A usual, Autumn brings the new Wilson & Morgan catalogue… and as usual, it’s filled with new exciting releases. In October, when the climate starts being cooler, the leaves turn yellow and the first chestnuts are roasted over the fire, the mood is ideal for spending a relaxing evening warming up in front of a fireplace and with the help of a good single malt. What would be better, to suit these atmospheres, to mentally evoke the smoky perfume of a log slowly burning, than choosing a fine peaty whisky? And that’s why our new autumn releases offer such a variety of very smoky whiskies.
We have chosen three of our favourites for your pleasure…
BUNNAHABHAIN 2014-2020 46% ‘Heavy Peat’ W&M321
Very clean and direct, with a core of fruitiness that acts as a background to the main attraction: peat smoke, so tarry, ashy, sooty and intense that if it weren’t for the notes of pears and apples you wouldn’t believe that it comes from the same distillery that usually makes a delicate unpeated whisky!
CAOL ILA 2008-2020 48% ‘Quercus Alba’ W&M323
If you like your peat smoke powerful, but in a rounder and more mature whisky, then this is the right choice. From a vatting of first fill bourbon casks and virgin American oak, it has a creamy, buttery, robust and chewy mouthfeel that balances the huge smokiness.
LEDAIG 12yo 2008-2020 57.4% ‘Traditional Oak’ W&M320
Dry, maritime, with a vegetal and farmy note, it’s a wild whisky from the Isle of Mull that matches finesse with extreme power. The smokiness is amplified by being bottled at cask strength, giving you the choice between raw smoky intensity, or a gentler approach if you decide to add a drop of water.
