The total phenol parts per million (ppm) of the malted barley is one of the malting specifications required by the distiller. At a malting’s laboratory, samples of malt are analyzed for phenols, moisture, nitrogen content, and predicted spirit yield. Having malted barley peated to a higher ppm can contribute to a peatier-tasting whisky , but the ppm of the raw material is not a measurement of peat or smoke flavor in the bottle. Using the malt’s phenol ppm to predict final flavor (see below) is like trying to judge the value of a used car based on nothing but its...
