How to Learn Peated Scotch: A Kilchoman Tasting with Vlad Portnoy

Behind the Pour

Vlad Portnoy remembers his first encounter with heavily peated Scotch like most first-timers do: he approached a glass of Lagavulin expecting whisky and got something closer to a bonfire. Crystal and Vlad use Kilchoman Machir Bay as the teaching bottle — a Islay single malt peated to 50 parts per million that is robust enough to demonstrate what peat does, accessible enough to serve as an entry point, and complex enough to show that peat is a starting note, not the whole conversation.

What You'll Discover

• Where peat smoke comes from: During malting, barley is dried over a kiln. At traditional Scottish distilleries, peat — partially decomposed plant material from Scottish bogs — fuels that kiln. The smoke penetrates the wet grain, depositing phenolic compounds that survive fermentation and distillation. Parts per million (ppm) measures the phenol level in the malt before distillation — a proxy for smoke intensity, though not a precise predictor of how smoky the final whisky will taste.
• Kilchoman Machir Bay: Made at Kilchoman on Islay, one of Scotland's youngest farm distilleries, opened in 2005. Machir Bay uses malt peated to 50 ppm, aged predominantly in ex-bourbon barrels with a smaller Oloroso sherry cask component, bottled at 46% ABV. The bourbon barrels contribute vanilla and citrus; the sherry component adds dried fruit and warmth. The result is a whisky where smoke is the foundation, not the ceiling.
• Islay is not a guarantee of smoke: Islay distilleries include both heavily peated producers (Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Kilchoman) and lightly peated or unpeated ones (Bruichladdich's Classic Laddie, Bunnahabhain). The island's geographic label is useful but not a flavor promise.
• How to approach peat for the first time: Start with a small pour. Nose from above the rim with your mouth slightly open rather than a deep single inhale. First sip on a fresh palate, then return after your palate adjusts. A few drops of water can open the spirit and reveal fruit and floral notes underneath the smoke.
• Vlad's education: A guest who came to peat as a novice and came out of this episode with the vocabulary and framework to keep exploring.

A Moment of Pourspective

The first sip of a heavily peated Scotch teaches you that smoke can be a flavor rather than a warning. Peat is not heat — it is terroir. The bogs, the barley, the kiln, the island. A glass of Machir Bay is a specific place.

Explore the Conversation

The Kilchoman episode is one of TLC's most directly pedagogical reviews — Crystal is teaching a guest alongside the listener, which makes the peat education more natural and less lecture-driven than a solo host segment could be. Vlad's Lagavulin story is the episode's most practically relatable opening. Anyone who came to heavily peated Scotch without context has a version of this story. Crystal uses it to establish what the episode is actually for: not a defense of peat, but a guided introduction. The Machir Bay production detail section is the episode's most structurally useful content. Crystal explains the 50 ppm peat level, the bourbon and sherry cask combination, and the 46% bottling — all of which matter for understanding why this specific bottle works better as a teaching tool than, say, Laphroaig 10 or Ardbeg An Oa.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Kilchoman? Kilchoman Distillery on Islay, Scotland — one of the country's youngest farm distilleries, opened in 2005. They grow some of their own barley and malt it on site. kilchomandistillery.com
• What is Machir Bay? Kilchoman's flagship expression — peated to 50 ppm, bourbon and Oloroso sherry cask maturation, 46% ABV. Named for Machir Bay on the west coast of Islay.
• Is all Islay Scotch smoky? No — Islay produces both peated and unpeated whiskies. The association of Islay with smoke comes from its most famous distilleries, but Bruichladdich, for example, makes unpeated expressions.
• What is ppm in whisky? Parts per million — a measurement of phenol content in the malted barley before distillation, used as a proxy for peat smoke intensity. Higher ppm generally means more pronounced smoke, though other factors (distillation style, maturation) also affect the final character.

Episode at a Glance

• Spirit reviewed: Kilchoman Machir Bay Islay Single Malt Scotch
• Guest: Vlad Portnoy
• Hosts: Crystal and Roger
• Runtime: 38 minutes, 36 seconds
• Category: Scotch & World Whisky
• Topic: Peated Scotch education — first approach to smoke