Glossary Terms Flashcards
1
Q
Awns
A
The fine, hairlike bristles on barley stems
2
Q
Barms
A
The froth that forms on top of fermented liquid such as beer, and which can be used as a leavening agent
3
Q
Bere
A
An ancient form (landrace) of barley
4
Q
Boil ball
A
A bulbous protrusion at the base of the neck of a still, which increases reflux
5
Q
Bothies
A
(Scottish) basic buildings, often used as the site of illicit stills
6
Q
Burn
A
A large stream or small river
7
Q
Clearances
A
The forced evictions of people who lived in the Highlands and western islands of Scotland during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
8
Q
Cut point
A
A crucial point in the distillation process, at which different parts of the distillate are separated out in order to capture certain elements and eliminate others
9
Q
Congeners
A
Chemical compounds formed during the fermentation process that give distinctive characteristics to alcoholic drinks
10
Q
Draff
A
The residue of spent grains in the mash tun, which can then be used as animal feed
11
Q
Esters
A
Chemical compounds created when alcohols and acids interact. they provide fruity aromas.
12
Q
Feints
A
Aka “tails”. The third and final part of the second distillation, containing characters unwanted in the final spirit
13
Q
Foreshots
A
Aka “heads”. The first part of the second distillation. It is diverted into a tank, mixed with the feints and low wines and then redistilled
14
Q
Blair
A
Mud or mire
15
Q
Griot
A
(West African) a person responsible for passing on oral history in the form of storytelling, music and poetry
16
Q
Grist
A
Milled, malted barley. Mixed with hot water in teh mash tun to produce sweet wort
17
Q
Huddle
A
(Scottish) a muddle or confusion
18
Q
Haar
A
(Scottish) a cold sea mist or fog
19
Q
Katabatic
A
A fierce downslope wind made of dense cold air
20
Q
Lochan
A
(Scottish) a small loch
21
Q
Low Wines
A
The product of the first distillation in the making of malt whisky
22
Q
Machir
A
(Gaelic) Sandy, fertile grassland found on the western shores of the Hebrides
23
Q
Mash Tun
A
A large vessel in which grain in mixed with water to release its sugars
24
Q
Middle pile or mound
A
An ancient dump of organic waste
25
New Make
The clear spirit that comes out of the still. By law, the term “Scotch Whisky” can only be used after the new make has been aged in oak casks for three years
26
Peat hag
Ground from which peat has been cut
27
Pibroch / piobaireachd
(Scottish/Gaelic) a solo musical competition of bagpipes, based on a variation on a theme
28
Puncheon
A specific type of cask with a capacity of 500 Lt
29
Reflux
The redistillation of vapour within the still. The higher the rate of reflux, the lighter the spirit will be
30
Shebeen
(Scottish) a place where alcohol is sold illegally
31
Shell
A maltman’s shovel
32
Skailk
(Gaelic) a blow to the head, first dram of the day, often taken in bed
33
Spirits Safe
A locked container through which distillate flows. It is here the distiller can measure strength and separate the middle cur form the foreshots and feints
34
Strath
(Scottish) A broad, flat, river valley
35
Washback
A large vessel in which yeast is added to the wort to start fermentation
36
Worm tub
The traditional form of condenser, consisting of coiled copper pipe immersed in cold water
37
Wort
The sweet liquid drained from the base of the mash tun
38
Gorda
Also called a bodega butt - 600 litres (130 gallons)
39
Pipe
Formerly used for maturing port - 500 litres (110 gallons)
40
Puncheon
545 litres (120 gallons)
41
Butt
Formerly used for maturing sherry; 500 litres (110 gallons)
42
Dump Puncheons
460 litres (100 gallons)
43
Hogshead
The most common cask for whisky - 250 litres (55 gallons)
Also named “re-made hogshead” or “dump hogshead”
44
Barrel (ASB)
Usually refered to as an American Barrel - 180-200 litres (40 - 53 gallons)
45
Kilderkin
In Old Scots “kinken” - 82 litres (18 gallons)
46
Quarter
Also called a “Firkin” approximately 45 litres (9-10 gallons)
47
Anker
Eight to Ten gallons (approximately 45 litres)
48
Octave
22.5 litres - five gallons
49
Acrospire
The initial shoot that develops within a grain of barley during the malting process.
When the acrospire grows to the length of the barley corn, it is time to stop the germination with Kaliningrad.
50
Break point
The break point is that at which the stillman switches from foreshots to spirit.
