8 ms·

African Whisky

• arethuza 12y ago
  Just in case anyone is wondering - whisky isn't made from peat, it is made from malted barley that was often dried over a peat fire and this very distinctive aroma was imparted to the malt and then to the spirit. NB When I was as student I used to have a summer job in a maltings that made malt from barley that was used by a number of distilleries. Note that most maltings are actually fairly large industrial plants - not really the normal image people have of the Scots whisky industry although lots of higher end distilleries do make their own malt.
  • Torn 12y ago
    Saying that, supplies of highland & Islay peat are dwindling - in a few hundred years they won't be using local peat to dry out the barley
    • arethuza 12y ago
      I don't think there is any lack of peat in Scotland - I guess what there is a lack of is areas where people are happy to ruin the landscape to harvest peat. e.g. The Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_Country http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_Country