We actually got Peter Bell 'The Peat Monster' for his birthday last year (he adores scotch). Now that was peaty! But if you've ever been chilled to the bone walking the shores of the North Sea, the smell of a peat fire is about the nicest thing on the planet, let me tell you!

Seems like a lot of votes for Talisker, which I've never tried. I'll have to check it out.

Your comments about tasting blind interested me - we have been subjecting oenophile friends to a blind test of aerated wines vs unaerated. So far results are random, which has surprised a lot of them. But I've never tried a blind whisky test. The one at Bushmills that you get to try is sighted. I think most distilleries do the same one.