Claims of terroir in whiskey are mostly bunk, but there is an undeniable influence on some whiskies that are made and matured by the ocean. If you’ve ever tasted seaweed or saltwater taffy in a single malt scotch, chances are good that it came from a maritime environment.

Scotland, with more than 11,000 miles of coastline, excels at maritime whiskies—though some of the distilleries with the most dramatic seaside settings, including Laphroaig, Ardbeg, and Lagavulin, actually mature most of their whisky off-site. They can still claim coastal character, though, thanks to the use of local peat—a substance made up of millions of years’ worth of vegetation, including kelp and seaweed, compacted into fuel that flavors the malted barley.

How whiskies get their maritime character isn’t straightforward. Peat certainly plays a part, but many unpeated whiskies showcase distinctly saline flavors too. During maturation, liquid evaporates from casks, its volume replaced by the surrounding air. If that air is laden with salt, it penetrates the whiskey that remains.

There may even be impacts at the fermentation stage, if tanks are left open to the elements.  Even the process of mashing in the grain, if the distillery uses local water, which in coastal areas is often naturally brackish, could impart some salinity. But although grain grown by the sea may be influenced by the maritime climate, it’s unlikely that any flavors would carry through the whiskey-making process.

While most ocean-influenced whiskies don’t center that element of their character, a few have made it a defining trait. There’s even a small cadre of producers that deliberately put casks on board ships or barges, in the hopes of amplifying the impact of the water. In this critic’s opinion, results are mixed.

At its best, maritime whiskey is transportive, dropping the drinker onto a bench by a windy bay or a blanket on the hot sand—as we see with tennine of our favorite ocean-inflected whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, and the United States.

Get a Taste of the Sea with These Ocean Whiskies

Kilchoman 100% Islay ($110)

Islay is a notoriously difficult place to grow barley—wet and windy, and unpredictably so. But Kilchoman manages to do it, harvesting enough each year for this whisky, which also makes use of Islay peat. Its underlying brininess is amplified in the cask, since Kilchoman matures all its whisky on site, just a mile from Machir Bay, allowing the sea breeze (or, sometimes, the fierce gales) to penetrate the wood over time.

Clonakilty Single Pot Still ($52)

One of Ireland’s most vibrant up-and-coming distilleries, Clonakilty deliberately harnesses the advantages of its coastal location. Its home county, Cork, juts south and west into the Atlantic Ocean, dramatic cliffs plunging to the waves crashing against rocks below and releasing plenty of salt into the air. Barley grows right along those cliffs, in the shadow of the Galley Head lighthouse, and gets turned into whiskey that matures there, too—all of it adding a distinct salinity to the spirit’s underlying leather and spice notes.

The Notch 15-Year-Old ($500)

One of the first American single malts, and easily the oldest ever released, The Notch has a cult following but is rarely seen—perhaps because it’s so expensive. (In this critic’s opinion, its price is merited.) It’s made by Triple Eight Distilling on Nantucket, an offshoot of Cisco Brewers, using Maris Otter barley, and matured in a metal-clad warehouse that lets the wind whistle through at will. A sweepingly elegant whiskey.

Old Pulteney 15-Year-Old ($80)

While the town of Wick was once a hotbed of herring, now its most oily export is the burly single malt turned out by Pulteney Distillery. The whisky derives weightiness and heft from its unusual squat pot stills and worm tub condenser, but actually ends up somewhat softened by the North Sea winds that whip around the warehouses, which inject a light salinity and palpably maritime character. Old Pulteney even calls itself “the maritime malt,” a moniker aptly earned.

St. George Baller ($57)

St. George’s Terroir Gin is the distillery’s best-known example of place-driven flavor, but the same ethos penetrates this Japanese-inspired single malt whiskey. Distilled and aged on Alameda Island between Oakland and San Francisco, it gets the full benefit of the Bay Area’s microclimate. It’s crisp and pert, with subtle fruitiness from a finish in St. George’s umeshu casks, and sprinkled with just enough salinity that the flavors stay bright in a bubbly Highball.

Bruichladdich Islay Barley ($91)

Like Kilchoman, Bruichladdich distills a batch of locally grown barley every year, though in this case it’s unpeated, which allows malt-driven character, warm and comforting and shot through with citrus, to shine. Casks are matured only on Islay, meaning any salt-breeze notes—and they’re unmistakable—come directly off the ocean.

Glenglassaugh 12-Year-Old ($60)

From the front, it looks like Glenglassaugh is nowhere near the ocean—but take a walk around the back of the distillery, slopes of green grass and spiky yellow gorse cutting away from the track, and suddenly the beautiful curve of Sandend Bay opens up. In the warm sunshine of summer, fresh breezes gently waft up to the warehouses; in winter’s fierce darkness, chill gusts charge through. All that weather imparts itself on Glenglassaugh’s structured, confident character, lending it zippy acidity and, at times, a brackish warmth.

Jefferson’s Ocean ($65)

Sometimes disparaged as a gimmick, this “ocean-aged” bourbon, which spends 4-6 months of its maturation period on a container ship, has a legitimate claim to maritime character—though it’s decidedly separate from the other examples on this list. The conditions in a shipping container—namely intense heat and constant motion—create more extractive oak notes in the bourbon, and speed up evaporation, which draws in salinity from the air. Don’t expect subtlety here.  

Glen Scotia 15-Year-Old ($100)

Two blocks from the edge of the water, Campbeltown’s less-famous distillery quietly creates some of Scotland’s most viscerally maritime whisky. Oily and thick-textured, its fruity sweetness is offset by brine and savory leather—a mouthwatering mashup that means one pour is rarely enough. Glen Scotia’s lineup runs the length of the peat spectrum, but the unpeated 15-year-old is a paragon of its house style (and a great price).

Scapa 16-Year-Old ($65)

The wrecks of Germany's WWI naval fleet litter the bed of the Scapa Flow, which this distillery overlooks. Though it's almost unknown—historically, most of its whisky went into blends—Scapa Distillery makes one of the most unique single malts in Scotland, thanks to its use of unusual Lomond stills. The bright, tropical fruit character of the spirit that emerges juxtaposes pleasingly with the salt spray kicked up in gales and winds that batter the Orkney Islands. It'll make you wonder why drinkers have overlooked Scapa for so long.