Lightly Peated Whisky: Gentle Smoky Bottles to Try First

A lot of people are put off smoky whisky before they've really tried it. The reputation is all bonfires, hospital corridors and tar, and some bottles do taste like that. Plenty don't, though. There's a whole range of whiskies where the smoke sits in the background, adding a bit of depth without taking over.

My own first smoky whisky was Johnnie Walker Black Label, which is still a sensible place to start. I'll be honest about where I'm coming from, too. I generally prefer lighter, sweeter whiskies without much smoke, so this list is written from that side of things. If you already love heavily peated Islay whisky, it isn't really for you.

How this list works

The bottles run roughly from the least smoky to the most. Where a whisky's peat level is published, it's measured on the malted barley before distillation, so treat it as a rough guide rather than a measure of what reaches the glass. Our guide to peated vs unpeated whisky explains why.

We've been clear about what we have and haven't tasted:

• Tasted by us: Johnnie Walker Black Label and Highland Park 12. The notes below are our own, and each has a full review.
• Our view, not yet tasted: Bowmore 12. I have an opinion on it, but I haven't bought a bottle.
• Picked on specification: Benromach 10, Springbank 10, The Hearach, Talisker 10 and Caol Ila 12. We haven't tasted these, so the descriptions come from how each whisky is made and the style it's known for, not from our own notes.

Tasted by us: the gentlest place to start

Johnnie Walker Black Label

Johnnie Walker Black Label is a 12-year-old blended Scotch bottled at 40%. The smoke comes from a small share of peated malt in the blend, including Caol Ila from Islay, and it's there to season the whisky rather than lead it. You can read more about how smoky each label is in our guide to whether Johnnie Walker is peated.

The nose is quite light overall, with some honey, a touch of heather, sweet green apple and a bit of orange citrus. After a little while, a light but fairly sharp smoke starts to appear, with a mix of peat and wood smoke. There's more smoke on the palate than the nose, although it has a slightly unusual, almost synthetic character to it, and the texture is fairly thin and watery. The finish is medium in length, with orchard fruit, wood spice, pepper and a little smoke lingering at the end.

This is a decent introduction to Scotch whisky, mainly because it doesn't push too hard in any one direction. You get some mild smoke, light fruit, sweetness and oak, so it gives you a small taste of a few different styles without becoming too challenging. The downside is that it lacks much complexity or real punch. In terms of value, it's fine rather than outstanding. It's relatively affordable, but there are cheaper bottles around.

Best for: a first taste of smoke, especially if you already drink blended Scotch. Our full tasting notes are in the Johnnie Walker Black Label review.

Highland Park 12

Highland Park 12, sold until recently as Viking Honour, is an Orkney single malt matured mostly in sherry-seasoned oak and bottled at 40% in the UK. Part of the barley is dried over peat cut on Orkney, which gives a softer, more heathery kind of smoke than you get from Islay.

This has become one of those bottles that seems to permanently live on the shelf. It's inexpensive, easy to drink and has just enough going on to keep things interesting. The nose is very light and easy-going, with sweet malt, lemon peel, some tropical fruit and a little floral honey, and a very faint organic peatiness running underneath it all. On the palate there's chocolate, nuts, salted toffee and a faint dirty peat note, which I actually quite like. It's subtle, but it's there if you look for it.

The biggest weakness is the texture, which is extremely thin, and the finish is short, with faint bonfire smoke and a touch of earthy peat. There are also a few less pleasant notes towards the end, mainly rubber and cheap sweets. It rarely disappoints, although it doesn't really surprise you either. As an easy everyday pour, or something to introduce to a beginner, it does the job well.

Best for: an everyday bottle with smoke you have to look for. Our full tasting notes are in the Highland Park 12 review.

Picked on specification: light peat beyond the obvious

We haven't tasted these three. They're here because each is lightly peated by design and comes from outside Islay, which is where most people's idea of smoky whisky starts and stops.

• Benromach 10 is a Speyside single malt at 43%, made with lightly peated barley. Speyside is better known for fruity, unpeated whisky, so this is a good one if you like that style and want to see what a gentle wisp of smoke adds.
• Springbank 10 comes from Campbeltown and is bottled at 46% with no colouring or chill filtering. It's lightly peated and matured in a mix of bourbon and sherry casks, and it's known for an oily, salty character as much as for smoke. It's often harder to find at its normal price than the others here.
• The Hearach is the first single malt from the Isle of Harris Distillery, peated to 12 to 15ppm and bottled at 46%. We've written about what The Hearach is and who it's for.

Stepping up to more noticeable smoke

These are the bottles to try once you know you like a bit of smoke.

Talisker 10 (picked on specification)

Talisker 10 is from the Isle of Skye and is bottled at 45.8%, with malt peated to around 18 to 22ppm. It's known as much for black pepper and a salty, coastal character as for smoke, so the peat feels like one part of a bigger flavour rather than the whole thing. We haven't tasted it yet.

Bowmore 12 (our view, not yet tasted)

Bowmore 12 is an Islay single malt at 40%, with malt peated to around 25ppm and a mix of bourbon and sherry cask maturation.

Bowmore 12 is one I've always been slightly hesitant about buying as a full bottle. The main reason is the amount of discussion around batch variation. Some people seem to get a perfectly enjoyable bottle, while others find it noticeably weaker, so there doesn't appear to be the consistency you would hope for.

That makes the value proposition a little difficult as well. There is plenty of competition around the same price, particularly from distilleries offering non-chill filtered bottlings or slightly higher strength. Depending on where you are, bottles like Deanston 12 or Kilchoman Machir Bay can sometimes be found for similar money or even less, which makes Bowmore 12 harder to justify purely on value. Bear in mind those two are alternatives on value rather than on style: Deanston 12 is unpeated, and Machir Bay is a good deal smokier.

That said, it clearly works for some people. I've seen plenty of drinkers say Bowmore 12 was one of the whiskies that first got them interested in Scotch, and I can understand why. It offers a relatively gentle introduction to Islay, with some smoke and coastal character without throwing you straight into the heavier end of peat.

For me, this is probably one I'd rather try by the dram before committing to a bottle. If you get a good one, I can see it being a very approachable everyday Islay. The problem is that with so much choice available, inconsistency makes it difficult to buy with complete confidence.

Caol Ila 12 (picked on specification)

Caol Ila 12 is the top of this ladder. It's an Islay single malt at 43%, with malt peated to around 30 to 35ppm, which is similar to some of the island's heavier hitters. It has a reputation for being lighter and fresher than Laphroaig or Lagavulin, with more citrus and sea salt, which is why it's here as the step between gentle smoke and the full Islay experience. It's also one of the malts behind the smoke in Johnnie Walker Black Label. We haven't tasted it on its own yet.

The ladder at a glance

The smoke levels are our rough grouping. Peat figures are measured on the malt, and not every distillery publishes one.

Where to go next

If you find you enjoy the smoke, the natural next step is the heavier end of Islay. We've written about Lagavulin 16 and Ardbeg Uigeadail, both of which are a big jump from anything on this list.

If you try one of these and decide smoke isn't for you, that's completely fine. Most whisky isn't peated at all, and our guide to the best non-peated whisky brands covers where to go instead. It's also worth checking a brand before you buy, since some that people assume are smoky aren't, such as Glenmorangie, Balvenie and Bunnahabhain.