If you enjoy a wee Scotch whisky and are looking to expand your options, then peated (or smoky) varieties could be your next port of call.
Names like Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig can seem enticing but they are big hitting whiskies, which can often seem a little daunting if you don't have much experience with this style.
To help, we've picked out six shall we say, more approachable, peated whiskies for you to try out first.
Benromach 10 year old
(Distillery: Benromach, Region: Speyside)
This accessible Speyside distillery use a very light, mainland peat to make their whiskies.
Think soft fruits doused in vanilla and then a little puff of smoke just on the finish.
A great all rounder, it's a great introduction into that peaty, smoky flavour.
BenRiach The Smoky 10
(Distillery: Ben Riach, Region: Speyside)
This relative newcomer from BenRiach is a return to the peaty whiskies they've become well known for over the past few years.
The Smoky 10 is a combination of bourbon and virgin-oak casks, and Jamaican-rum casks, creating a great balance between sweetness and smoke.
Cu Bocan Signature
(Distillery: Tomatin, Region: Highlands)
It might be named after a mythical monster that supposedly terrorised the village of Tomatin for centuries but there’s nothing scary about this delightfully smooth peated single malt.
Matured in a combination of ex bourbon, ex sherry and virgin oak casks, it’s light and very creamy with just a teasing hint of smoke.
Longrow Peated
(Distillery: Springbank, Region: Campbeltown)
Springbank is a smaller distillery that is popular for its wonderful traditional whiskies, and Longrow - their peated expression - is a truly lovely dram.
With notes of charred marshmallows and sweet fruits, it’ll have you coming back for more.
Slightly meatier than the Benromach, this will give more of a hint at what you can expect from the smokier end of the spectrum.
Best of all, should you like it, they regularly experiment with casks giving you a range of different flavours to explore.
Ardmore Legacy
(Distillery: Ardmore, Region: Highlands)
Hailing from a distillery that bears a little more attention than it gets, the Legacy is a great value intro to peat.
A mix of 80% peated and 20% unpeated malt, it has a full-bodied hit of flavour that includes that peat smoke and more than a little spice.
Bowmore 15
(Distillery: Bowmore, Region: Islay)
For those seeking something a little richer, the Bowmore 15 is the ideal dram.
Popular, decadent and great value, the Bowmore's combination of both bourbon and sherry casks give it an intriguing mix of toffee notes, sweet fruit and peat smoke that makes it very moreish.
