As for stateside, I recommend Ardbeg 10 if you are willing to take a risk. For the inexperienced Islay drinker it can be a bit much with its industrial overtones, but I think it is hard to beat for power, complexity, and strength. I also think that the Laphroaig 10 is over rated. I love the cask strength offerings but not the 10 so much. Bunnahabhain 12 is hit or miss and it's a bit sickly sweet to drink as a daily dram, at lesat for me. If you are in a bar or a restaurant and the Bunna 12 is on the menu, try it. It's worth one dram for sure and it won't be too spendy in most places. As for Ardbeg 10, I think it is sometimes better than Ardbeg's special Ardbeg Day bottlings or almost as good and those Ardbeg Day bottlings always cost well over $100. Bowmore's quality has been iffy these days. Some indie young Bowmores have been interesting. Bowmores bottled around 1990 and early are usually fairly spectacular, at least that I've found. But the 12 is not so good these days. The Laddie Ten was great a while back, but it's not really a peaty scotch much at all. Still, if you come across a Laddie Ten I don't think you'd be disappointed. The price used to be very reasonable not sure about now. Caol Ila does not have the deep peatiness that satisfies, for me it is more smoky. I usually get sick of the entry level Caol Ila by the end of the bottle. But it blends very well with highland malts for a DIY sweet-peat vatting.

@Liquidsteele , I didn't realize you're in Wisconsin. I am too—near Madison. Are you nearby?

Two things:

•If you wanna joint a whisky club, you could check out the one I'm in. We need once a month around Madison. Pretty casual. No dues collected until your second meeting. Last month the table had Bowmore 12, Caol Ila 12, Talisker Stormy Somethingorother, Glendronach 12, and some bourbons that I didn't pay any attention to. We don't usually get too crazy wtih the bottle picks but it's fun.

•I'd be happy to rock you through the peaty stuff in my collection sometime. Except for the Amrut, I've got just about every peaty whisky mentioned in this thread plus quite a few more. Serious offer.

(meet)

This site really needs an edit function.

A good entry level beginning peaty scotch I would recommend would be Bunnahabhain 12yr old. Hope this was helpful. (:

What @OLJas wrote; I would recomend Ardbeg 10yo. as your mixer, it is peaty, sure but beautifully balanced, an excellent mixer and may I be so bold as to suggest that before too many experiments with mixing you may find yourself adding a wee drop more to the mix.

Slainte!