Highland peaty potion

Not so far back, we introduced Batch 32: Fife peaty potion to our members, so if you’re familiar with that bottling, you may already have an idea about what Batch 42: Highland peaty potion could be.  

Among the many potions and concoctions the SMWS whisky alchemists have blended into existence, this is the first smoky, peated Highland single malt Scotch whisky to grace our clear glass ‘Heresy’ releases. How did this come to be?

Well, very much in the spirit of Fife peaty potion, we picked casks from a distillery producing both unpeated and peated whisky and played around with the concept until we found the right balance. Sure, the idea seems straightforward enough. But is it?

CRITICAL VARIABLES

Since you’re reading this, you’ll probably guess that question doesn’t have a clear-cut or straightforward answer. (When it comes to whisky, if anything did, I’d probably start to worry!) Something many of the most avid whisky enthusiasts among you might know is that you can’t think the same way when you’re distilling an unpeated mash and when you’re going for the motherload of peat and smoke, pot stills are great, but they require care. I’m afraid there’s a bit of chemistry ahead. So please forgive me going into some quick technical details.

When distilling to a specific style, nothing is left to chance. Malt specification and toasting levels, milling, mashing regime, yeast selection, fermentation time, still shape, distillation speed and temperature – every aspect is carefully monitored. Add to that purifiers, condenser type (shell and tube or worm tub), and even condenser temperature – oh, and is the condenser even made of copper? You get the point; the process quickly becomes mind-alteringly complex.

One of the critical variables for spirit character, however, is the cut: the point at which spirit collection starts and where that collection ends. The foreshots, or heads, are volatile and generally undesirable, containing deadly things like methanol; the tails carry heavier compounds – sweaty, sulphury, and just generally unpleasant – think of old socks, cheese rind, and worse besides.

The heart, the portion destined for cask and bottle (at least what remains after the angels have had their fill), is incredibly specific to each distillery. It is a highly selective and variable window of collection which ultimately helps define each spirit style. A higher cut tends to favour lighter, fruit-driven compounds, the volatile esters; a lower cut draws in heavier, oilier elements, and needs to be monitored carefully, as aromas will progressively get nastier as distillation wanders into the feints.

Then there is peat. Not all single malt is peated, but when it is, the malt has been dried with peat smoke, introducing phenolic compounds – guaiacols and their many phenolic relatives – that carry those smoky, medicinal characteristics. These compounds are comparatively reluctant travellers during distillation; they are less volatile and really drag their molecule feet when it comes to making their way through the still.

As a result, distillation for peated spirit often runs deeper and sometimes much closer to the feints to carry sufficient phenolic intensity across. It is, as ever, a matter of balance rather than rule – but broadly speaking, the cut required for peated spirit does not mirror that of unpeated runs.

It’s ok though, as even though phenolics drag their feet during distillation, once in the spirit they punch way above their weight in the spirit character. One other property is their masking effect. They are so potent to our sensory system that they will overpower a lot of other flavours and scents from being easily discernible, which is a boon when you have to distil closer to the feints than you normally would with unpeated malt.

STRIKING A BALANCE

So, (and yes, it’s been a long walk) how does it work when you mix both together? Well not as smoothly as you’d hope, for a number of reasons. One of which is that we are naturally engineered by a few million years of evolution to be really sensitive to phenolics (those smoky and medicinal molecules that like to drag their molecule feet when you try to distil malt). Only half joking here, but it’s “strong stuff”. So, any amount of peated whisky is likely to be noticeable.

Another consideration is that, because your cut is different, the things you gathered in your final spirit are in different concentrations and mixing both recipes together might not work as advertised. The interplay might get fiery, rough or even weird. But it can also become great. The challenge is in finding the recipe, the sweet spot where two distillates with different compositions stop clashing and start complementing each other.

In the case of Batch 42: Highland peaty potion, we matured peated and unpeated whiskies from the same Highland distillery separately in first fill bourbon barrels for seven years, providing texture, creaminess and marzipan. After that, we blended those whiskies and filled our new potion into a combination of fresh oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry butts, bringing layered dried fruits and molasses into the mix.

And it was a winning gamble. Adding depth and darkness to the whisky, the result achieved delivered storm-beaten orchard fire, chipotle, miso caramel sauce and a haunting smoke on the nose. On the palate, dark and stormy ginger-laced coal smoke and rich sherry help wash down some barbecue-scorched Bramley apple sausages and maple pancakes, water ushering in the medicinal qualities required to digest such extravagant treats.

So, whether it’s campfires or barbecues you’re aiming for, find your flavour pilgrims and crack open a bottle of Highland peaty potion. Let it work its flavoursome spell and let the good times roll!