You can drive from one end of Islay to the other in under an hour. Yet the distilleries you pass along the way produce whiskies that seem to come from entirely different worlds: the heavy, medicinal smoke of Ardbeg has almost nothing in common with the softer, maritime profile of Bunnahabhain, at the northern end of the island. When you’re there, you quickly understand that “peated Scotch whisky” is not a category: it’s a starting point.
Islay is the home of peated Scotch, but peat is used across other Scottish regions too. There are distilleries in the Highlands, the Islands and Campbeltown that use peat in completely different ways, with equally interesting results. I wrote this guide to help you find your way around regions and styles, understand what sets one peated whisky apart from another, and figure out where to begin.
Why Scotland and peat go hand in hand
For centuries, peat was the only available fuel across much of Scotland. It was used for heating, cooking, and inevitably for drying malted barley during whisky production. It wasn’t a stylistic choice: it was simply what was there.
Over time, as coal and other fuels became available, many distilleries moved away from peat. Some kept using it, out of tradition or to stand out. And that choice is what drives all the variety we see today: distilleries that peat their barley heavily, others that use very little, and others still that alternate between peated and unpeated production on the same site.
The amount of peat used during kilning is measured in PPM (parts per million of phenols in the malt). A whisky at 5-10 ppm is barely peated; above 30 ppm it starts to make its presence felt; above 50 ppm you’re into serious peat. Bruichladdich’s Octomore regularly exceeds 100 ppm. The number is measured on the malt, not in the glass: the article on PPM in peated whisky explains why two whiskies with the same PPM can taste very different.
Scotland produces peated whisky across almost all of its regions, but with very different styles. Geography matters: the type of peat varies from area to area, and the influence of the sea changes the profile significantly.
Islay
Islay is an island of around 3,200 inhabitants and eleven active distilleries, the newest of which, Laggan Bay, filled its first cask in 2026. The distillery-to-resident ratio is probably unbeatable anywhere in the world. The whisky produced here is known for its maritime, smoky and often medicinal character, but calling it a single “Islay style” is a simplification that falls apart the moment you compare bottles side by side.
The south-east coast, where Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig sit close together, represents the most intense and recognisable style. The rest of the island tells different stories.
Ardbeg
Ardbeg is probably the most closely followed distillery on Islay, with a dedicated community of fans who snap up every special release. Its style is intense smoke with notes of tar, citrus and vanilla, a balance that’s hard to replicate. The Ardbeg 10 Year Old is the bottle to start with; the Wee Beastie at 5 years is rougher but more immediate. The distillery releases a steady stream of limited editions, many of them reserved for Committee members.
Ardnahoe
One of Islay’s newest distilleries, opened in 2019. The production philosophy centres on long fermentations and lantern-shaped stills with the longest lyne arms in Scotland, which tend to produce a lighter, fruitier spirit than the neighbours to the south. The first official bottlings, starting with the 5-year-old Inaugural Release in 2024, have won over many enthusiasts: the profile is delicate, with fruit and peat in balance, far from the more aggressive styles of the southern coast. A young distillery, but already with a recognisable voice.
Bowmore
Bowmore is Islay’s oldest distillery, founded in 1779, located in the centre of the island overlooking Loch Indaal. The profile is what many describe as “classic balanced Islay”: peat present but not dominant, floral notes, fruit and a maritime background. The Bowmore 12 Year Old is the most widely available bottle in the range, well suited to those approaching peated whisky without wanting to start at the extreme end.
Bruichladdich
Bruichladdich is a case apart. The distillery bottles three distinct ranges with different philosophies: the classic Bruichladdich, often unpeated or lightly peated, focused on fruit and cask complexity; Port Charlotte, sitting around 40 ppm with a more assertive maritime style; and Octomore, the super-peated line that routinely exceeds 100 ppm and represents one of the most radical experiments in Scotch whisky. Three different products, one distillery.
Bunnahabhain
Bunnahabhain surprises anyone expecting the typical intense Islay peat. Most of its production is unpeated, with a nutty, maritime and sweet profile that has more in common with certain Highland distilleries than with its neighbours to the south. There is also a peated line, the Mòine, using malt at around 35-40 ppm: the smoke is there, but it integrates with the dried fruit and saline character typical of the distillery in a softer way than the southern coast styles. The distillery sits in the north-eastern part of the island, and its shop is among the best stocked on Islay for special editions and single casks.
