Paul John's Peated Select Cask takes the same unpeated Goan single malt approach and adds a layer of Scottish-style smoke. The peat itself is imported from Islay, and married to Indian six-row barley distilled in copper pot stills under the Goan sun. Bottled at cask strength from hand-picked bourbon barrels, this is one of the most distinctive peated whiskies being made anywhere in the world.
The nose opens with wood smoke — gentle, earthy, more bonfire than medicinal — woven through with honey, vanilla and ripe pear. There's a faint coastal tang of salt and seaweed, a hint of toasted bread, and a tropical sweetness underneath the smoke that gives the whole thing a sun-warmed character no Scotch could quite replicate.
The palate is where the magic happens. Smoke and honey arrive together, followed by banana, dark chocolate, brine and warm baking spice. The peat is present throughout but never dominant — it dances rather than stomps, threading itself through the rich Indian malt sweetness in a way that feels genuinely original. At 55.5% it has plenty of weight, but the texture is creamy and the integration is faultless.
The finish is long and smoky-sweet, fading slowly through embers, honey and oak. It is the kind of finish that makes you reach for the glass again before you've quite finished thinking about the last sip.
Peated Select Cask is a triumph of cross-cultural distilling — proof that good whisky transcends geography. For peat lovers wanting to explore beyond Islay, this is essential drinking.
