For me the holiday season is a time to drink Scotch. The cold weather and cheerful warmth of friends is perfect with a dram of smoky, peaty single malt Scotch whisky. In this post I will review and rate five different single malt bottles, mostly from the Islay region of Scotland, but featuring one Japanese bottle.

(Disclaimer: With so many bottles of Scotch out there I have never tried, I am choosing to err on the side of strict caution with my rating system, a 5-star rating being equivalent to sipping Scotch from the Holy Grail, distilled in some other paradisical dimension.)

Let's get to it!

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1. Laphroaig Select

As the self-proclaimed "most richly flavored of all Scotch whiskies" Laphroaig certainly does pack a nice smoky, peaty, and medicinal punch. Select, however, is a bit less intense than the 10 year Laphroaig, and noticeably sweeter, with notes of vanilla and chocolate cereal in the body. The peat, oak, and smoke attack are very lovely.

I enjoyed the bottle immensely but still ultimately prefer the full force of the less subtle expressions from the Laphroaig distillery. This bottle might be a good introduction to Islay malts for the interested but as of yet, uninitiated.

RATING: 4.7 / 5 Stars

2. Nikka Single Malt Yoichi

The one Japanese single malt on my list today, this Nikka expression is impressive, but ultimately pales in comparison as generic to my tastes when stacked against its Scotch whisky counterparts.

Bottled at the Yoichi distillery in Hokkaido, Japan, this single malt is inspired by the Scotch distillation process (indeed, the founder of Nikka studied the art in Scotland, and even married a Scottish girl!) and does stand strong as a quality whisky, but lacks real depth, to my taste.

Despite a nose of decent smoke and hints of caramel (and a body of the same), for all its strong points the whisky remains somewhat two-dimensional, leaving a lot to be desired from the body. The finish is satisfying with lingering smoke and spices.

RATING: 3 / 5 Stars.

3. Lagavulin 16 Year

Probably my favorite on this list, Lagavulin 16 year is mature, full-bodied, flavorful, and complex. While the nose is relatively subtle compared to other Islay malts, delivering strong, yet rounded smoke and peat, with notes of dark chocolate, the body lights up the palette with matured fruits, brief flashes of kippers and fishiness, lemon, peat smoke, sea salt, rope, and damp wood.

The finish lingers with smoke and oaky spices, leaving the memory of the full and rich, yet dignified flavor.

RATING: 4.75 / 5 Stars

4. Lagavulin 12 Year

This is the cask strength expression from the Lagavulin distillery and as a younger, and non-diluted bottle, packs more of a punch to the face than the 16 year.

Nosing reveals a thick and heavy solvent/paint thinner attack, followed immediately by full smoke and peat, and a slight iodine odor.

The body is immensely satisfying and full-bodied. Floral notes, citrus, leather, and of course, extreme smoke, peat, and wood.

The finish is smoke, sweetness, and peat.

RATING: 4.25 / 5 Stars

5. Ardbeg Corryvreckan

A non-age statement cask-strength behemoth, if you are going for punch, and a sweet, smoky sock in the jaw, try a dram or three of this expression from the Ardbeg distillery.

In typical Islay fashion, the Corryvreckan is about as smoky as it gets, full of peat flavor, but with a more sugary sweet expression than the above-mentioned bottles, save Laphroaig select. This sweetness is tempered, however, by the burning cask strength alcohol level and the medicinal, woody and smoky flavors underneath.

This one is a bit tricky to nose, as the first whiff will make you think you've opened a can of paint thinner (cask strength, after all). After this intial shock, things setlle down to an almost honey and gum syrup mingled with chocolate/caramel expression.

The body is huge, massive in sweet, smoky butterscotch-y peat, florals, and a mild chocolate expression, with an underlying bed of spicy wood, sea salt and iodine. What a powerhouse.

The finish is immensely satisfying, with sweet notes tempered by lingering iodine and syrup. The ABV of last nights dram was, I believe, somehere around 56%., higher than the 12-year cask strength Lagavulin. The ABV changes with each batch.

RATING: 4.5 / 5 Stars

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Jackie Brown Highball and Malts Bar

Before finishing this post I would like to thank Tomoya Ando, and his Malts bar Jackie Brown (yes, inspired by the Tarantino film!) for hosting us and supplying fine food such as thinly sliced ham over cream cheese and Le Lectier pear, with smoked cheese to accompany our drams. Mr. Ando is a self-taught whisky connoisseur, and I highly recommend stopping by Jackie Brown if you are in Japan!

You can find Jackie Brown Malts Bar on Facebook, here.

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Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata Japan. Graham is the founder of Voluntary Japan, an online Voluntaryist creative iniative. Check it out!