Where Smoke Meets Sense of Place

A new chapter is emerging for smoky whiskies beyond peat.

By: Heather Storgaard

To me, peat is personal. The smell reminds me of winter days in Speyside and the comfort of my dad sharing a dram with friends. Its smoke isn’t just scent or flavour, it’s the memory of laughter and the quiet joy of something shared.

But for most drinkers around the world, peat isn’t part of their story—it was never part of the landscape, the culture, or the way smoke found its way into flavour. Over the last few years, I’ve been intrigued by more and more innovative whiskies that bring a smoky element without turning to peat. As the definition of ‘’smoky whisky’ evolves, these three distilleries stand at the forefront, using regional woods and time-honoured traditions to craft something distinct from the peat playbook.

Photo: Allison Kuhl

Canadian Bonfires

Locality is important at Shelter Point, a distillery located just outside Campbell River on Vancouver Island in Canada’s Pacific Northwest. They focus on craft distilling, sourcing as much as possible from their own farm and otherwise the stunning local area around them in BC. Brand Experience Manager Chris Read took me through their journey with smoke, which has ended in a very local taste.

When aiming to bring a touch of smoke to their whisky, Shelter Point’s first thought was to finish the spirit using barrels sourced from an Islay distillery. However, they quickly realized that it could become challenging to ensure consistency and supply. Innovation is needed when developing products at a young distillery, and the brave decision was made to diversify their range by smoking barrels themselves! To bring something of their home region into the bottles, they decided to look or perhaps rather smell around them. The beaches near the distillery are popular spots for bonfires, being rich with driftwood. Why not build such a bonfire to smoke the casks?

Sculpted by the elements, driftwood becomes nature’s artwork, smoothed, twisted, and worn into shapes that often echo the wild. Now, this naturally seasoned wood is being sustainably sourced to impart a distinctive coastal smoke to the whisky.

The intent at Shelter Point, with their Smoke Point expression, is to create a smoked whisky that speaks to people. “We don’t want to make extreme whisky,” Chris notes. Accordingly, they look to create a balanced profile that reminds people of fond moments around a beach bonfire without overwhelming the taste buds. Skilled blending and cask marrying lies at the heart of Canadian whisky, and that’s also true at Shelter Point. Casks where the smoke is strong are expertly married with those containing a lighter profile, ensuring a consistent product that is, in Chris’ words, “true to Canada”. The smoke is rich and savoury, laced with a briny tang and trace of iodine from sea-soaked driftwood, softened beautifully by a sweet, velvety mouthfeel.

Wood Smoking Process at Thy Distillery

Danish Beech Smoke

Jakob Stjernholm, co-founder of the aptly named Thy Whisky in Thy, Denmark, is passionate about making local whisky. Thy is Single Estate and organic as a part of Gyrup Farm, which has been owned and operated by Jakob’s wife’s family since the 18th century.

His distillery has created a whisky with a completely unique flavour profile: ‘Bøg’, or beechwood in English. "As a Dane, beechwood smoke feels very familiar,” he told me. In Denmark, the beech tree can be found everywhere from culinary traditions to firewood and furniture—it even gets a mention in the national anthem. It’s a very fitting smoke for a proudly Danish whisky, then. “The moment you put your nose to the glass of our Bøg whisky you get this warm, pleasant and soothing smokiness, like sitting in front of your fireplace or the smell of a distant campfire somewhere in the woods,” Jakob explained.

Unlike the coastal, iodine-laced smoke of Shelter Point’s Smoke Point or a classic Islay malt with its medicinal edge, beechwood smoke is said to impart a milder, slightly sweet, and nutty character, more reminiscent of toasted almonds or a smouldering hearth than sea spray and peat bogs. For Danes, this smoke is a more familiar and delightfully local take on a spirit that has only been made in the country for the last couple of decades. And for international audiences? It’s a refreshingly different taste experience.

Wood Smoke Barn | Photo courtesy of Kyrö Distillery

Finnish Alder

At Kyrö, located in Isokyrö, Finland, whisky is made from 100 per cent rye grain. The story goes that a group of gathered friends were enjoying an evening in a sauna—the Finnish national pastime and an institution that’s inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage list—when some rye whisky was passed around. As they sipped, they began to wonder why Finland didn’t make any rye whisky themselves as the grain is another centre point of the Nordic country’s heritage and is even part of their national dish. Discussions continued and eventually the distillery was created to drive forward distinctly Finnish whisky.

After a few years of perfecting their rye whisky, Kyrö Wood Smoke was first released at the distillery’s annual Kyröfest in the summer of 2021. Now part of the distillery’s core range, it presents a smokier side to the rye distillery. To make it, malted rye is smoked in a 100-year-old “riihi” barn using alder wood, a popular tree for smoking food in Finland and neighbouring Sweden. The resulting flavour is dominated by smoke, toasted rye bread, and mocha notes. Friends at whisky fairs in the Nordics often tell me whisky lovers there adore smoky whisky, so one made with wood smoking traditions from the region is perfectly fitting.

Rye and wood smoke share a surprising common ground: both contain guaiacol, a phenolic compound responsible for their bold, earthy character. At Kyrö, the delicate, slightly sweet smoke, contrasts with the rye’s intensity, creating a robust and distinctly unique dram that stands out rather than blends in.

The Rise of Regional Smoke

While the flavours of the smoke all strike inherently different notes, they also embody a link to smells and tastes rooted in the localities of the distilleries. From Thy to Vancouver Island, distilleries are creating smoky whiskies that reflect their culture and memories. While peat is undoubtedly here to stay, wood smoked whisky is certainly a trend to watch and taste.

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This article was originally published in the Flavour Report Edition 01.