Man O’Words or Man O’Sword: which Annandale is right for you?

By Meadow Lane · Updated on October 11, 2026

Looking for an Annandale whisky? Start with one question: do you want to taste peat smoke or not? Man O’Words is Annandale’s unpeated series; Man O’Sword is the peated series. Both series are available in a variety of cask styles. This means you can first choose your smoke preference and then look at fruit, sweetness, spices and wood.

The difference at a glance

Question	Man O’Words	Man O’Sword
Peated?	No: the unpeated style.	Yes: the peated style.
Where do you start?	If you want to compare fruit, vanilla or wood spices without peat smoke as the main feature.	If you are deliberately looking for a smokier whisky and want to discover how the cask complements that smoke.
What do you choose next?	The cask style and the specifications of the individual bottle.	The cask style and the specifications of the individual bottle.

Choose the style first, then the cask

A comparison becomes clearer when you change one variable at a time. For example, place a Man O’Words from a bourbon cask next to a Man O’Sword from a bourbon cask. Then, within your favorite series, you can compare bourbon with sherry, STR or Double Oak. This way you can discover whether your preference is determined mainly by smoke or by the cask influence.

The words unpeated and peated do not tell the whole flavour story. An unpeated whisky can have pronounced wood spices; a peated whisky can also be fruity and sweet. Use the tasting notes of the specific bottling to make your second choice. Those notes are more specific than a general description of the series.

Three practical routes

You love vanilla and fruit: first look at the bourbon variants of Man O’Words. Then compare the descriptions of Fresh Bourbon and Refill Bourbon.
You are looking for fruit and spices with a full body: place STR and Double Oak side by side and pay attention to their individual product notes.
You are looking for smoke with a second layer of flavour: start with Man O’Sword and compare the bourbon, sherry and STR editions. The cask gives you an extra selection criterion alongside the smoke.

Single cask: same series, different bottle

Annandale presents its whiskies as single cask bottlings. A subsequent bottling within the same series can therefore be different. When making a new purchase, look again at the alcohol strength, cask style and tasting notes. A distillation year is also something different from an age statement: you cannot deduce the age at bottling from the year alone.

Taste before choosing a large bottle

If you are still unsure about smoke or cask style, a tasting pack can be a useful first step. Check which miniatures are actually included. When comparing, mainly note what you recognise and enjoy: fruit, sweetness, spices, smoke and finish. You do not need to find every description from a producer to develop your own preference.

Meadow Lane is the Annandale importer for the Benelux. Feel free to ask us to help you choose based on a whisky you already enjoy. Also mention whether you are choosing for yourself or looking for a gift.