BOOK SERIALISATION
Smoke gets in your dram Concluding his exploration of the Scottish peatlands, Robin A Crawford looks at how they help to fire up many of our finest single malts
Would Orwell, even in his final days, have imagined a dystopian future where the Jura distillery would produce in the year 1984 a whisky in his honour, limited to 1,984 bottles? Edinburgh airport in September after the end of the Festival and in the duty-free shop is a wall of whisky, stacked with row upon row of bottles. Bargain deals on massmarket blends for £15, exclusive hand-crafted wooden boxes lined with tweed containing limited edition malts for £3,500. No matter the price, what is on offer here is
Scotland, distilled. For the Scot leaving, a reminder of home; for the homeward-bound, a memory of a now fast-receding present. Said to be the oldest licensed distillery on the island of Islay, Bowmore was established in 1779 and, like all the island’s whiskies, is known for its strong peaty taste. In the past, most would gradually move on to drinking Islay malts after first trying blends, then softer, gentler Speyside malts. But today the peaty malts are the most popular – perhaps, experts
suggest, because it offers an ‘authentic’ taste, which appeals to an adventure-seeking young whisky drinker who appreciates full-flavoured foods, whether extra virgin olive oil, homemade farmhouse cheeses or craft beers. Islay distilleries love the smoky peats cut from the top of the bank, going through about 2,000 tonnes per year. It is the burning of the peat to dry malted barley in a kiln that makes island whiskies distinctive. Given that virtually all the Islay distilleries use pure rainwater that has passed through
the peaty filter of the sphagnum, it is doubly peated. Although we now associate peated malt with the Highlands and Islands, this has not always been the case. Just as in peat-cutting, the practice was once widespread across Scotland. The aroma of burning peat has been described as having antiseptic qualities – like bandages being manufactured from the absorbent sphagnum moss. I can still clearly remember tasting my first ever Laphroaig. TCP, hospital ward,
Bowmore Distillery, Islay: A piper would lead the peat cutters out to the moss in spring. They would cut one load for the distillery, one for the landowner, and sell a third to the people of the town for a shilling per cartload.
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