Give peat a chance

November feels like a particularly smoky month in Scotland. Maybe it’s the smell of spent fireworks on our traditional Bonfire Night celebrations, observed each 5 November to mark a failed attempt by Guy Fawkes to blow up the House of Lords and King James I in one fell swoop. Or maybe it’s the crackle of dried leaves, swept up and tossed onto a fire as the trees shed the last of their foliage ahead of winter.

Whatever it is, it feels like the perfect time to crack open a robust peated whisky, and in this month’s Unfiltered we’re planning on doing just that. Julien Willems wraps up his trio of deep dives into our peated profiles with the story behind the bruiser of the trio – Heavily Peated. Gavin Smith, meanwhile, digs deep into the historical association between peat as a source of fuel and its association with Scotch over the years. And we revisit a tasting with some SMWS members, challenged with the task of identifying whiskies produced with peat from different regions. Do you think you could tell the difference?

If peated whisky isn’t so much your thing, we have a selection of toddies to warm the spirits at this time of year, courtesy of Inka Larissa. We also hear from industry insider David Robertson about his latest projects in the whisky world, and get an update from Dan Szor at Cotswolds distillery about his plans for expansion.

And if you’d rather avoid the prospect of winter, why not venture to Melbourne to explore our new partner bar, Beneath Driver Lane? It’s a cracking addition to our network of fantastic bars where you’ll find Society bottlings – whether you’re into something smoky or not.

Cheers!