Smoke Gets In Your… Glass

Ask most people to describe Scotch, and one word you’re like to hear is “smoke”.  I’ve encountered several misconceptions about this.  The most common one is that all Scotch is smoky.  While this may have been true in the distant past, it certainly isn’t the case today.  Others have to do with where that flavor comes from.  Let’s start there. 

The smoky flavor in Scotch typically comes from “peated” malt.  This is malted barley that has been dried over a fire of burning peat moss, which is basically decomposed vegetation.  Perhaps I’ll talk more about malting and peating in a future post.

As you sample more and more peated Scotch, you will notice something.  Not all peat is created equal.  Certainly there is a large range in terms of the intensity of the smoke, but there is also a difference in the flavor of the smoke.

Some Islay whiskies are described as having flavors of iodine, or seaweed, or that are medicinal.  Peated Scotch from the Highlands or Speyside has a lighter, milder smoke.  This is mostly because the vegetation in the area (which decomposes to make the peat) is different.  While seaweed and other coastal plants make up most of the peat on Islay, the flora in the highlands consists largely of heather and other lighter, floral vegetation.  It’s also important to note that where the whisky comes from is not always the same as where the peat comes from.  Some Islay distilleries source their peated barley from the mainland.

If you begin to explore these differences in peat smoke in more detail, it’s worth seeking out samples from beyond the borders of Scotland.  Several craft distilleries in the U.S. have also started producing peated whiskeys, but be careful here.  Some import malted barley from Scotland, so you will not be tasting American peat. 

On a visit to Orange County Distillery in New York, I sampled their peated single malt.  They are located in the heart of the Black Dirt Region (the “black dirt” being peat), and they harvest their own peat and barley, and do the malting and peating on premise.  While the flavor is very similar to a peated highland Scotch, it is distinctly regional.

Connemara makes a peated Irish whiskey.  The peat here is also mild, like a highland.  There is some ambiguity about the source of the peat, but I find the flavor to be unique. 

But smoke flavor in whiskey does not end there.  There are whiskeys that are made with grains that have been smoked over a wood fire.  Wood smoke is a very different flavor than peat smoke, and one that more people are familiar with, as most of us have tasted food cooked over a wood fire.  I have tried several whiskeys that contain a portion of wood smoked grain, and they can be quite good.

And then there is “barrel char”.  It is a legal requirement that Bourbon be aged in a new charred oak container.  Other whiskeys may also use charred barrels, though some are simply “toasted”.  The degree of char is rated on a numeric scale, with 1 being the least charred.  A char of 4 is the highest that is commonly used, though higher levels do exist.  Whiskey aged in a #4 barrel, and sometimes even in a #3, will usually have a charred flavor.  While some might describe this as smoky, it is a distinct flavor, more similar to charcoal.

So remember, not all Scotch is smoky, and not all smoky whisky is Scotch.  There is a wide range of smoke, both in intensity, and in flavor.  If you like smoke, don’t be afraid to explore different types.  If you don’t like smoky whisky, maybe you just haven’t tried the right kind of smoke yet.  And if you don’t like smoke at all, don’t let that stop you from trying some unpeated Scotch whiskies.

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