Is Peated Scotch an Acquired Taste? Kilchoman Review with Vlad Portnoy
Can a lifelong vodka drinker become a full-fledged peat head?In this episode of The Liquor Connoisseur®, Crystal sits down with Vlad Portnoy to taste Kilchoman Scotch and explore his unforgettable journey into peated whi
Inside the Episode
Can a lifelong vodka drinker become a full-fledged peat head?In this episode of The Liquor Connoisseur®, Crystal sits down with Vlad Portnoy to taste Kilchoman Scotch and explore his unforgettable journey into peated whisky.Vlad’s introduction to Scotch was anything but gentle. After ordering Lagavulin at a tiny upstairs bar in New York City, he drank it the way he would drink vodka and immediately wondered whether he had made a terrible mistake. That smoky first encounter eventually became the beginning of a much deeper appreciation for Islay Scotch, peat, minerality, sherry-cask finishes, and bold flavors.During the tasting, Crystal and Vlad discuss:🥃 Kilchoman Scotch and its balance of smoke, peat, sherry, and coastal character🔥 Why Islay whisky can taste smoky, earthy, salty, medicinal, or mineral-driven🌊 How peated Scotch can evoke beaches, sea air, wild grasses, and bonfires👃 How to properly nose, sip, and train your palate for stronger spirits📚 The difference between blended Scotch, single malt, Highland, and Islay whiskyVlad also shares stories involving Johnnie Walker Black and Blue, Macallan, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Talisker, Clynelish, Bunnahabhain, Glenmorangie, Highland Park, and other bottles that shaped his Scotch journey.Let us know in the comments:What bottle introduced you to Scotch?Are you a peat lover, peat-curious, or firmly on Team No Smoke?Subscribe for weekly spirit reviews, tasting education, industry conversations, distillery stories, and honest discussions designed to help you become a more confident and informed drinker.🥃 SWIRL. SNIFF. SIP. & SAVOR.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Find Vlad online and follow on socials:www.nywillsandestates.comYouTube: SHOP THE LIQUOR CONNOISSEUR MERCHRepresent the connoisseur lifestyle with our Drink to Remember and Neat Definition shirts, tasting gifts, and spirit-lover merchandise: gifts include:• The Liquor Connoisseur T-shirts• Tasting starter kits• Cocktail gift boxes• Gifts for whiskey and spirits lovers━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🔗 FOLLOW THE LIQUOR CONNOISSEUR🌐 Website: YouTube: Instagram: TikTok: Facebook: Spotify: Business, Media, Guest and Partnership Inquiries:contact ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
At a Glance
- Category: Bourbon
- Published: August 22, 2026
- Runtime: 00:38:36
- Presented by: The Liquor Connoisseur
Tasting Notes from the Episode
Can a lifelong vodka drinker become a full-fledged peat head?In this episode of The Liquor Connoisseur®, Crystal sits down with Vlad Portnoy to taste Kilchoman Scotch and explore his unforgettable journey into peated whisky.Vlad’s introduction to Scotch was anything but gentle. That smoky first encounter eventually became the beginning of a much deeper appreciation for Islay Scotch, peat, minerality, sherry-cask finishes, and bold flavors.During the tasting, Crystal and Vlad discuss:🥃 Kilchoman Scotch and its balance of smoke, peat, sherry, and coastal character🔥 Why Islay whisky can taste smoky, earthy, salty, medicinal, or mineral-driven🌊 How peated Scotch can evoke beaches, sea air, wild grasses, and bonfires👃 How to properly nose, sip, and train your palate for stronger spirits📚 The difference between blended Scotch, single malt, Highland, and Islay whiskyVlad also shares stories involving Johnnie Walker Black and Blue, Macallan, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Talisker, Clynelish, Bunnahabhain, Glenmorangie, Highland Park, and other bottles that shaped his Scotch journey.Let us know in the comments:What bottle introduced you to Scotch?Are you a peat lover, peat-curious, or firmly on Team No Smoke?Subscribe for weekly spirit reviews, tasting education, industry conversations, distillery stories, and honest discussions designed to help you become a more confident and informed drinker.🥃 SWIRL. & SAVOR.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Find Vlad online and follow on socials:www.nywillsandestates.comYouTube: SHOP THE LIQUOR CONNOISSEUR MERCHRepresent the connoisseur lifestyle with our Drink to Remember and Neat Definition shirts, tasting gifts, and spirit-lover merchandise: gifts include:• The Liquor Connoisseur T-shirts• Tasting starter kits• Cocktail gift boxes• Gifts for whiskey and spirits lovers━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🔗 FOLLOW THE LIQUOR CONNOISSEUR🌐 Website: YouTube: Instagram: TikTok: Facebook: Spotify: Business, Media, Guest and Partnership Inquiries:contact ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━