Ahh, Tartan Week. The best week all year in New York City. And even though we didn’t get to attend the parade this year, due to a scheduling conflict involving the baptism of a baby, we managed to squeeze in plenty of theme-appropriate activity, including haggis, whisky tasting, beef Wellington, whisky purchasing, whisky blending, and Whisky Live.

For those not in the know, “peat” is basically the claylike mud that forms many of the bogs in Scotland (among other places). Composed of decayed vegetable matter (mostly), it’s like a softer version of coal, and its abundance in certain places means it’s commonly used as fuel for heating. Islay, an island off the western coast of Scotland, is full of peat, and as such, distillers back in the day used it for fuel whenever a part of the distillation process called for a little fire. What was quickly discovered was that peat infuses a particularly unique flavor to the whisky. And since the make-up of peat can vary depending on where you cut it from, the peaty flavor of whisky can vary just as wildly from one peated whisky to another. Smoky, earthy, seaweedy, salty, oily, meaty — lots of different flavors, but all of them are big and bold.