Arts
The pagodas that adorn the roofs of many whisky distilleries in Scotland aren't there just for show. Years ago, those pagodas reeked with smoke as distillers dried the malted barley they produced on their malting floors. Economics forced all but a handful of distilleries to shut down their maltings many years ago and source their malted barley from large commercial maltings. However, a handful of Scotland's distilleries still malt some of their own barley because they believe it makes a difference in their whisky. We'll visit the malting floors and smoky peat-fired kilns at Orkney's Highland Park Distillery, where they malt peated barley for use in their single malt Scotch whiskies.