Grain Gossip - The World of Whisky

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Burns night has been and gone, and all that Scottish-ness has revived my interest in Malt Whisky. Here's a (very) rough guide to the water of life…

Whisky has been made in Scotland for hundreds of years, but the smooth, amber liquid we're used to these days is a far cry from the fiery, clear moonshine that was the original 'usquae beath'. That's a much more modern invention which started to appear in the 18th century. The difference? Someone accidentally discovered that leaving the clear spirit in an oak barrel gave it that brown appearance and softened its harsh character.

So what is it? Whisky is a spirit distilled from grain and aged for a minimum of 3 years in oak barrels. It can be made from barley, rye, wheat or corn.

Types of Whisky

Malt whisky can only be made with malted barley.
Single malt whisky (e.g. Glenlivet, Ardbeg etc) is a malt whisky distilled at a single distillery.
Blended Whisky (e.g. Famous Grouse, Bells etc) is a mixture of malt whiskies and grain whiskies (grain whiskies are distilled differently and of lower quality)
Vatted Malt Whisky is a blend of different single malt whiskies

How's it made then?
Well, it's a long and complex process, but can be broken down into 5 stages:

Malting (well, in malt whisky anyway)
Fermentation
Distillation
Maturation
Blending and bottling

Let's have a little look at these in detail…..

Fermentation
The malted barley is turned into beer by grinding and then mixing with yeast and water (which comes from the local spring or loch, giving each distillery's whisky a unique character). They don't call the end product beer though (that would be too easy), they call it 'wort'

Distillation
The wort is now distilled into alcohol. This involves heating the wort up to the boiling point of alcohol. As this is lower than that of water, the alcohol evaporates, and is then cooled so that it re-condenses, with all that nasty water removed.
This is done in a pot still (see picture) made from copper, and the shape is very important to the finished product.
Initial distillation in the 'wash still' produces a liquid of around 23% abv, which must then be distilled a second (and occasionally a third) time in the 'spirit still'. The result of this second distillation is called 'British Grain Spirit'

Maturation
This is maybe the most important part of the process. Once distilled, the spirit is decanted into oak barrels and stored in warehouses to mature. During this period, three things happen:

1. The barrel acts as a filter and removes any unpleasant sulphuric character
2. The spirit starts to take on some of the flavours and aromas of the wood (vanilla, spice, wood)
3. With extended ageing, the whisky stops taking on flavours, and starts to metamorphose into a whole different beast. This only happens with the oldest malts.

The other (rather galling) thing that happens is that the whisky 'breathes out'. Over a period of time, the whisky in the barrel evaporates through the porous oak and is lost. This is known as the Angels Share, and accounts for the loss of 120 million bottles of whisky a year! Lucky angels!

Blending
The final whisky is usually a blend of different casks (from the same distillery of course), either from the same year (which will produce a vintage dated whisky) or from different years (producing an aged whisky e.g. 15 year old). In the latter case, the age on the label will indicate the youngest whisky used.
Before bottling, the whisky may have a small amount of caramel added to adjust the colour.



What's all this about regions then?

Although each distillery in Scotland has a unique character, they can be grouped into a number of regions which indicate the general style. This style is dictated by the history and tradition of the area (rather than the terroir which is important to wine). The Malt Whisky regions are:

Lowlands
Highlands
Islay

Speyside, Islands and Campbeltown are important sub-regions of the Highlands catch all.

A simple guide to the whisky styles….

Lowlands. These whiskies are light, floral and fruity. There are only three active distilleries in the Lowlands, but malts from silent distilleries are still available.
Active: Glenkinchie, Auchentoshan, Bladnoch. Silent: Inverleven, Rosebank etc.

Highlands. Outside the three sub-regions, these whiskies come in a range of styles, ranging from lighter, almost lowland-esque flavours to heavy, spicy spirits.
Famous whiskies include Glenmorangie, Ardmore and Edradour (the smallest distillery in Scotland)

Campbeltown. A sub-region of the Highlands on the tip of Kikntyre which used to hav 25 distilleries. It now has only two: Springbank and Glen Scotia. Both are fairly heavy with a distinct seaside character. Springbank is the only distillery which still carries out the entire whisky making process on one site.

Speyside. 'The Grand Cru of Malts' is a high-density cluster of distlilleries around the towns of Elgin and Glenrothes. Sweet. Spicy whiskies with vanilla and fruits. Famous distilleries include Macallan, Glenlivet and Mortlach.

Islands. This refers to any distillery on an island that isn't Islay. They vary quite a bit in style but generally have some level of peat. The most famous is Talisker on the island of Skye.

Islay. These whiskies are infamous for their high level of peating (Laphroaig even has its own, seaweed-heavy peat bog). Iodinic, saline and smoky aromas are common here, although a couple of distilleries produce un-peated, lighter styles. Among the most famous are Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila.

So, there you have it, a very potted guide to the king of spirits!

P.S. If you've got a cold, there's nothing better than a hot toddy (hot water, lemon, honey and whisky), but please don't use your 1982 Dallas Dhu!