A little known fact is that peatlands cover only 3% of the Earth’s land surface but store 600 gigatons of carbon which is more than all of the world’s forests combined. This means peatlands are one of the largest natural carbon sinks on the planet making them an absolutely vital resource in our fight against climate change.

WHAT IS PEAT?

If you have ever visited a Scottish whisky distillery or if you’re clued up on all things carbon restoration, you may have heard of peat before. 

Peat is a type of soil material made up of partially decomposed organic matter, mainly plant material such as mosses, grasses, and shrubs. It forms in waterlogged environments where there is low oxygen like bogs and swamps, where decomposition happens very slowly. However, as with other natural carbon sinks like forests for example, peat has historically been used as a fuel source, especially in regions like Ireland, Scotland and parts of Scandinavia. It is also has other uses, commonly for compost for gardening, though this is being phased out in the UK. 

Image credit Farm Advisory Service

PEAT IN WHISKY PRODUCTION

In addition to being used as a fuel source, peat is often used in Scotch whisky production. Some Scotch whiskies, including those from Islay, are famous for their smoky, peaty taste, which comes from drying barley over burning peat. Since peatlands are such fantastic carbon sinks, the method of burning peat is not great for the planet: peatlands take an extremely long time to form, store tons of carbon, and support wildlife habitats and so burning them both harms the local environment and releases that all important stored carbon back into the air. 

Since part of our mission at Nc’nean is to pioneer sustainable production of whisky, this means that we choose not to use any peat in our production. So for the time being, we don’t have any smoky flavoured whiskies. Peat isn’t the only way to create a smoky flavour though, and we are fascinated by distilleries creating smoky flavours using other less carbon intensive initiatives. For example, Thy in Denmark is using beechwood smoke, and Moon Harbour in France is smoking Seaweed to produce their whisky. That being said, there is no smoke without fire, and although beechwood and seaweed aren’t locking in the same amount of carbon as peatlands, setting anything alight is always releasing carbon into the atmosphere. 

Though we stand against using peat, we recognise and respect the heritage associated with using it in whisky making, which is a tradition rooted in rural Scottish life and closely tied to the landscapes where peatlands are more abundant. We understand that some Scottish distilleries continue to use peat as part of their traditional whisky making process, and stopping this would change their whole distillery character. Impressively and rightly so, many are now taking steps to reduce their environmental impact - distilleries such as Bowmore and Laphroaig, for example, are actively engaged in peatland restoration initiatives, including practices like replacing top layers of peat to support the regeneration of these vital ecosystems.

INITIATIVES TO RESTORE PEAT IN SCOTLAND

Despite the longstanding tradition of extracting peat to use as a fuel source, Scotland has made significant progress in peatland restoration in recent years. This has been supported by a £250 million government commitment to restore 250,000 hectares by 2030. This work is led by the Peatland ACTION programme, coordinated by NatureScot in partnership with organisations such as Forestry and Land Scotland, Scottish Water, and Scotland’s national park authorities. 

Restoration efforts focus on re-wetting damaged peatlands, blocking artificial drains, and reshaping degraded areas to improve carbon storage, water quality, and flood resilience. These initiatives not only support Scotland’s climate goals but also create rural employment and enhance biodiversity across some of the country’s most ecologically important landscapes.

Image credit Highland Conservation limited

The good news is that if you’re not into smoky flavours then you can just avoid peated whiskies altogether and instead opt for whiskies from Speyside or the Lowlands which are often fruitier or floral, or of course any of our whiskies at Nc’nean!