Floor malting, while historically significant, has largely been replaced by more efficient industrial malting methods in the whiskey industry. In fact, many distilleries purchase their barley already malted from a malting company.
However, there are still a few distilleries that continue to use floor malting for some or all of their malted barley production. Interestingly, most of the traditional method of floor malting is done on the Island of Islay. Floor malting is labour intensive and requires a specific set of skills to ensure the barley is ready for drying. While most older distilleries have long since repurposed their malting barns, these distilleries prioritize traditional methods and seek to create unique and distinctive flavours in their whiskies.
Here are a few examples of distilleries known to still use floor malting:
- Springbank Distillery (Campbeltown region): Springbank Distillery is renowned for its traditional production methods, including floor malting. Springbank produces a range of single malt whiskies, including Springbank, Longrow, and Hazelburn, all of which benefit from the distillery’s hands-on approach to malting.
- Kilchoman Distillery (Islay): Situated on Islay, Kilchoman Distillery continues to perform floor malting on-site. In many ways, this distillery is going through a resurgence as heated whiskies grow in popularity globally. Kilchoman’s whiskies are known for their peaty character and distinct maritime influence, which is enhanced by the use of locally grown barley malted in traditional floor malting methods.
- Laphroaig Distillery (Islay): Laphroaig, is known to perform a small portion of its malting on-site using traditional floor malting techniques. While the majority of Laphroaig’s malted barley is sourced externally, the distillery occasionally produces small batches of floor-malted barley for special releases or experimental purposes.
- Bowmore Distillery (Islay): Bowmore, also located on the Isle of Islay, is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. While Bowmore primarily sources its malted barley from external maltsters, the distillery occasionally engages in floor malting for limited edition releases or special projects, contributing to the unique character of its whiskies.
- Bruichladdich Distillery (Scotland): Bruichladdich is known for its commitment to terroir-driven whisky production and experimentation. The distillery occasionally uses floor malting to malt locally grown barley for certain expressions, highlighting the influence of Islay’s distinctive climate and soil on the whisky’s flavor profile.
While these distilleries represent a minority within the whiskey industry, they showcase the continued relevance of floor malting in producing high-quality, artisanal whiskies with unique and distinctive flavors.