Behind the Smoke of Peated Single Malt Whisky Peated Malts of Distinction

Peated Malts of Distinction is a portfolio of peat smoked single malts by Beam Suntory. It brings together a wide range of expressions including those from the likes of Laphroaig, Bowmore, Connemara and The Ardmore. Beam Suntory approached us to design and develop a website that would educate visitors about peated malts, increase brand awareness of the whiskies within the portfolio and position PMOD as an authority in peated malts

To establish Peated Malts of Distinction as an authority in peated malts, education was an imperative component of the sitemap. Often, whisky drinkers have misconceptions of how whisky develops a peat-smoked flavour – therefore, we created a bespoke timeline that explained the full peating process, from what peat is made of, to how the maturation process can have an effect on the overall tasting notes of the finished spirit.

Within the timeline, we also included small ‘knowledge nuggets’ that helped to better explain whisky-industry phrases and terms within the peating process.

Within the portfolio, the level of peat smoked flavour ranges from light to heavy – the lightest being expressions within The Ardmore range and heaviest within Laphroaig. To communicate this level of peat smoked flavour and raise awareness of the individual brands within the Peated Malts of Distinction range, we created a peated scale – placing each whisky in order of light to the more intense.

To further communicate the tasting notes within the range, we used a multitude of mediums, ranging from the peated scale, to individual product pages and interactive smoke rings, informed by the Beam Suntory ambassador team.

Selecting a whisky in person is a sensory experience and we wanted to bring this experience to life on a digital platform. To do this, we created an interactive quiz that encourages users to go through a series of questions based on tasting notes and lifestyle preferences. The website then recommends a whisky within the Peated Malts of Distinction portfolio that best matches their profile, as well as a ‘wildcard alternative’ – a cross promotion feature that encourages users to try something that is outwith their typical preference.

Preference is often beyond a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, it’s better suited to a scale of preference. Rather than opting for radio buttons, we developed interactive sliders that allowed the user to create a percentage of preference. We then used numerical and percentage-based logistics from their answers to automatically determine their personal peat palate recommendation.