What To Look For When You Want A Smoky Whiskey

Whiskey comes in a dizzying array of styles. According to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, there are over three dozen substyles, each upheld by a unique mix of ingredients and production. Whether it's the corn-heavy mash bill that lends bourbon's full-bodied character or Irish whiskey's distinct smoothness, each type intertwines with a particular flavor palate. So, say you're in the mood for a smoky whiskey. What style should you look for?

Well — as it goes with whiskey — there's lots of intricacy to the topic, so Meghan Ireland, the chief blender at WhistlePig Whiskey, is here to advise. They're certainly well-versed in the spirit and emphasize its complexity by citing there are "many different ways that smokey flavors can come through in a whiskey."

A particularly famous type of smoky whisky arises due to peat, a malting process that employs burning decomposed material from a bog. Varieties from Scotland are particularly famed — and extra smokey — but the method has also been employed in Japan and India. Yet Ireland notes that smokiness can also "come from a particular toast or char method," which means burning the inside of a barrel before aging. Not to mention, there may be "an experimental way of introducing it to the whiskey," making the possibilities of smoky whiskey expansive.

Understanding the relationship between the whiskey's production method and smoke gets complicated. Different methods typically produce specific notes, but it isn't always the same. For instance, peated whiskies typically offer some smokiness, but the intensity and nuance of the flavor vary. And while Scotch is made from malted barley, not all are peated, so don't assume a whisky from Scotland is smokey. To cap it off, there's also regional variation; peated Scotch from Islay tends to be the boldest.

To pinpoint smoky whiskies, you'll often need to examine specific distilleries and bottling. Experimental processes can vary on a batch-by-batch basis, such as producers who smoke their single malt varieties, with the type of wood heavily impacting the final result. Ireland says that you can expect the single malt smoked whiskey to "have darker fruit and almost chocolatey notes with the smoke."

Plus, there's the barreling process to consider — whiskey can pick up smoky flavors during aging. Simply by resting in a cask that previously had a peated spirit, the new batch will pick up the flavor. And there's barrel charring, too. By law, bourbon has to be aged in charred oak barrels. However, this won't necessarily yield smokey results, so Ireland advises looking for whiskey that is aged "in a freshly charred new wood barrel." So consider such intricate smokey qualities, and you will nail down an expression to your taste.