In peated whisky, smoke phenols are introduced principally during malt drying; water that has contacted peat does not by itself produce the characteristic smoky profile.
Water chemistry still affects mashing, fermentation, and extraction; this note rejects only the claim that peaty source water itself supplies the familiar smoke phenols.
The causal path runs through combustion products absorbed by damp malt, not through romantic claims about the flavor of the water source.
Created after a full 533-sheet textual and visual review of Whisky Science (2019); source-specific limits retained. September 28, 2026: Fresh Miller audit: corrected underlying locators are PDF118/printed107, PDF147/printed137 and PDF151/printed141. Peaty water can affect fermentation; medicinal descriptors and bromophenol origins should not all be collapsed into peat-smoke provenance.
One durable idea synthesized from the complete review of Whisky Science: A Condensed Distillation.
Atomic idea
Peat smoke enters whisky primarily through phenols absorbed by damp malt during kilning, not through the source water tasting of peat.
Reasoning
The causal evidence follows combustion products and their uptake during malting. Water chemistry can influence production, but the familiar smoky or medicinal peated profile is not explained by peaty source water.
Provenance
September 28 source audit
Fresh Miller audit: corrected underlying locators are PDF118/printed107, PDF147/printed137 and PDF151/printed141. Peaty water can affect fermentation; medicinal descriptors and bromophenol origins should not all be collapsed into peat-smoke provenance.
Counterpoint
This does not make water irrelevant. Mineral content, pH, and process chemistry still matter; the counterpoint is limited to the origin of smoke phenols.