JBC - I agree with what you just said. Turf (also used for smoking grains) and the powdery "peat" one gets in bags for growing plants are two significantly different things, even though the peat for growing plants is sometimes a by-product of the turf industry. Even if I knew it was a definite by-product of the turf industry I still would not use it to smoke grains - I have no scientific reasoning behind this, it is just a gut reaction.
For those who do not know, a "bog" is a habitat consisting primarily of peat, and when the bog is cut into slices it becomes "turf", each slice of turf is called a "sod" and these sods of turf are burned in the fire place for heating houses etc.
This video should make it a bit easier to understand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufwvFOXUCnc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Now the method of cutting turf in the above video is largely historic at this stage as most turf cutting is done by machines now-a-days, but it gives a good idea on where turf comes from. Of course distillers used this turf to smoke their grains.
Tapeman - is what is shown in the above video similar to the bogs you have in your part of the world? If so, why not cut some and save it as follows
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKxxmq1bvtE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Putting the turf in little stacks so the wind can dry the freshly cut turf is called "footing" the turf. Once properly dried, it is collected and brought home and put into a shed to stop it getting wet again. Thereafter it is burned in fire places.
Hope the above is not too off topic (forgive me JBC), but it gives a little background as to where turf comes from, and maybe distillers will have a greater appreciation of what goes into that peaty taste from whiskey.
Jimy
What Jimy sent me looks and feels the same as what I saw when I was there so many years ago.
