Final answer:
The malting process in whiskey production involves crushing and soaking grains to release fermentable sugars and is essential for whiskey's alcohol production. Smoky flavors from peat are a result of the grain drying process, not malting, and filtration of grain sediment post-fermentation is not part of malting.
Step-by-step explanation:
The malting process in whiskey production calls for crushing and soaking grains to release fermentable sugars. This step is essential for converting the starches in the grains into sugars that yeast can ferment into alcohol. It involves soaking the grains in water to encourage germination and then drying the sprouted grains to halt the process. The smoky character of peat in whiskey is not added through malting but rather through the drying process, where peat may be burned to dry the malt, imparting the smoky flavor. Filtering to remove grain sediment after fermentation but before distillation is not considered part of the malting process itself. Distillation is, however, a separate and important step where the fermented liquid, or wash, is heated, and the resulting vapors are captured and condensed to create the final spirit.
In places where the water filters naturally through limestone, such as in parts of Appalachia, the resulting water chemistry is favorable for producing high-quality whiskey. Nevertheless, the malting process is a separate consideration from the local water source quality, which primarily affects the mashing and fermentation steps of whiskey production.