What is Peated Whisky?

Peated whisky is given a smoky flavour by compounds which are released by the peat fires used to dry malted barley. That is the short answer but there is a lot more to it than that.

Peat is created by the accumulation of water in boggy areas which slows down the decomposition of plant material such as tree roots and moss. Peat accumulates extremely slowly and bogs are often thousands of years old leading to peat being broadly classified as a fossil fuel. Peat was the primary domestic fuel in Scotland for a long time due to it’s ready availability in many parts of the country.

Some distilleries will burn the peat to malt the barley, this will create a smokey aroma which will become a major influence on the barley inputting phenols which have flavours of smoke, tar and ash.

So why did distilleries stop using peat? Simple answer is the development of rail transport. Before the transport options whisky companies had to use peat as it was all that was available but once the rail was upgraded people were able to transport coal and other sources of heat, which in turn would change how smokey the whisky turned out. The Lowlands and Speyside were the first to change from peat so they could unleash other flavours.

But not everyone followed... Islay which is now famous for its peat kept to the traditional method of using peat. Distilleries such as Laphroaig peat their own barley to be used in their whisky.

Its not only Scotch whisky that uses peated barley, countries such as India and Japan all boast peated whiskies of their own, creating their take on a classic scotch whisky.

If you’re interested in trying peated whisky click onto any of the below links to look at our recommendations.

Laphroaig Lore

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Heavily Peated Scottish Barley Whisky

Stalla Dhu Islay Single Malt Whisky

Written by Oliver Partington 06-03-2020