All about whisky

• whisky is said to have been produced in Scotland for over 700 years (1494 first written account)
• many illegal distilleries due to high taxes
• to avoid detection, much of this illegal distilling would have been done at night --> Mooshine

• in 1824 Glenlivet was the first to receive the new licence
• after this hundreds of brands were established

• the introduction of the coffey still 1831
  • created the first blended whiskies
  • cheaper to produce and palatable

• coffey still also creates blended scotch whiskys biggest competitor - vodka
• whisky maker has to rethink and focus on more flavour
• in 1963 glenfiddich bottled the first single malt
• Glenfiddich is now the most wellknown and best selling single malt whisky in the world

• scotland produces malt whisky which is always made from barley

• malting
• mashing
• fermenting
• distilling
• Aging

• as with beer this involves soaking grain
• BARLEY --> spreading on a malting floor to germinate
• sets itself apart by burning a substance called PEAT
• the use of peat causes smoky flavours (phenols) in the whisky

• just like beer the dried grain is than crushed to a kind of flour which is called "Grist"
• mixed with warm water where sugars are released creating a liquid called "Malt Extract"
• --> liquid continues to become whisky

• unlike beer whisky doesn't have hops added and doesn't require pasteurisation
• yeast is added to the malt extract and left to ferment for around 2 days
• after this you will have a beer like liquid with around 5-8% abv

• scotch malt whisky is distilled twice in a Pot still (exception Auchentoshan 3X)
• first still removes yeast and barley --> "wash still"
• the second still brings the liquid up to spirit strength and is therefore called the "Spirit Still"
• Grain whisky is column distilled

• most important part of the whole process
• depending on the type of cask and the time spent in the cask, the wood accounts for 70% of the final flavour
• most scotch are aged in used bourbon casks <--> some however are aged in sherry, wine or even rum casks
• the smallest change in temperature, or humidity as well as grain, age and quality of the wood can have effect on the final flavour
• after this nearly all whisky will be blended to achievethe right flavour characteristics

1. be produced in scotland using only water, malted barley and yeast and with a mash from only one distillery (exception: grain whisky)
2. not be distilled higher than 94,8 %
3. be aged in scotland for a minimum of three years
4. not contain additives other than water or caramel colouring (e150)
5. it may not be bottled at less than40% abv

Grain whisky

• the only type of Scotch whisky which uses grain other than Barley
• Column distilled, mixed with malt whisky to create blended whisky

Malt whisky

• produced from 100% malted barley
• dried with peat or hot air

blended

• a blend of grain whisky and malt whisky
• brands such as Johnnie Walker, Grants, Chivas Regal can contain malt whisky from up to 50 distillers
• accounts for 90 % of global Scotch sales

single malt

• produced from 100% malted barley
• unlike malt whisky, must only consist of malts from one distillery
• aged minimum 3 years, commonly 8-12 years

vatted malt whisky (pure malt / blended malt)

• rarer than blended or single malt
• consists of 2 or more single malts from different distilleries
• no grain whisky can be added

single cask

• the only bottling of Scotch that is not blended
• generally bottled at "cask strength"
• unique and unrepeatable as the aging process is so unpredictable

1. Lowlands
2. highlands
3. campbeltown
4. Islay

cocktails

• rob roy
• rusty nail
• blood n sand

brands

• auchentoshan
• grant's
• monkey shoulder
• glenfiddich
• the glenlivet