Scotland's oldest distillery making peated whisky is an unexpected proposition. Glenturret has spent most of its existence producing light, unpeated Highland malt, but the reinvention under Lalique ownership has included an annual release of peat-smoked spirit that has surprised the whisky world with its quality and distinctiveness.
The 10 Year Old Peat Smoked is a limited annual release, bottled at 50% in the earliest vintages and 48.4% in more recent batches. The peat character is different from the coastal, iodine-heavy smoke of Islay — Glenturret's peat is inland and earthy, producing a smokiness that is more bonfire and barbecue than seaweed and salt. The maturation in a combination of American and European oak rounds off the rough edges.
The nose is immediately smoky: smoked mackerel, bacon fat, smouldering coals, coastal bonfire, salty embers, and flamed orange zest, with soft aromatic spices — cinnamon and anise — beneath. The palate is savoury and intense: ash, charcoal, smoked meats, grilled beef, charred oak, resin, and bonfire smoke. This is an unashamedly meaty, masculine whisky.
The finish features salty smokiness with an aftertaste of citrus warmth. It is different enough from the traditional coastal peaters to carve its own niche — an inland peat expression from a distillery that had no right to be this good at smoke. The value for money, given the strength and the quality, is excellent.
