Peat burning at the Laphroaig Whisky Distillery. Photo Cath Harries / Alamy ( enlarge Start

You never forget your first peated whiskey. Upon first sip, most people make a face—the smoke can be overwhelming. By the second sip, your palate has adjusted a bit, allowing you to detect caramel and honey beneath the unfurling smoke. Reaching the bottom of the glass, you wonder how it went by so quickly, as you daydream about s’mores, bacon and other smoky delights.

Why do we love smoky spirits?

Although smoky flavors are not exclusive to whiskey (mezcal, some gins and Tequilas can have them, too), most people associate them with peated whiskies, specifically Scotch.

Photo by Aaron Graubart

But what is peat, and why do we like it? According to Dave Broom, author of The World Atlas of Whisky, prior to the invention of refrigeration, people added smoke to food as a means to preserve it.

“We don’t need smoke anymore to preserve food, but we still use it,” Broom says. “We just like the effect of smoke, and smoking. That’s why people gravitate to smoky whiskies.”

However, peated whiskies are different from those that are merely smoky. Peat—basically decomposing, waterlogged plants—is cut, dried and smoked. It may not sound appetizing, but that fragrant smoke is used to dry barley or other grains used to make whiskey. This process adds bewitching aromas and flavors.

Although peat isn’t exclusive to Scotland, peated whiskies are the norm. There’s nothing like the scent of peat smoke along the windy shore of Islay, where many of Scotland’s best-known peated whiskies are made. The sweet smoke mingles with the briny sea air, miraculously finding its way into a bottle of Laphroaig or Ardbeg.

Smoke it if you got it

A wide range of materials are used to create smoky flavors and aromas in whiskey and other spirits. Producers work with what’s local and plentiful, creating a form of terroir.

The compressed plant matter known as peat is the best-known source of smokiness, traditional in Scotch whiskies and others made in the Scotch tradition (like peated Japanese, American or Irish whiskies). Although most peat (or peated grain) is sourced from Scotland, a handful of American whiskey producers are experimenting with local peat. Seattle’s Westland Distillery is using Washington peat for a uniquely smoky, peppery profile. Similarly, Maine Craft Distilling is experimenting with Maine-sourced peat, albeit in small amounts.

In Iceland, whisky producers like Thoran and Floki are experimenting with smoked sheep dung, while Denmark’s Fary Lochan uses smoked nettles.

Wood smoke also is increasingly used in American, French and other whiskies for a sweet or spiced quality. In Sperryville, Virginia, Copper Fox Distillery uses applewood and cherrywood for what may be the only ­deliberately smoky rye whiskey. Corsair Distillery (Nashville and Bowling Green, Kentucky) offers a menu of wood-smoking options inspired by barbecue champs like hickory, black walnut, sugar maple, cherry and persimmon.

Smoke sources are getting increasingly esoteric. In Iceland, whisky producers like Thoran and Floki are experimenting with smoked sheep dung, while Denmark’s Fary Lochan uses smoked nettles.

Meanwhile—where legal, of course—we’ve heard rumblings about cannabis-smoked whiskey and other spirits. While we’re not likely to see those spirits on U.S. shelves anytime soon, it’s a glimpse of what smoky spirits could look like in coming years.