It is also the point during malt kilning at which all the surface water has dried off the malted barley grains.
51
Two parts of a peat bog
Acrotelm - the upper part, about 30cm deep = this is where you find the living plant material
Catotelm - the much thicker plant matter (particularly the fragile sphagum) has broken down to form a shapeless, dark brown colloidal mass.
Water can move more swiftly through the Acrotelm, but much more slowly through the catotelm.
52
Colorimetric analysis
The most common means of measuring phenolic levels (or peatiness) of malt or spirit - it is less accurate than HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography)
53
High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
A more precise means of measuring phenolic levels (or peatiness) of malt or spirit than colorimetric analysis
54
Culm
The rootless which protrude from a grain of malted barley. They are removed and processed into animal feed.
55
Draff
The spent remains of the malted barley after the mashing process is completed. Draff can be used as animal feed.
56
Dunnage
Traditional, low ceilings Scotch Whisky warehousing with an earth floor on the ground level giving damp, dark, storage conditions. While ideal for maturation, dunnage warehouses rarely make the best use of available space and are impossible to mechanize. Modern warehouses are larger, dryer, and cleaner and use mechanical racking systems for positioning the casks.
57
Feints
All of the distillate produced by a spirit still after the stillman has finished running spirit. On Islay, the commencement of feints varies between 65% (at Caol Ila) and 59% (at Lagavulin). A large volume of feints is produced, and the run takes up to 4.5 hours (at Lagavulin).
58
Foreshots
The first distilled vapour to come accross the lyne arm and be condensed into spirit, once it has been charged and heated. Since the oily foreshots contain unpleasant and noxious alcohols, they are separated and mixed with feints in the feints receiver before being in turn mixed with low wines to form the charge for the spirits run. On Islay, the foreshots are concluded and the spirits cut made at between 75% (Caol Ila) and 72% (Bunnahabhain, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig). Bruichladdich’ s spirits cut varies between 76% and 71%.
59
foreshots test
the standard practical test to distinguish between foreshots and spirit is to mix the distillate with an equal quantity of water. If the emulsion is cloudy, the foreshots have not finished; if it is clear, the spirit has commentsed.
Foreshots usually take between 10 minutes (Ardbeg, Bunnahabhain) and 45 minutes (Bruichladdich, Laphroiag) to run.
60
Gauger
An informal and mildly deragatory term for an Exciseman, though formerly an official description (the 1660 Excise Act) empowered “gagers” to enter distilling premises “at all times day or night.”
61
Ileach
A native of Islay, and in its purest sense, one born on the island
Also the name of the Islay newspaper
62
Lauter tun
A full mechanized type of mash tun with rotating sparring arms (for spraying hot water on to the grist), fully adjustable knives or rakes (for mixing the water and the grist) and a slotted false bottom out of which the finished sweet wort drains at the end of the process. The Draff is then emptied automatically before receiving the next charge of grist and hot water.
63
Mash Tun
The vessel in which mashing takes place.
Older mash tuns (like the one at Bruichladdich), are open and often made of cast-iron, with hot water being poured through a spout and a system of rotating rakes used to mix the grist and the water. Modern lauter tuns like that at Laphroiag are enclosed and fully automatic. Semi-lauter tuns also exist, sometimes converted from older tuns.
64
Purifier
A large, pocket shaped item of equipment fitted to the lower half of the lyne arm in certain distilleries (Ardbeg). It removes the heavier alcohols before they reach the condenser and returns them via a tube at the bottom of the purifier to the main spirit still for further distillation and reflux.
Ardbeg is the only distillery on Islay with a purifier on a spirits still. The effect, is to move the distillation regime halfway between standard double distillation and triple distillation.
65
Spirits Safe
A beautiful and securely locked copper-framed glass box in which sampling, testing and cutting the distillate can take place without the distillery workers having tempting physical access to the spirit itself. Parsley developed on Islay at Port Ellen by John Ramsay, the spirits safe eased the administrative burden of formerly resident excise officers.
Nowadays, the spirits safe is a purely decorative distillery adornment, and the keys are generally kept in the distillery manager’s office rather than in the waistcoat pockets of Excisemen.
66
Pipe
Formerly used for maturing port. 110 gallons (500 litres)
67
Puncheon
120 Gallons (545 litres)
68
Butt
Formerly used for maturing Sherry. 110 gallons (500 litres)
69
Octave
Five gallons (22.5 litres)
70
Crofter
A person who farms a Croft. A Croft is a small farming unit of land that was usually rented from a Laird.
