Spirits Flashcards
List the regions for Scotch Production
Highland (including islands)
Lowland
Speyside
Islay
Campbelltown
Scotch - min abv?
min 40%
generally 40-46%
cask strength 60-63%
max 94.8% ABV after distillation
Scotch - allowed additives?
water and caramel coloring
How is scotch typically distilled?
Single malt- pot still required
most is distilled twice, continuous distillation is allowed.
Lowlands has a tradition of triple distillation
Define single malt scotch whiskey
distilled at a single distillery in a pot still, in one or more batches, from water and malted barley
Define single grain scotch whiskey
any Scotch whisky distilled at a single distillery that does not qualify as either single malt whisky or blended Scotch whisky
has some amount of malted barley, and can have other cereal grains
so a scotch made from 100% malted barley, but in a column still would be a single grain
made in a continuous still?
Define blended malt scotch whiskey
blend of single malts from multiple distilleries
Name a blended malt scotch
Monkey Shoulder
Jonnie Walker Green Label
Define blended grain scotch whiskey
blend of single grains from multiple distilleries
Name a blended scotch
Ballantine’s
Chivas Regal
Cutty Sark
Dewar’s
Famous Grouse
Define blended scotch whiskey
blend of single grain and single malt scotches
What are the requirements to list the year of distillation on a bottle of scotch?
Year of distillation may not be included on the label unless the year of bottling, period of maturation, or the age (in years) of the whisky is also included
What is the difference between a wash still and a spirit still in scotch production?
Wash stills tend to be heated by a ‘pan’ heat (direct heat from coal or gas) due to them being easier to clean than wort burnt onto the underside of a steam coil. They’re also larger (first distillation)
Conversely spirit stills tend to be coil heated. (second)
What is the product of the first distillation in scotch production?
“Low wine” = distillation of the wash. Typically around 20% abv
Scotch aging requirements?
All Scotch whisky must be aged for a minimum 3 years in oak casks with a maximum capacity of 700 liters
may only be matured in a permitted warehouse in Scotland
Scotch export requirements?
Scotch whisky may not be exported in oak or wooden vessels (inoxidative containers are legally allowed)
Single malt Scotch whisky must be bottled in Scotland (from November 23, 2012, onward)
Name the 6 major islands making Scotch. Which are lumped together with Highland?
Islay
Arran
Orkney
Skye
Mull
Jura
Orkney, Skye, Mull and Jura are included in the Highland GI
List 3 Islay Scotches
Ardbeg
Bowmore
Bruichladdich
Bunnahabhain
Caol Ila
Kilchoman
Lagavulin
Laphroaig
Port Charlotte
List 3 Highland Scotches
Aberfeldy
Dalmore
Dalwhinnie
Glengoyne
Glenmorangie
Loch Lomond
Oban
List 3 Island Scotches and which island they come from
Talisker (Isle of Skye)
Highland Park (Orkney)
Scapa (Orkney)
Arran (Arran)
Isle of Jura (Jura)
Tobermorey (Mull)
Abhainn Dearg (aka Red River- Lewis)
How long can scotch be aged in barrel?
up to around 30 years- after that too much alcohol evaporates, lowering it below the minimum 40% abv
What are the name of the columns in a continuous still?
Rectifier
Analyser
List 3 Speyside Producers
Aberlour
Balvenie
Glen Grant
Glenfarclas
Glenlivet
Glenfiddich
Macallan
List 3 Lowland Scotches
Auchentoshan
Glenkinchie
Bladnoch
Ailsa Bay
Daftmill
List 3 Campbeltown Scotches
Glen Scotia
Glen Gyle
Springbank
What did the 1784 Wash Act do?
Drew the original border between the Highland and Lowland regions. Taxed Highland distilleries based on the size of their still, and taxed Lowland distilleries per gallon in the wash (which was higher)
Requirements for all Scotch Whisky (from 2009 regulation)
Must be produced in Scotland, must provide an indication of category on the bottle, must be distilled at least twice, min 40%, must be aged at least 3 years.
Categories of Scotch in 2009 Scotch Whisky Regulations
Single Malt (malted barley, pot still, single distillery)
Single Grain (can have unmalted barley, other grains, single distillery)
Blended Malt
Blended Grain
Blended Scotch (blend of malt and grain)
What are the 4 main categories of Rum?
Light
Dark
Demerara
Rhum Agricole
Describe the character of Demerara rum. Where is it from?
