Peat

Ardbeg Corryvreckan

Ardbeg Corryvreckan

It should be no secret to those who follow us at Scotchology that many of us are big Ardbeg fans, and have been since the beginning. We’ve explored nearly every main range offering, from the 10 year to the Uigeadail, along with several of their more limited offerings. The Ardbeg Corryvreckan is named after the famous whirlpool situated north of Islay, which legend says Viking prince Breacan entered as an act of bravery to prove his love for a princess. Legend says he’s now at the bottom of that whirlpool, so we leave it to you to determine his worthiness. In the meantime, this scotch requires you to prove nothing but a willingness to pour and sip.

Laphroaig QA Cask

Laphroaig QA Cask

Islay scotches are generally not drawn to much experimentation with cask finishing as much as distilleries in other regions, especially the peat/smoke heavy ones along the southern coast of the island near Port Ellen like Ardbeg and Lagavulin. Laphroaig likes to dabble into the alternative maturation waters, though mostly with their Cairdeas series. This Laphroaig QA is a travel retail exclusive in a liter bottle. The QA stands for Quercus Alba, the Latin name for white oak, a native hardwood found in eastern and central North America. The whisky is aged in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in charred QA casks.

BenRiach 17 Year Septendecim

BenRiach 17 Year Septendecim

The BenRiach distillery is not in the higher end of production capacity among Scottish distilleries, coming in a shade under 3 million liters. Yet for being mid-tier, BenRiach has several regular offerings in its flagship range along with a whole other secondary range devoted to peat. This peated range is made up of a variety of aged statement whiskies bestowed with Latin names to presumably differentiate themselves from the aged statements of the core range. Septendecim is Latin for 17.