Caol Ila
Caol Ila is Islay’s highest-capacity distillery, with much of its production going into Diageo blends, most notably Johnnie Walker. As a single malt it spent a long time in the shadow of its more famous neighbours, but in recent years it has gained serious attention from enthusiasts. The profile is smoky with notes of dried fruit, pepper and oil: less medicinal than Laphroaig, less extreme than Ardbeg. The Caol Ila 12 Year Old is one of the best value-for-money bottles on Islay. The comparison of four Islay classics puts it side by side with Lagavulin 16, Ardbeg 10 and Laphroaig 10.
Kilchoman
Kilchoman is Islay’s only true farm distillery: it grows and floor-malts some of its own barley (about a fifth of production, with the rest of the malt coming from Port Ellen Maltings) and bottles on site. Opened in 2005, it was the newest distillery on Islay until Ardnahoe arrived in 2019. The profile is fruity and smoky, with a youthfulness that in the best batches becomes a distinct advantage. Machir Bay is the most widely available expression; 100% Islay, made only from barley grown and malted at the distillery, ended with its 15th edition in 2025.
Lagavulin
Lagavulin is perhaps the most recognised name outside enthusiast circles, partly thanks to years of media exposure. Nick Offerman, the actor from Parks & Recreation, is a genuine fan and has introduced the brand to a much wider audience. The Lagavulin 16 Year Old is the benchmark: deep smoke, sherry notes, sea and tobacco, with a structure that holds up beautifully over a long maturation. It’s a whisky for anyone who wants to understand what a peated malt can become with time and the right casks. The Distillers Edition, with its Pedro Ximénez finish, adds sweetness and complexity.
Laphroaig
Laphroaig divides opinion. The medicinal, iodine-heavy and almost antiseptic notes that define its style are exactly what fans seek out, and exactly what keeps others at a distance. The Laphroaig 10 Year Old is the bottle to start with, also available as the 10 Year Old Cask Strength at over 55% vol. The Càirdeas, released each year at Fèis Ìle, is the most anticipated limited edition among enthusiasts. Laphroaig also runs the Friends of Laphroaig programme, which gives members their own square-foot plot of land on the island.
Port Ellen
Port Ellen is a story of its own. The original distillery closed in 1983 and remained silent for decades, becoming one of the most sought-after and expensive labels on the secondary market. In 2024 it was reopened by Diageo after an extensive rebuild: the first whiskies of the new era still require years of maturation, but expectations are high. For now, anyone wanting to drink a Port Ellen must still look to historic releases, at prices that reflect its legendary status.
The Islands (excluding Islay)
Scotland’s other islands produce peated whiskies with a different character from Islay: maritime influence is often present, but the peat tends to be less phenolic and sweeter in the final profile.
Talisker, on the Isle of Skye, is the best known. Its whisky has a warmer, peppery smoke with sea-salt notes and a spiciness that makes it recognisable in a blind tasting. The Talisker 10 Year Old is one of the most versatile bottles among peated whiskies, easy to approach even for those coming from more delicate styles.
Highland Park, in Orkney, uses a local peat with unique characteristics: the heather growing in these moorlands gives the malt floral and sweet notes you won’t find elsewhere. Highland Park whiskies are peated but never aggressive, and the older expressions gain in complexity.
Jura, the island neighbouring Islay, produces mainly unpeated whisky. The Prophecy was the exception: a heavily peated expression, discontinued in 2018 when the range was relaunched. It is now hard to find, but worth tracking down if you want to see just how different a peated whisky made a few miles from Islay can taste.
The Highlands
In the Highlands, peat is not the norm, but the exceptions are worth knowing about, and there are more of them than you might expect.
Ardmore, in Aberdeenshire, is probably the Highland distillery most committed to peat: most of its production uses peated malt, though much of it ends up in blends. As a single malt, the profile is earthy, with notes of honey, baked apple and a dry smoke that bears no resemblance to Islay whatsoever. The Ardmore Legacy is the entry-level expression in the range.