Demerara rum is a light style unique to Guyana, where the spirit is distilled from molasses and sometimes aged for over a decade prior to release.
How is most light rum made?
In a continuous still, and charcoal filtered.
What is the most traditional way to distill rum?
pot still, batch distillation
dunder
residue left in pot still after distillation, Jamaican rum commonly adds dunder to active ferment to add more character to final distillate
What is Rhum Agricole?
Rhum agricole must be produced from sugarcane juice (as opposed to Molasses) column distillation is mandated in Martinique.
likely aged in Limousin french oak
List 3 rums from Barbados
Mount Gay
Real McCoy
Plantation
List 2 rums from Martinique
Rhum J.M.
Rhum Clement
List 2 rums from Jamaica
Wrey & Nephew
Appleton Estate
List a rum producer from the Dominican Republic
Brugal
Ron Barcelo
Where is Gosling’s made?
Bermuda
Where is Bacardi made?
Puerto Rico and Mexico
originally from Cuba, that distillery now bottles under the name Caney
Where is Sailor Jerry made?
USVI
List 2 US rum distillers
Pilar - FL
Privateer
List 5 japanese whiskies
Nikka
Suntory
Yamazaki
Mars Shinshu
Hakushu
Akashi
Hibiki
List 3 Japanese Gins
Nikka (yuzu + sour citrus)
Suntory Roku (Sakura flower, sakura leaf, sencha tea, gyokuro, sanshō, yuzu peel)
Kyoza Shuzo (yuzu)
Describe the difference between Scotch and Irish whiskies, and the reason for the difference in styles
A division in style between Irish whiskey and Scotch can be traced, along with many of the more important developments in whiskey’s history, to anger over new taxes. England’s policy of taxing distilleries’ final product was driving distillation underground, so in 1725 the English enacted a tax on malting barley, a procedure that was more difficult to hide.
The Scottish responded by heating their barley at night—the origin of moonshine—and the Irish simply started using a large proportion of unmalted barley in their whiskies. Thus, Irish whiskey is typically lighter in character. And because the Irish do not rely on peat for their fires, the resulting whiskey is less smoky in character than Scotch
New Midleton Distillery - who owns it? Whiskies produced?
County Cork (est. 1975) – produces Jameson, Powers, Paddy, Midleton, Redbreast, and others, including the independently sold Green Spot. Owned by Pernod Ricard since 1988
List at least 5 Irish Whiskey Distillers
Bushmils - owned by Jose Cuervo
New Midleton - owned by Pernod Ricard
Cooley - owned by Beam Suntory
Teeling - family owned!
Tullamore - owned by William Grant & Sons
Cooley Distillery - who owns it? Whiskies produced?
County Louth (est. 1987) – when opened it was the only independent distillery in Ireland.[49] Along with its sister distillery in Kilbeggan, it produces the Connemara, Tyrconnell, Kilbeggan and 2Gingers whiskeys. It has been owned by Beam Suntory since 2011.
Teeling Distillery
Irish distiller, originally made by Cooley, the family split off when Cooley was sold in 2011
est 2015! the first new distillery built in Dublin city for over 125 years
What is Tennessee Whiskey?
According to state legislation passed in 2013, Tennessee whiskey must be filtered with maple charcoal prior to aging and manufactured in the state of Tennessee
It is a sour mash whiskey, a style used by many bourbon distillers, in which a portion of spent mash is incorporated into a newly fermenting mash.
Bourbon vs straight Bourbon?
Bourbon is made with a minimum of 51% corn, and aged in charred new oak casks.
Straight bourbon is bourbon that has been aged for at least two years and made without any added coloring or flavoring
What is rye whiskey?
Rye is made from a minimum 51% rye and aged in new charred oak barrels for a minimum of two years
What is corn whiskey?
Corn whiskey is produced from a minimum 80% corn, and may be unaged or aged in used or uncharred new barrels.
List at least 3 bitter herbal liquers from outside of Italy
Jagermeister (GER)
Boonekamp (GER)
Amer Picon (FRA)
Suze (FRA)
Unicom (Hungary)
Which Mexican states produce Tequila?
Jalisco, Guanajuato, Tamalpais, Nayarit, and Michoacán
What is tequila distilled from?
tequila is distilled from the cooked piña (heart) of the blue agave plant.
the best tequila is made from 100% blue agave, but most is mixto, or min 51% blue agave