Islay gets the credit for peated whisky, and fairly so, but Scotland is not the only place making it. Distillers around the world are all producing smoky single malts, and they use different methods to get the smoke into the whisky. Some buy peated malt from Scottish maltsters and distill it thousands of miles away, others cut peat from bogs near the distillery, and some rely on peated casks.
The point being, you do not have to stay within Scottish borders to find good peated whisky. In fact, when I first started to enjoy peated whisky, I made a point of trying whiskies from different countries so that I didn’t get bogged down in the “salt, iodine, bandages, medicine” conversation that sometimes dominates Islay Scotch. So, let’s take a look at five whiskies that deliver on the smoke without being Scottish.
Amrut Peated Cask Strength, 62.8%, $98 / £79.75
Starting in India, Amrut Peated Cask Strength has truly gained its wings in recent years thanks to the ever-growing popularity of Indian single malt whisky. The distillery is located in Bengaluru, around 3,000 feet up, and buys its peated barley for this expression from Scotland. The peat content is approximately 23-28 parts per million, which puts it in similar territory to a mid-weight Islay malt.
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The whisky spends roughly four or five years in ex-bourbon casks and goes into the bottle at cask strength, although there is a standard 46% ABV version if 62.8% is a bit too high for you.
In terms of flavor, think dark honey, citrus marmalade, toffee, licorice, and charcoal. The smoke has more in common with a barbecue than with the medicinal, seaweedy peat you get on Islay, so if you’re looking for a slightly sweet peat, this is a good place to start.
The strength shifts slightly between batches, so it is worth checking the label. It is a core release, not a limited one, and easy enough to find on both sides of the Atlantic.
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A great introduction to peated Indian whisky, even at cask strength.
Two Stacks Smoke & Mirrors, 48%, £44.95 / $62
Peated Irish whiskey is not something you come across often, and Two Stacks is upfront about why that is. The distillery’s own note on this bottle takes aim at the received wisdom that “Irish whiskey is never peated, always triple distilled, and inherently smooth,” pointing out that peat was once a normal part of Irish whiskey production before falling out of favor.
This is a single malt partially finished in imperial Irish stout casks from Brehon Brewery in County Monaghan, bottled at 48% ABV.
Two Stacks Smoke & Mirrors makes reference to this misconception in its name, and aims to showcase the tradition of peated Irish whiskey, with a twist. The single malt is partially finished in imperial Irish stout casks from Brehon Brewery in County Monaghan, bottled at 48% ABV.
The nose is full of campfire smoke, dark chocolate, caramel, and damp earthiness with a bit of spice, then toffee, roasted coffee beans, raisins, and nuttiness on the palate, with a long peaty finish. The smoke is present without dominating, and the stout casks give it a darker, richer edge.
If you like Islay whisky and want to see what the same idea looks like in Irish hands, this is the obvious place to start. It is also the most affordable bottle here, which makes it an easy one to take a chance on.
Stauning RØG, 43%, DKK 449 / £50 / $68
Denmark next, and this is the bottle on the list with the closest connection to where it is made. Stauning grows its barley and rye locally on the west coast of Jutland, floor malts all of it at the distillery, and kilns it using Danish peat alongside heather harvested nearby. The distillery makes the point that the grain, water, peat, and heather all come from local sources.
Distillation happens in 24 small copper pot stills heated over open fire, which is unusual at any scale in modern whisky making. Maturation is in new American oak with a first-fill Madeira finish, and the whisky is bottled unfiltered and without chill filtration, so some sediment is normal.
The current release is a double malt, combining malted barley with malted rye. The smoke isn’t overwhelming and is much more like campfire smoke than medicinal smoke. Expect soft smoke and toasted grain on the nose, then overripe nectarines and apricots, caramelized oak, and gentle spice, finishing soft and lightly smoky.
At 43%, this is the most approachable bottle here, and the one I would hand to somebody who thinks they do not like peat. It is easiest to find in mainland Europe, and US availability comes and goes.
White Peak Wire Works Peated Quarter Cask, 54.9%, Distillery Exclusive
Finishing in Derbyshire, not too far from where I live, and with the hardest bottle here to get hold of. This was a single cask release of 204 bottles, so it is one to look out for rather than one you will find on a shelf.
White Peak’s spirit for this release was lightly peated to begin with, and it was distilled using alternative cut points before going into first-fill ex-bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill. The whisky was then finished in Islay quarter casks. As the barley was lightly peated with one type of peat and finished in casks that previously held Islay’s famous, medicinal peat, there are two layers to the smoke in this whisky.
There is baked vanilla cheesecake, lemon, campfire ash, and candied ginger on the nose, then banana bread, fresh mango and papaya, and peppermint on the palate, finishing with lavender, malted milk biscuits, sage, and soft lingering peat that has a slight iodine note as it stays on the palate.
It won Best English Single Cask Single Malt and a Gold at the World Whiskies Awards 2025, but was also entered under the name Islay Peat Finish before the label was changed.
Like I said, this whisky will prove difficult to find, but is well worth the purchase if you do come across it.
Kings County Peated Bourbon, 45%, £54 / $68
To the USA now, and a whiskey that sits between two traditions rather than picking one. Kings County Peated Bourbon meets the legal requirements for bourbon, with a mashbill of 75% corn from Lakeview Organic and 25% peated barley, aged in new barrels and carrying a four year age statement. The barley was sourced from Thomas Fawcett with peat from Aberdeen measuring 15 parts per million.
That is the lowest peating level of anything here, and Kings County is straightforward about what it means for the flavor. This drinks more like bourbon than Scotch. Caramel and baking spice lead on both the nose and the palate, with barbecue and campfire smoke sitting on the finish.
Kings County mashes, ferments, distills, and ages everything on site at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, using pot stills from Forsyths in Scotland and Vendome in Kentucky, along with open fermentation. It has picked up a double gold medal.
If you find heavily peated Scotch too much but like the idea of smoke in the background, this is a sensible way in, with classic bourbon sweetness playing with the smoke.
I am a big Kings County fan, and for me this peated bourbon offers a wonderful balance between two styles that is hard not to like.
Peated Whisky Beyond Scotland
Islay will always be the reference point for peated whisky, and there is nothing wrong with that. But the idea that smoke belongs to one island, or even one country, has not held up for a while now. Distilleries in Ireland, Denmark, England, the US, and India are all working with peat, and they are not doing it to imitate anyone.
If you have been drinking the same Islay bottles for years, there is a lot out there worth trying. Five whiskies barely cover it. So, do you have any peated favorites that do not come from Scotland? Let us know in the comments.
