AMERICAN distillers are increasingly looking to copy the extraordinary success of their Scottish counterparts with single malt whisky.
The latest trend in US distilling is to use an ancient ingredient that lends a distinct flavour to many a Scotch single malt – peat.
The ancient fuel is slowly burned to dry the barley malt and imparts a familiar smoky flavour to many whiskies, such as the various Islay malts.
Americans have made malt whiskey for years and some malt distillers either used imported peat from Canada to dry the barley or imported peated barley from Scotland.
Now a distillery on the West Coast is breaking new ground and earning plaudits for a single malt whiskey owing its unique flavour to peat harvested locally in Washington State.
Westland Distillery in Seattle has used malted barley imported from Scotland in the past but the latest product uses local peat from Olympic Peninsula in what master distiller and Westland co-founder Matt Hofmann believes is a breakthrough for the American whiskey industry.
Hofmann, 28, said: “Nobody in the US knew how to make peated malt.”
But having studied distilling in Scotland, Hofmann knew that using local peat would impart a unique flavour to his whiskey.
He explained: “Every whiskey anywhere around the world can trace its lineage back to peated whiskey, which to us makes it an incredibly important style.
“We can take our whiskey, follow this same model that has existed ... and say, 'This is the difference you can trace back to the Pacific Northwest.' What's cool about it is it's just as authentic as Scottish whiskey.”
Last year, the company barrelled its first local peat whiskey – 70 casks, enough for 15,750 bottles – which will be released in 2020, so the Scotch whisky industry doesn’t need to panic about American production just yet.
According to HMRC figures issued earlier this year the amount of pure spirit exported as single malt in 2016 was equivalent to 113 million standard bottles at 40 per cent strength, and last year for the first time the total value of single malt exports broke the £1 billion barrier, reaching £1.02bn, up from £914m in 2015.
The Americans, it seems, have a bit of catching up to do, and theirs will always be whiskey and not Scotch whisky.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here