Why Peated Whiskies are still great in Spring

let’s begin

With the spring time comes lighter evenings and warmer weather (supposedly), and a lot of people tend to go for lighter Whiskies to drink

But here at Great Drams, we want to make the case for peated Whiskies in the spring.

Really Peated Whiskies

There is an argument to be made that even the peatiest of peated Whiskies can be enjoyable in the milder weather. You don’t have to be sitting in front of a roaring fire to indulge in them.

Yes they can be warming in the winter, and go well with the cold weather, but they are equally as good in the spring.

Spring is the season where nature comes back to life again, and many peated drams have a brilliantly earthy quality, such as Ardbed Uigeadail or Compass Box Peat Monster. These are perfect for when the plants starts growing again and the smell of fresh cut grass is on the air.

These drams will bring you back to nature, with refreshing qualities and fantastically earthy notes.

Seaside Flavours

Spring is also the ideal time to take a refreshing stroll along the seaside, and what better way to celebrate being able to get back into the sand and sun than with a brilliantly briney peated malt.

Malts from Islay such as Laphroaig 10 Year Old and Bowmore 12 Year Old are brimming with salt, sea weed, brine, iodine and oil.

These flavours are ideal for sitting by the ocean and breathing in the fresh salty air. The peat mixes well with these big notes and lends a lovely warming quality to them.

Malts with these flavour profiles tend to be brilliantly complex, with lots of different flavours mixing and vying for attention.

They really let you sink your teeth into them. These are perfect for the spring as they bring lots of flavour but also allow you to enjoy all that the season has to offer.

Lighter Flavour Profiles

Peated malts don’t havetoo be overwhleming or heavy either. Spring calls for lighter malts but that doesn’t mean they can be peated.

Try a Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old or the Balvenie Peat Week 14 Year Old. These are easy going malts, with light bodies but a smooth peat flavour as well.

These are lighter drams that allow you to enjoy the wonderfully warming peat smoke with slightly floral and fruity backdrops.

For the Campfire

Spring is also a great time to crack out the tent and go camping again. It gets you back to nature and lets you shake off the cobwebs from the colder months.

Bring along a wonderfully smoky Talisker Storm or BenRiach Curiositas 10 Year Old for the perfect dram to sip beside the campfire beneath the spring night skies.

The peat is perfect to offer a counterpart to the wood smoke of the fire, and will warm you in equal measure.

This season really lets you enjoy the outdoors, and a peated dram goes perfectly in the cool air of a spring evening.

Tags: CampfireIslaymaltspeated whiskiesspring

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.