I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere but I wasn't able to find any information on it...
I'm going to attempt an Islay-style single malt and wanted to know the best way to add some peatiness to my whisky. I heard buying sphagnum moss and burning it underneath the oak to be used for ageing was a good idea? I looked for peat moss/sphagnum moss at my local hardware stores and it seems as though I have to buy "peat pellets" or "peat pots" and use those if I don't want to buy several kilos or cubic yards of peat. So would you guys say that if I put some already charred and used white oak sticks on the top level of my BBQ and burned some peat pellets underneath the oak with the lid shut, would that help infuse some of those smoky phenols into/onto the wood? Has anybody tried/tested a similar method?
Note: I didn't smoke grains because I often use malt extract and I figured I wouldn't be able to smoke that...
You can try putting some of it in a tin with a hole in the lid, or a crucible, burn it over a fire, but don't let it burn completely. Take it off the fire, then and put it lid down so the contents don't turn to ash. Then take the almost-burnt peat and store it in water until you have brown "liquid smoke", and add this smoky liquid to the low wines before the second distillation.
The smoke flavor will come through the late hearts, but mostly early tails.
The still is not a liar. Mash and ferment quality is 99.9% of your performance.
