Editing Peat (section)

====Scotland====
[[File:Peat-Stack in Ness, Outer Hebrides, Scotland.jpg|thumb|A peat stack in [[Ness, Western Isles|Ness]] on the [[Isle of Lewis]] ([[Scotland]])]]
Some [[Scotch whisky]] distilleries, such as those on [[Islay]], use peat fires to dry malted [[barley]]. The drying process takes about 30 hours. This gives the whiskies a distinctive smoky flavour, often called "peatiness".<ref>{{cite web |title=Peat and Its Significance in Whisky |url=http://www.whisky.com/information/knowledge/tasting/flavour/peat-and-its-significance-in-whisky.html |access-date=25 October 2015}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=need more recent or change sentence to past tense|date=January 2022}}
The peatiness, or degree of peat flavour, of a whisky is calculated in [[Parts-per notation#ppm|ppm]] of [[phenol]]. Normal Highland whiskies have a peat level of up to 30 ppm, and the whiskies on Islay usually have up to 50 ppm. In rare types like the [[Bruichladdich distillery|Octomore]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Octomore 5 Years 03.1 |url=http://www.whisky.com/whisky-database/bottle-search/details/fdb/Bottles/Details/octomore-031.html |access-date=25 October 2015}}</ref> the whisky can have more than 100 ppm of phenol. Scotch Ales can also use peat-roasted malt, imparting a similar smoked flavor.

Because they are easily compressed under minimal weight, peat deposits pose significant difficulties for building structures, roads and railways. When the [[West Highland Line|West Highland railway line]] was constructed across [[Rannoch Moor]] in western Scotland, its builders had to float the tracks on a multi-thousand-ton mattress of tree roots, brushwood, earth and ash.