Compared with the pungent, peat-soaked malt whiskies of Islay, those from Speyside are supposed to have a gentle, smoke-free, heathery character.
For most of the 20th century that suited the Speyside distillers just fine as it meant their malts formed the bulk of the vast majority of blends. By contrast, west coast whiskies were used much more sparingly by the blenders for adding a sprinkling of smoke and spice.
Since then, the surge in single malts has pushed Islay to the fore as the most self-confident and well-defined whisky region, leaving Speyside in the shadows. But now one of its distilleries - Knockdhu, on the eastern edge of the region, north of Huntly, has decided to fight back with a trio of smokey malts of its own. Just to confuse you, the whisky calls itself anCnoc.
To launch the new whiskies they held a party in the Arches under Glasgow's Central Station, turned the lights down low and filled the space with the sweet, earthy smell of peat smoke. They threw in a living peat bog for good measure, mercifully without midges, and offered various smoky things to eat including edible seaweed.
Back in the days when distilleries malted their own barley and dried it over a kiln, most malt whisky would have been smokey, since peat was the obvious fuel, certainly on Speyside as much as in the Highlands and Islands. Once big industrial maltings took over, the use of peat faded out except on the west coast and Islay, where it came to define the island's whiskies.
The malts in the anCnoc collection - Rutter, Flaughter and Tushkar - are named after peat-cutting tools, and what I liked about them was that they hadn't buried their Speyside roots under reams of thick, tarry smoke. Fans of Ardbeg and Laphraoig might find them insipid, but for me their smokiness was subtle and balanced.
Meanwhile, J&B has become the latest blend to turn sweet and sticky with J&B Urban Honey which is being launched in Spain.
The fad started with American whiskeys, spread to Irish and finally to Scotch with Dewar's Highlander Honey last year. Clearly people have been adding honey since whisky was invented, initially to make the raw, fiery spirit remotely drinkable, and then as a tried and tested cure for colds. Today it's what big blends do to attract new drinkers with a sweet tooth.
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