Peat VS. Rye: Bold Flavors To Explore In 2025

If you're in the mood for something rather divisive and haven’t yet delved into the worlds of peat and rye - welcome to what could be the best or worst list of recommendations you’ll ever have! 
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If you’re in the mood for something rather divisive and haven’t yet delved into the worlds of peat and rye – welcome to what could be the best or worst list of recommendations you’ll ever have! 

When it comes to peated whisky and rye whiskies, there are fewer styles of whisky that will split a room in half. If you’ve not experienced a full bar of people being a mix of shocked and pleased as someone pours a glass of Laphroaig 10 Year Old then it is time to introduce your nose and palate to some rather bombastic styles of flavor. In my head this is almost like a WWE match of who can throw the most powerful finishing move from Scotland and America, so apologies while I indulge myself with a flair for the dramatic. 

PEAT: Ardbeg Uigeadail 

BUY NOW: $72

In this corner! Weighing in at around $90 a bottle, from the smoke-fueled Isle of Islay is Ardbeg Uigeadail. 

If you want to experience a multi-dimensional style of peated Scotch whisky, then I have to recommend my favorite bottle of Ardbeg to you. Uigeadail (oogadahl) is a vatting of young teenage Ardbeg, matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in ex-sherry casks. The huge flavor profile ranges from tar-driven smoke and industrial adhesives, all the way through to toffee, pistachio, and a little sweet turn of sherry. 

It’s quite an experience to drink and even when the glass is empty, the aromas keep evolving and changing. I’ve had a lot to say against Ardbeg over the last few years, but I’ll always give them credit for Uigeadail. 

PEAT: Ailsa Bay 1.2 

BUY NOW: $53

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Backing up its Islay cousin in this three-way tag team event, hailing from the lowlands of Scotland, from a distillery within a distillery, is Ailsa Bay 1.2 Sweet Smoke. 

A peated lowland whisky isn’t a particularly common thing to say, but Ailsa Bay really switched this up in the last few years. A few unusual things about this whisky: 

1 – It’s produced as a single malt inside the Girvan grain distillery in Ayrshire. 

2 – This single malt style was originally meant to produce a ‘Balvenie-esque’ spirit for The Grants blended whiskies. 

3 – Experiments with peat made some rather incredible-tasting liquids. 

4 – It’s the only whisky I’ve ever seen that measures both peated phenols (PPM) and sweet phenols (SPPM) 

5 – I’m not a chemist, so you’ll have to Google what types of phenols register as SPPM. 

Taste-wise, this is named Sweet Smoke on the bottle, and that is where it delivers. The smoky side of it starts off as ashy, gentle, and approachable, but it quickly morphs into something with a little more medicinal quality about it on the finish. 

It isn’t all about the smoke, however. Maturation in virgin oak and quarter casks have given this whisky an incredible nose of smoked toffee and vanilla, it appears incredibly light on first smell but quickly develops into much more of a fighter as you taste it. 

PEAT: Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength

BUY NOW: $79

And finally, the heavyweight partner in this team. The southern Islay smoking sensation. The ashtray found washed up on a rain-soaked beach after a bonfire. Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength. 

Now, depending on what batch you get your hands on will depend on how strong this whisky is, but typically they’re all in the region of 56%+ and have so much strength to push on the nose. 

Laphroaig is a divisive whisky as it is. But, in my opinion, bottling it as cask strength is one of the best decisions any whisky distillery has ever made. 

Aromas of WD40, burnt engine parts, liquorice, hazelnut cream, and some otherworldly never-ending fire that seems to fuel itself from the raw attention and division that his brand gets. It’s utterly fantastic. 

Any of these three contenders from Scotland will certainly challenge your nose and palate to find some of the most interesting and oddly unusual notes to ever come out of any whisky. 

Now over to America. 

RYE: F.E.W Rye 

BUY NOW: $38

Expanding drinking horizons from the windy city of Chicago, weighing in at around $70 a bottle and showcasing the creators’ humor and ingenuity, we have F.E.W Rye.

I love this stuff, and the creator of the distillery just as much. Paul Hletko has been an attorney, a professor, a guitar pedal builder, in a band, and now a creator of some of the finest whiskeys in the United States of America from Evanston, Illinois. A part of the state that was dry for a number of years after Prohibition ended. 

The bottle is home to a 70% rye mash-bill, providing warm, bold, and bracing flavors that you may need to conquer winters in Chicago. 

The bottle is also home to a good bit of ironic humor. F.E.W stands for Frances Elizabeth Willard, a key figure in the temperance movement in America who made Evanston, Illinois her home for the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. 

Those spicier rye flavors really fill out the space of this whisky. It always reminds me of the perfect Christmas and winter drink. The spices are manageable but very present. All of that is backed up by corn that rounds off the edges for a taste you keep wanting to go back to. A true delight and a great place to start if you want a rye on your shelf. 

RYE: Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye

BUY NOW: $30

Moving from the colder north to the sun-kissed hills of northern California, this 95% rye is a towering giant in the new age of American whiskey – Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye.

The whiskey is lathered with minty notes that scream classic rye, but then fuses this with tropical, juicy flavors of peach and mango, then old leather and cooking spices that speak of something older and darker. This is quite remarkable given that this is only five-year-old whisky at most. 

With rye will always come dryness and spice, but a type of spice that sits in the world of Christmas time – think about cinnamon, clove, orange oils, and all of those alluring, comforting spices. 

With a stunningly high percentage of rye being in control of this whisky, no corn present and just 5% malted barley. Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye is a gentle giant that can pack a fair bit of flavor and style for something new in the world of rye! 

RYE: Thomas H. Handy Rye 

BUY NOW: $550

The final piece of the puzzle. The Kentucky Nuclear Rye. Thomas H. Handy Rye. 

This liquid is the same age and mash-bill as Sazerac Rye, which are both produced by Buffalo Trace. The one big difference is that the Thomas H. Handy release is undiluted, unfiltered, and is one of the most unique flavor experiences in whiskey I have ever had.

Named after the gentleman who took over the Sazerac coffee house in New Orleans and helped introduce the rye-based twist on the classic Sazerac cocktail, Thomas’s name now graces one of the most powerful and sought-after rye whiskeys in the world. 

My tasting notes and experiences are based on a 2018 release at 63.6% ABV that I have at home. The nose is all pencil shavings and freshly sawn oak, behind this after some time in the glass is an incredible wash of watermelon that overtakes the woody nature of the aroma. 

Tropical fruits have been a slight theme across two of the ryes we have talked about and they can be present in many more of them. The taste is where things get powerful, that nuclear-level hit of spice and oak is so driven that you find yourself searching for a respite, trying to find an area of your palate free from this attack of flavor. 

The fizziness of this is reminiscent of eating chili peppers. The spice tingles and bounces around your tongue. But it isn’t just spice in this fizziness, it’s those watermelon notes, more woody flavors, sawn oak, toffee, vanilla, caramel, and then a final finishing move of long, dry oakiness that just lingers on your palate. Can you tell I really like this one?

Phil Dwyer

Phil Dwyer's passion for whisky is undeniable. With a decade of experience in whisky retail and nearly as long running Whisky Wednesday on YouTube, Phil is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with fellow whisky lovers. His goal is to make whisky accessible and enjoyable, dispelling the jargon and complexity that can sometimes surround the spirit. In addition to his online presence, Phil manages The Whisky Shop Manchester, where he curates an impressive selection of some of the finest drams available.

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