Peaty & Smoky

A fine drop of Ardbeg bottled at high strength. A marriage of Ardbeg from bourbon barrels and sherry butts which gives a sweet and smokey finish to this malt. Uigeadail is the loch from which all Ardbeg's water flows. This year's batch of Uigeadail has more sherry influence and is an absolutely stunning whisky. Nose: the nose is deep and rounded chocolate caramels and barley sugar combine with dates, raisins and smooth sherry notes. The sweetness gives way to malted honeycomb, with flowering currants emerging through the smoky sweetness of a well-fired fruit pudding. Taste: Sweet, chewy and oily with a silky mouthfeel. Initially sweet, revealing fruit cake and treacle. This is followed by barbecued or honey roast food with the slightest hint of olives. Finish: Again long, both sweet and dry with honey, treacle and a trace of lint.

Part of famed independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail's new 'Discovery' range, this 13 year old Caol Ila from the west coast island of Islay falls under their 'smoky' profile, an introduction to bold flavour ranges that Scotch has to offer. We are met with sweet vanilla and dry cured meat aromas. Peat smoke undertones are complemented by banana and apricot. Ripe banana, kiwi and vibrant hints of fresh citrus, leading to a long, sweet and smoky finish.

A select few casks from the famously smoky whiskies of Islay have been blended together to create this new expression from BBR, offering the distinctive tarry, peaty & smoky characteristics of Islay. The smoky aroma is initially dry, like that of an empty peat kiln, building to a sweet and creamy fullness on the palate, with a long finish..

Fresh peat smoke mingles with a soft cooked stone fruit sweetness, with layers of smoke. On the palate there is a surge of tangy peat smoke and a vanilla pudding sweetness that leads to a sea-side, peppery smoke. The barley, oak and peat come together in harmony on the finish which is long and peaty. Consistently one of the best whiskies to come from Islay, made by the Wills family at Rockside farm.

Sanaig is predominantly bottled from Ex-Oloroso Sherry Hogshead casks, and this influence is most obvious in its rich colour and flavour. The aroma is classic Kilchoman, with soft cooked fruits, full-bodied peat smoke with citrus notes and a lingering sweetness. A perfect balance of peat smoke and fruity sweetness, somewhere between Machir Bay and Loch Gorm.

One of the most famous whiskies in the world, Lagavulin's 16 year old has a lovely balance between a tarry blast of peat smoke, touches of sweet honey and rich dried fruit that lingers on to a dry and mellow smokyness - a true Scotch whisky classic from Islay.

This new expression from the team at Lagg distillery on the Isle of Arran sees their heavily peated spirit matured in ex-bourbon barrels, with a final finishing in very active ex-Oloroso sherry hogsheads for six months. The aroma bursts with notes of dark chocolate and dried raspberries, with over-roasted hazelnuts on a peat fire. Charred wood and heavily smoked spices kick in with a rich sherried tone, fringed with thick, rubbery, burnt peat smoke.

The famous Laphroaig 10 year old, one of the most iconic single malt whiskies in all of Scotland. Renowned for its earthy, medicinal, richly peaty-smoky flavour, it is an evocative dram that with just one sip transports you to its home on the inner Hebridean island of Islay.

Scarabus is a single malt whisky selected by Hunter Laing & Co. While the origin of this whisky is a mystery, it is a big dram, offering an aroma of sweet syrupy pears, white raisins, freshly roasting peanuts and plumes of peaty smoke. A briny sea-salt and leathery note adds depth, again nutty then spiced with mace and vanilla on a very oily and viscous mouthfeel. A fantastic dram and a must try for fans of Islay's oily, coastal peat smoke.

Talisker is the first distillery on the Isle of Skye, producing a unique style of whisky, half way between a gentle, salty, smoky West Highland malt and something smokier from Islay. Robust and punchy, peat plays a leading role on the nose, backed up with honey, leather and spice and a touch of chili-pepper heat.

We are delighted to offer the arrival of whisky from the Torabhaig distillery, situated on the beautiful Isle of Skye in Scotland. A bracing note of harbour-side sea spray and brine leads the aroma, moving to sweet and citric tones of lemoncello, with a raging beachside bonfire smokyness throughout. To taste, it is nutty and sweet with a toasted character, offering coconut and freshly made muesli. The peat flavour remains with thick and plentiful smoke that lingers on.

Legendary to those who have come to crave Scotland's big peat-flavoured drams, Ardbeg achieves a balance between surging smoke and peat, with notes of fresh tar, medicinal carbolic soap, wood smoke and a distant coastal element. The palate has a surprising sweetness and an oilyness that is offset by a fruity, citrus hint. One of our most popular Islay malts.