Scotch Whisky

Question 1

What is green malt ?

Answer 1

Grains of barley which have been soaked and which have started to germinate, converting the stored starch into sugar. When dried in a kiln, green malt becomes malt.

Question 2

What is malt ?

Answer 2

Barley that has undergone the malting process of soaking, germination and kilning to convert the starch present in the original grain into fermentable sugar.

Question 3

What is Lowland ?

Answer 3

Scottish region, south of the line from Greenock to Dundee.
Lowland malt whiskies are generally light and smooth, with floral, grassy and cereal aromas.

What are the only 3 distilleries currently operational in Lowlands ?
• Bladnoch
• Glenkinchie
• Auchentoshan

Question 4

What is Highland ?

Answer 4

Scottish region, north of a line from Greenock to Dundee.

Highland malt whiskies are generally very intensely flavoured.

Question 5

What is Speyside ?

Answer 5

Scottish region within the Highlands, but whose whiskies are recognized by the Scotch Whisky Association as having a special character.
Speyside malt whiskies are generally very elegant and well balanced, with subtle peat and complex fruit, floral and honey aromas.

Question 6

What is Campbeltown ?

Answer 6

Formerly a malt whisky region, though no longer recognized by the Scotch Whisky Association as separate from the rest of the Highlands.
Small region at the end of the Mull of Kintyre that includes Springbank distillery.

What are the only 3 distilleries currently operational in Campbeltown ?
• Glengyle
• Glen Scotia
• Springbank (the only whisky malted, distilled, matured and bottled on site)

Question 7

What is Islay ?

Answer 7

Island off the west coast of Scotland making the most intensely peaty of all single malts, often with seaweed, brine, iodine and medicinal flavors.

Question 8

What is kilning ?

Answer 8

Part of the process of malting barley, in which the moist, germinating grains are heated to dry them out.
Peat fires used for this process result in a smoky “peat reek” that is retained in the final spirit.

Question 9

What is a mash tun ?

Answer 9

The vessel used to hold grains after the conversion of most of their starch to sugars, while hot water is flushed through to extract the sugars. The resulting sugary liquid, suitable for fermentation, is called mash.

Question 10

When tasting malts, what are the 6 flavour camps ?

Answer 10

Malty
Fragrant
Fruity
Oily
Woody
Peaty

Question 11

Scotch Grain whisky production.

Answer 11

GRAIN WHISKY INTRO
Despite the enormous volume of grain whisky produced, hardly any is sold to the public. Instead it is used in the creation of Blended Scotch Whisky. Grain whisky production is considerably different from that of malt whisky. Two key differences:
- Grain whisky is made from a mix of malted barley and other grains (to which less than 10% of malted barley has been added for its enzymes).
- It is distilled in a continuous still (not required by law but fundamental to its style).

MAKING GRAIN WHISKY

1) Wheat or corn is not malted. Cooked in a pressure cooker at 144ºC to hydrolyse the starch (makes it soluble in water).
2) Cooked cereal and malted barley are mashed together. Grain whisky producers use dif varieties of barley, selected for their ability to create high levels of enzymes. Distillers are required to use malted barley and are not permitted to add enzymes.
3) A variety of continuous column stills are used but principle remains the same: production of a high-strength spirit of less than 94.8% abv. Most grain whisky is distilled to just below the maximum. The result is much lighter in character than malt whisky.
4) The spirit is then reduced and placed in oak barrels for ageing. Grain whisky can age for as long as malt whisky. Most producers have a Blended Scotch in their range with an age of 20yrs or more.

Question 12

History of Scotch whisky.

Answer 12

• No one know who was the first Scotch distiller or when the first whisky was made. But long tradition of distillation in Scotland.
• In the Highlands, distillation was an effective method of using up surplus grain, or giving farmers an alternative source of income. Barley was the most used cereal, though wheat and oat also used. These proto-whiskies would also have been flavored with heather and other herbs, and honey.

• Started to become a global industry from 1827 (invention of the continuous “Coffey” still).
1860: it became legal to blend malt and grain. Thus different wine and spirits merchants, including John Walker, William Teacher, James and John Chivas, and John Dewar released new blends. Blends still account for the great majority of sales.

• Today, distilleries are rarely independently owned but are part of larger groups. Of particular importance are the global giants of Diageo (Johnny Walker, Lagavullin, Talisker, The Singleton, Oban, etc) and Pernod Ricard (Ballantine’s, Royal Salute, Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet, etc). By operating in groups, blenders have a more reliable access to the stocks needed to make blended whisky. That said, companies still need to buy and sell whisky to complement their stocks.

Question 13

Scotch malt whisky production: about barley.

Answer 13

• Under the husk of a barley grain, there is an embryonic plant with a food store made of insoluble starch. The plant remains dormant until exposed to correct level of warmth and moisture > then starts to grow (germinate).
• Distillers concern: that the grain they use has a high starch content and that as much of the starch is converted to sugar as possible > then can maximise the yield of alcohol per tonne of grain. Consequently new varieties of barley are being introduced onto the market to meet this demand.

Question 14

Scotch malt whisky production: Malting.

Answer 14

During malting, the grains start to germinate by artificially creating the ideal levels of temperature and moisture.

