American Peated Whiskey Is Coming of Age
If you only think of Scotland when it comes to smoky drams, think again.
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Happy autumn, Top Shelf faithful. Your resident whiskey expert, Brad Japhe, reporting for duty. As we prepare ourselves for falling leaves and brisker eves, I’m already eagerly anticipating cozy nights beside a smoldering fire. I refer not to any sort of open hearth, but instead to the liquid I’ll be swirling in my snifter. At my home bar, Labor Day signals the start of peat season.
You’re probably presupposing pours of smoky Scotch, especially one subcategory of such, born on the windswept bogs of Islay. Let’s not be so hasty to assume, however. I’m here to talk about American peat. But before we get into that, some drink links: