Peat- help?

[pillliwinx]

I love my whisky and want to keep my learning going.
I think I should now move on to the peated whisky's!!

I don't want to sicken myself straight away & therefore want to approach them with in a planned, structured way.

Also, I don't want to waste my cash in buying full bottles of whisky that I will hate.

Can I ask for some advice on what to buy in order so that I can learn the peated whiskies without hating them straight off??

PS.......I have had a bottle of Bruichladdich, The Laddie Ten as and loved it

Thanks
Paul

[Quaich1]

[bifter]

Many specialist shops will allow you to sample whiskies before buying. Just today I was buying a bottle as a gift and sampled 3 of the Benromach range - I actually ended up buying the Benromach Peat Smoke! I was on my lunch break but if I'd chatted longer I think I could have blagged some more. If you don't have a friendly merchant locally try the whiskies in your local bar.

As for peated whiskies, some Islay malts (e.g. Ardbeg, Laphroaig) have particularly strong phenolic notes to them, which can impart impressions of iodine, TCP, seaweed or seafood. If you want to start gently and work up perhaps try Highland Park or Springbank, then perhaps Talisker or Oban. The peat notes are less prominent and more reminiscent of wood smoke or ash. Bowmore and Caol Ila are good Islay starters but if you've had the Laddie 10 and liked it you're already there!
_________________
"Whisky is liquid sunshine."
[George Bernard Shaw]

[Kray]

I would say give Talisker 10 a try, then perhaps Caol ila 12, then Bowmore legend or 12 year old and if you still fancy something peatier then look at Laphroaig 10 and Cask Strength, Lagavulin 16 and Ardbeg 10 or you could jump right in at the deep end and go for one of the big 3 peat monsters Laphroaig, Lagavulin or Ardbeg.

There will be miniatures available of all the bottles i mention if you want to try any first before splashing out on a full size bottle.

[Alexppp]

Most peated recommendations have been covered so far. As the guys above said, either try and order miniatures or sample them in a pub or bar - I've seen the Laphroaig 10 in most pubs for example, and would be pretty easy to try before you buy. Talisker can also be found pretty easily in bars and pubs. Both are very strongly flavoured, Laphroaig stronger on the bonfire smoke and medicinal notes, Talisker richer and with a peppery finish. The smoke is sweeter and milder than Laphroaig. I would agree with Quaich that the Lagavulin 16 is the best heavily peated malt, but it's all a matter of individual taste in the end. That too you'd be able to find in bars with a bit of looking around.

For the medium-peated Islay style, Bowmore and Caol Ila are the way to go (Caol Ila would be my preference, but again, it's all a matter of taste). Bifter also mentioned Oban and Highland Park - I'm not a big fan of Oban and the smoke there isn't very powerful, more a background note. Highland Park is normally excellent but there recently has been some variation between batches, with some being a bit weak as far as the peat is concerned.

[albo]

My initial thought on this is if you are a complete peat novice, then starting with the Highland Park 12 is probably the way to go, while it has less proncouned peat than in years gone by, it has some there so by way of introdution its an easy starting point.

The Laga that Quaich mentions is a very classy dram, but for someone who isn't very well versed in the world of peat it may be a first step too far.

The advice on trying something in a bar or getting a minature is actually the best advice I can give you, it will let you try all levels of peat for a fraction of the cost of a bottle.

Try HP12, Talisker 10, Ardbeg 10, Laphroig 10, Laga 16, Caol Ila 12, Bowmore 12, Laphroig QC. You have a massive range to chose from.

If you're a bit of a whisky geek and like to do research, peat levels in whisky are mesured in parts per million (ppm) of phenol, so a quick google on the PPM level in whisky will give you an idea of how peaty it will be.

The Laddie 10 that you have tried is peated to 5ppm (According to 1 site I've just looked up).

The Laga 16 is peated to 40 PPM so quite a jump there.

Talisker 10 peated to 25 PPM.

Just an idea of the range we are talking about.

And at last count Octomore did the most peated whisky at I beleive 130 ppm.

Hope this helps

[Soggy Kilt]

[DavidUK]

Buy a few miniatures or find a pub which has a good range

[andyroid20]

My first heavily peated whisky was the Laphroaig qtr cask and still one of my favourites. I found it hard going initially but a small amount of water helped initially. After a while I preferred it neat but that's my experience ymmv

[jcarrick]

My first big peaty whisky was Bowmore 12 year old which was bought for me as a gift. On my first tasting it was a shock to the system, i thought what the hell is this, i didnt realise you could get whisky that tasted like this. By the end of the bottle i was hooked on peated whisky.

The big supermarkets often do very good offers on the likes of Talisker 10, Bowmore Legend, Laphroaig 10 and Laphroaig Quarter Cask and i would recommend any of them to start your peaty whisky journey.

I usually find the best prices for Lagavulin 16 and Ardbeg 10 (2 of my favourites) at The Whisky Exchange and there delivery cost is only £5 which i think is good as i would spend more on petrol driving to a whisky shop and paying for parking.

[DavidUK]

I'd avoid Talisker 10yo as it's an awful tasting whisky. Worse than most cheap blends

[andyroid20]

[Calder]

[James T]