Peat head here.
Wasn’t always that way though. In my early 20s my brother introduced me to Laphroig. Gave me a pour of Laphroig 10, I took one sip and just couldn’t do it, tasted like liquid smoke to me. Years later when I was a regular drinker of JW Black and some other blended “peated” scotches I decided to pick up a bottle of Laphroig 10 to give it another shot. Had a similar reaction to the first time I tried it but a couple of weeks later I tried another pour and loved it!
Heavy peat is truly an acquired taste. I don’t think anyone with virgin taste buds can like it the first go around but by the 2nd or 3rd pour you’ll be in love. Laphroig is great for an in your face peat blast if you’ve never experienced it and want to get a good idea of exactly what peated scotch is all about. However I always recommend Ardbeg to the Islay novice, plenty of peat but it lacks the iodine taste of Laphroig which I think makes it more approachable if your not accustomed to Islays.
I love trying new peated single malts, it’s fascinating just how different the peat flavor can be from one distillery to the next, I suspect the composition of the peat/soil plays a role in the difference but it is interesting how different the peat in Lagavulin, Laphroig, and Ardbeg taste so different when they are all located just a few miles from each other on the south side of the same island