Clynelish, in Sutherland, is technically unpeated, but has such a pronounced waxy character that it behaves similarly to certain peated malts in blind tastings: a reminder that aromatic complexity doesn’t always depend on peat.
GlenDronach has released various peated editions over the years, outside its standard profile of heavily sherried, unpeated single malt. They’re not easy to find, but they signal that curiosity about peat in Speyside and its surroundings is not a recent trend.
Old Pulteney, in Wick, is another Highland distillery with a strongly maritime character, driven by its coastal location. It’s not a peated whisky in the traditional sense, but the light smokiness present in some expressions and the brine make it interesting for anyone exploring styles beyond Islay.
Highland peat has a different composition from Islay’s: less seaweed, more heather and inland vegetation. The result is a drier, earthier smoke that in many cases integrates better with the honey and fruit notes typical of Highland maturation. Casks matter as much as peat: the article on Islay casks and maturation styles compares cask choices distillery by distillery.
Campbeltown and Speyside
Campbeltown, on the Kintyre peninsula, was once the whisky capital of Scotland with dozens of active distilleries. Today three remain. Springbank is the one that matters most to peated whisky enthusiasts: it produces three single malts with different peat levels. The classic Springbank is lightly peated; Hazelburn is unpeated; Longrow is the heavily peated expression in the range, with a profile that recalls certain Islay whiskies but has a character of its own: earthier and spicier. Springbank also malts all of its barley in-house, on traditional floors, and carries out the whole process, from malting to bottling, on one site.
Speyside is traditionally the home of fruity, floral and unpeated single malts. There are exceptions, though: BenRiach has produced a peated line for years that has attracted attention for the quality of its maturation, often in unconventional casks. It’s not the first place to look for a peated whisky, but worth knowing about if you want an alternative far from the Islay template.
How peat changes from region to region
The PPM figure tells only part of the story. Two whiskies with the same phenolic content can taste completely different depending on where the peat was cut, how it was used and how the spirit has matured.
Islay has the most maritime peat: the moorlands sit close to the sea, rich in decomposed seaweed, and this translates into iodine, medicinal and saline notes you won’t find in inland areas. Add to this the influence of sea air during maturation, which penetrates the casks in warehouses facing the ocean.
The Islands (Skye, Orkney) have a sweeter, more floral peat, with less iodine and more heather. The smoke that results is rounder and less aggressive.
The Highlands use an inland peat, drier and more earthy. The smoke tends to stay in the background behind honey, dried fruit and spice, and often integrates better with long maturations in sherry casks.
Campbeltown has a style of its own: brine is present, but the smoke has a different quality from Islay, waxier and less medicinal.
With these differences in mind you can choose with more precision, and a peated whisky that tastes nothing like your usual bottle is less of a surprise.
Where to start: one bottle per style
If you’re new to peated whisky and want to find out what you like, these five bottles cover the main styles without requiring a large budget.
For the classic maritime peated style, start with the Caol Ila 12 Year Old: clean smoke, dried fruit, no harshness. It shows what Islay whisky can do without starting at the extreme end. Widely available under €50.
For the medicinal and intense style, the benchmark is Laphroaig 10 Year Old: iodine, smoke, almost pharmaceutical notes. Either it grabs you immediately, or you realise you prefer something more restrained. There’s no middle ground.
For the structured and aged peated style, the Lagavulin 16 Year Old is hard to beat: the smoke is present, but the sherry complexity and years of maturation make it something categorically different. Around €80, a price that makes sense here.
For the Island peated style, Talisker 10 Year Old is the right bottle: pepper, warm smoke, sea without iodine. It also works well as an introduction for anyone coming from unpeated whiskies.
For the non-Islay, non-Island peated style, Springbank Longrow is the most interesting choice: Campbeltown, earthy, spiced, with a personality that resembles nothing else. Not the easiest bottle to track down, but worth the effort.
If you’re still finding your bearings, the best peated whiskies under €50 lists fourteen bottles by price band, and the beginner’s guide to peated whisky explains PPM, production and how to taste.
The Scottish peated whisky regions are not interchangeable, and the difference is not simply a matter of intensity. It’s the type of peat, the place, the production tradition and the maturation choices that shape the final style. Islay is the obvious starting point, but stopping there means missing a significant part of the picture.
