Is real peat used to make whisky

A.� Peat, technically, is decomposed vegetation that has been carbonised by the water. It's the fuel that is widely available in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and the black incense that gives many whiskies a flavour that is so instantly Scottish.

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Q.� Does all peat taste the same

A. There are different types of peat, which give different aromas. Islay's contains seaweed and moss and gives a denser, stronger flavour; peat on the Scottish mainland has more wood and heather; and on Orkney, where they have different names for the different layers of peat, heather is the main constituent.

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Q.� How is the peat obtained

A.� The days of distilleries using nothing but hand-cut peat are long gone. The distiller Bowmore uses 150 tons of peat a year in its own kiln, but the maltings at Port Ellen, which malts most of the Islay barley, needs 2,500 tons of peat a year. To obtain that, industrial tractors are used.

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Q.� How is malt whisky made

A.� Malt whisky is produced from three ingredients: malted barley, water and yeast. The barley is germinated, dried over a fire, ground, mixed with hot water, fermented and then distilled twice in pot stills. The spirit is then aged in oak casks for a minimum of three years.

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Q.� Does every malt whisky contain peat

A.� There are very distinctive heavily peated malt brands such as Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig, medium peated whiskies�such as Bowmore of Highland Park; and lightly peated Speyside malts such as Aberlour, Glenfarclas or Cragganmore. There are malts such as Glengoyne and Deanston that have no peat at all.

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Q.� What does Islay and Speyside mean

A.� It's thought the island of Islay was the first place in Scotland to distil whisky. It's only 28 miles by sea from Ireland� and there are seven distilleries on this small island. Islay's key factor is peat: nowhere is said to provide the rich, fragrant reek that Islay's peat gives to its malts. The southern strip of this island is home to the three heavies�- Lagavulin, Laphroaig and Ardbeg.

Speyside, at the top of the Great Glen, is next to Scotland's main barley-growing region. Its best malts have a complex mix of light, elusive floral notes, mixed with smoke, which mirrors the Speyside countryside. It's home to Glenfiddich, Glen Grant, The Glenlivet, Macallan and Strathisla.

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By Katharine MacColl