By Richard Goslan
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Scotch & Smoke: A Flavour Odyssey Part II
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s new documentary feature has premiered at the Scotsman cinema in Edinburgh
From left, documentary team Calum Lawson, Peter Sandground, Duncan Gorman, Richard Goslan and Gareth Goodlad
First we explored the world of whisky and sherry casks. Now, we’re venturing into the world of whisky and its inextricable link with peat, in Scotch & Smoke: A Flavour Odyssey Part II.
In this hour-long production, we tell the story of how peat and whisky are linked in our culture and in our glass, finding out what peat is, where it comes from, how it’s used and what its future might hold.
To tell that story, Richard Goslan and Calum Lawson take a road trip from The Vaults in Leith to the epicentre of peated whisky, the island of Islay, where they explore the process of cutting peat, malting the barley and how the phenols transfer to the final spirit.
Catch up on some reaction to the new Society documentary, Scotch & Smoke: A Flavour Odyssey II
From there, they journey to Moray and Aberdeenshire to explore commercial peat farming at Northern Peat & Moss Co, malting at Portgordon and also what the whisky industry is doing around sustainability issues regarding peat and safeguarding its future use.
Scotch & Smoke also hears from the SMWS head of whisky Euan Campbell about the Society’s passion for peated whisky, from the Scotch Whisky Research Institute about the science behind the source of peat and its impact on flavour, and from Society member Mike Billett who has literally written the book on peat and whisky.
Scotch & Smoke is available now for members to view at https://smws.com/scotch-smoke/