1) Steeping: the grains are immersed and steeped in water, which is then drained off. This alternation of wet and dry phases continues 2 to 3 days. Once it starts to grow, the barley is called “green malt”. This must not dry out and temperature must be controlled or it can kill young plants and stop germination.
2) Kilning: the green malt is loved into a kiln where it is heated and dried to stop germination without damaging the enzymes. This end-product is called “malt”. Producers can introduce peat flavours at this point if they choose to use peat as the fuel during kilning.

Peat: a fuel, found in Scotland, Ireland and parts of Japan. Made from partially compressed, decomposed plant matter (heather, grass, seaweed). When burnt it gives off a very pungent smoke. Whisky made using peat-flavoured malt will have aromas such as seaweed, smoke and tar.

Question 15

Scotch malt whisky production: Milling and Mashing.

Answer 15

• The soluble starch must be dissolved in water and converted into fermentable sugar. This is done by milling the malted barley into a coarse flour called “grist”.
• The grist is then mixed with how water in a “mash tun”, reactivating the enzymes that carry out the conversion. The temperature of water is vital (63-64ºC is best).
• Distillers use many different sources of water: springs, lochs, rivers or municipal supplies, etc. Plentiful of pure and cold water is needed. But the impact of water on final product is tiny.
• Once conversion is completed, the sugar solution (“wort”) is drawn off the bottom of the mash tun, cooled and pumped to a fermenter called a “washback”. Some sugar remains in the mash tun so hot water is added to the mash tun to draw out more sugar. This liquid is added to the washback.
• Mashing has a part to play in the creation of flavor. Distillers can pull through some solids into the washback thus creating a cloudy wort > produces a spirit with a greater malty, cereal character than a whisky made from a clear wort.

Question 16

Scotch malt whisky production: Fermentation.

Answer 16

• Cultured yeast is added to the cooled wort. Alcoholic fermentation completed in 48 hours, yielding an alcoholic liquid of 7-10% abv called “wash”.
• In contrast to other whisky distillers, Scottish producers put a lot of emphasis on the yeast they use and do not as a rule use yeasts that are unique to them.
• Once the main alcoholic fermentation is completed, some distillers leave the wash for a further few days during which time a number of extra congeners are created.

Question 17

Scotch malt whisky production: Distillation.

Answer 17

• Nearly all malt whisky is double distilled in copper pot stills.
1st distillation in a wash > gives the first product called “low-wines” of around 21-28% abv.
2nd distillation in a spirit still > producing a spirit around 70% abv.
The heads (foreshots) and tails (feints) are distilled with the next batch of low wines.

• Malt whisky comes in a wide range of styles and there are two key factors that determine style and quality during distillation:

• Still design: design of pot-stills used in Scotland very diverse. Old styles are always replaced by new ones of exactly the same dimensions.
• Cut point: in common with all spirits, an early cut to tails will result in a lighter flavoured spirit than a later cut. In Scotland, this decision is very imp if peat is a key flavour in the whisky because the peat character comes from congeners with high boiling points.

Question 18

Scotch malt whisky production: Maturation.

Answer 18

Scotch whisky has to be matured in oak barrels of less than 700L for a min of 3 years.

1) Origin of barrel
• SW is not aged in completely new barrels. Distillers purchase barrels that have already been used to mature another alcohol. Two main sources: the vast majority from the Bourbon industry; and a relatively small percentage coming from the Sherry industry.
• Bourbon barrels are made from Quercus alba and are heavily charred. They commonly give whisky aromas of vanilla, coconut, pine, cherry and spice.
• Sherry barrels (“butts”) were once widely used. Today, the vast majority of butts are new barrels specifically prepared for the whisky industry. They are identical to the butts used in Sherry, made from seasoned American oak and toasted not charred. They are conditioned with Sherry for 2yrs. They commonly give flavours of dried fruit, Christmas cake, clove, resin and orange peel.
• Over recent years, distillers have used a wider range of barrels to facilitate a process called “wood finishing” (moving an aged whisky into a barrel from a dif source for a short time). Barrels come from Port, Sherry, Madeira,red wine and sweet wine. For these whiskies, the previous content of the barrel can add flavours to the whisky, and also sometimes affect the color too.

2) Age of barrel
Barrels are frequently reused in Scotland and their contribution to a whisky’s flavour diminishes with every use. Producers take advantage of this as a tool to create variety in the whiskies produced in order to supply the needs to the blenders.

3) Blending and Finishing
• Nearly all malts should be seen as blends that are crafted to conform to the style of the distillery.
• Most malt whisky is reduced with water before bottling, chill filtered and if necessary color is adjusted with caramel.
• Premium malts tend not to be chill filtered or colored, and sometimes bottled at cask strength.

Question 19

Blended Scotch whisky.

Answer 19

• Accounts for the majority of Scotch whisky sales and though most of these are cheap, some sell for premium prices and counted among the very best whiskies in the world.
• Blending is about allowing the individual character of each malt and grain to work with its partners to create a harmonious, consistent product where that individuality is submused in the greater whole.

Three key points about blends:

1) Each grain distillery has a slightly different character. Most blends will use two ore more.
2) It is not correct that a higher percentage of malt = a more complex product. A successful blend is one where the combination is seamless (can be made with 4 or 40 whiskies).
3) Blended Scotch comes come in a wide range of house styles: Johnny Walker has a note of peat from Islay whiskies, Chivas is made with lighter Speyside malts, J&B and Cutty Sark were created for the post-Prohibition American market thus made in a lighter style to suit this market.