The Crofting Act of 1886 defined the terms “crofter” and “crofting parish”, granted security of land tenure to crofters and rights to bequeath their holdings, and created a Crofters Commission a land court which ruled on disputes between landlords and their tenants.
71
Quercus Robur has how much more tannin than Quercus Alba.
Quercus Robur has 10x more tannin than Quercus Alba.
72
Quercus Garryana
Oregon Oak - deep robust flavors of molasses
73
Quercus Mongolia
Mizunara oak from Japan - sandwood, incense and coconut. Contains higher levels of trans lactones than European counterparts.
74
STR casks
Shaved, toasted and re-charred casks
75
Sessile Oak
Quercus Patraea from central France. Higher Eugenol content giving it lovely spicy, clove-like aromas
76
Pedunculate oak
Quercus Robar from Limousine region - wide grain, less sweet than Central France counterpart.
77
Distiller’s requirements of yeast
1) provides good alcohol yield.
2) gives good flavor
3) converts sugars in the malt efficiently
4) rapid fermentation
5) resistant to infection
78
Sphagnum
Sphagnum Capillifolium and its many relatives are commonly called “Bog Moss”
It is sponge-like, tiny, orange-yellow leaves are in fact nothing but water flasks. This is why sphagnum can absorb 8 times its own weight in water.
This is why a blanket bog itself is not terra firma, but a kind of soup.
79
Peat Bog sections
Two unequal sections:
1) the upper part (about 30cm deep) is called the Acrotelm - where you find the living plant material.
2) Under that is the thicker Catotelm, where plant matter has broken down to form a shapeless, dark brown colloidal mass.
Water can move quickly through the acrotelm, but much more slowly through the catotelm.
80
Trestarig
According to Martin Martin's late 17th century observations - this Gaelic word meant a triple distilled spirit, as opposed to the four-times distilled Usquebaugh
81
Feu
A feudal tenancy, initially considered advantageous because it didn't involve military service. Gave the tenant more security of tenure than other types of tenancy. In 2000, the Scottisch Executive passed a Feudal Abolition Act extinguishing feut duty and mitigating the power of the "superiors."
82
Foreshots on Islay
On Islay, foreshots are concluded and the spirit cut made at between 75% (Caol Ila) and 72% (Bunnahabhain, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig). Bruichladdich spirit cut varies between 76% and 71%).
83
Phenols
The portmaneau term used to describe peaty aromas and flavors in whisky: a complex spectrum of chemical compounds which includes phenol (carbolic acid: C6H5OH) but also includes many other chemical compounds too.
84
Usquebaugh
The original Irish Gaelic term for whisky.
According to Martin Martin's late 17th century observations, usquebaugh was a four-times distilled spirit (as opposed to a trestarig which was three times distilled)
In the 1770's, Thomas Pennant claimed that usequebaugh was a flavored spirit, the unflavored alternative alternative being aqua vitae (water of life in Latin).
Charles MacClean suggests that by the mid-18th century, usquebaug routinely described a flavored spirit, whereas whisky, uisge beatha or aqua vitae were all terms commonly used to describe unflavored spirits.
85
Lomand still
Invented in 1955 by Allistair Cunningham of Hiram Walker.
Use for batch distillation like about still, but has three perforated plates which can be cooled independently - controlling reflux with this apparatus similar to a Coffee still.
Allows distiller to produce different kinds of whisky from the same still.
Lomand stills were installed at Loch Lomand
Glenburgie
Miltonduff
Inverleven
Scapa (for a time, this was the only one remaining)
Only remaining at Scapa
In 2010, Bruichladdich installed the original Lomand still from Inverleven
86
Hordeum Distichon
Original Barley that all 10 of the current approved barleys were developed from.
87
Malt distilleries want barley with the following characteristics:
-High in starch (60-65%)
-Low in Nitrogen 1.5% is optimal (which means low in protein)
-high diastatic activity (high in enzyme activity especially alpha & beta-amylase)
88
Two Row Barley yields
Use for distillation rather than 6 row.
Modern yield is 3 tonnes/acre
89
Shiel
Flat shovel used to hand turn barley in floor malting
91
Distilleries with Lomand stills
Lomand stills were installed at Loch Lomand
Glenburgie
Miltonduff
Inverleven
Scapa (for a time, this was the only one remaining)
Only remaining at Scapa
In 2010, Bruichladdich installed the original Lomand still from Inverleven
