Spirits Flashcards
Definition of Spirit
A distillate of a fermented liquor (wash)
2 types of distillation
- Pot Still
- Continuous Still
Explain Pot Still
- fermented liquor is put into a closed vessel and heated
- alcohol boils at 78C = vapors pass along a closed pipe through cold water condensing into a liquid (the spirit)
- The Spirit contains high proportion of alcohol, gasses, flavouring oils and little water
Continuous Still
Produces a purer spirit containing fewer impurities
2 tall columns:
- Analyser = where the Wash is vaporised by superheated steam
- Rectifier = where the vapors are condensed into spirit
GIN
white spirit produced by distilling a wash from fermented grain, malted barley, maize or rye
flavoured either by passing vapours through the flavourings or by steeping them in a spirit and distilling them in a separate run (distillate is then used to flavour the spirit
Types of Gin
- London dry gin = driest
- Plymouth Gin = less crisp, more aromatic (7 botanicals: juniper berries, coriander seeds, le,mon and orange peels, green cardamom, Angelica roots, Orris root)
- Sloe Gin = sweetened flavoured spirit (sloes = berries)
- Old Tom Gin = softer than LDG
- Dutch Gin / Genever Gin =
oude = from malted barley, wheat, corn and rye
Jonge = best drank neat
Vodka
- distilled in a continuous still
- colourless neutral spirit at 96%
- re-distilled or filtered through charcoal filters to purify the flavour
- addition of distilled water to bring down the strength
- made from Rye, Molasses, a mixture of these or from other grains
Whisky
made by distilling the fermented wash (wort) which is made from unmalted barley, malted barley, maize, or rye and water
4 types of Scotch Whisky
- Single Malt: from malt / double distilled Pot Still
- Vatted Malt: blend of malts from 1 or more distilleries
- Blended: blend of malt and grain whisky
- Single grain: from 1 distillery / from unmalted barley, wheat or corn / distilled in a Continuous Still
5 Scotch producing regions
- HIGHLANDS: 80% total production / 3 subregions: Perthshire / Speyside / Northern Highlands / light and refined, some slightly floral, some smoky, touch spice, full flavoured
- ISLANDS: considered a subregion of Highlands / Arran, Lewis, Mule, Jura, Orkney, Skye, Harris
Stronger peat flavour, most pungent whisky, salty seaweed flavour - CAMPBELTOWN: Considered the centre of whisky production in 1880’s / now just a small subregion of Highlands / light peatiness and saltiness from maturation in proximity to the ocean
- LOWLANDS: lighter, softer than other malt whiskies / slight sweetisdh taste
- ISLAY: most important Scottish Island for whisky / strong peaty and smoky flavour
Malt Whisky production
- Barley is malted by steeping it in water then spread out on a concrete floor in a warm atmosphere
- Grains germinate = converts starches into sugar
- Germination stopped by heating grains over a peat fire = smokiness from peat fire
- Malt is cracked and added to boiling water in a mash tun = sugar and flavours are extracted
- Liquid (wort) is drawn off and fermented with addition of yeast
- Wash is then twice distilled in a Pot Still
Matured for min 3 years in cask / old sherry,barboun casks (also Madeira, port, Cognac, Bordeaux casks)
Irish Whiskey
from a Wash of malted and unmalted barley and some grains
germination is stopped by heating in a closed kiln rather than over a peat fire
usually distilled 3 times (if made by the Pot Still method)
usually not sold until it’s 7 years old
American Rye
min 51% Rye wash / continuous still / aged min 2 years (usually 4) in new charred oak casks / majority Produced in Maryland and Pennsylvania
Canadian Rye
All whiskey is calle Rye Whiskey in Canada / no legal requirements to contain it though
min 3 years aging
Bourbon Whiskey
takes name Bourbon county, Kentucky (95% of prod from kentucky)
min 51% Maize (corn) spirit + Rye, wheat or malted barley
continuous still fermentation
min 2 years maturation in new charred oak casks
Corn Whiskey
USA / made from 80% maize mash
Tennesse Whiskey
sour mash whiskey / made from 51% corn / matured in new charred oak casks / filtered through maple charcoal (only difference from Bourbon)
RUM
spirit distilled from fermented Molasses (syrup byproduct of the sugar industry) or sugar cane
min 3 years aging / uncharred or charred oak casks
- White / Silver = continuous still / 1 year maturation in glass or steel / traditionally in Oak + charcoal filtration to remove colour
- Demerara = From Guyana / wood maturation / caramel added for colouring or filtered to make it lighter
- Dark / Black = fermentation started with Dunder (the lees from the previous year fermentation) / Jamaican
- Golden / Spiced = coloured from oak / spiced from spices or fruit
Brandy
distillation of fermented juice of fresh grapes without the addition of any other spirit
EU law = cannot be distilled above 94.8%
Cognac
- From delimited region of Cognac
- Double distilled / Pot Still
- 8 varieties but 90% must be from: St Emilion (Ugni Blanc), Folle Blanche (Picpul), Colombard
Sub-regions of Cognac
- Grand Champagne *
- Petite Champagne *
- Bordories *
- Fins Bois
- Bons Bois
- Bois Ordinaire / Bois a Terroir
- best = highest chalk content in the soils
Cognac Age Indications
3* or VS = min 2 years (3 in UK)
VSOP = min 4 years
Napoleon = min 6 years
XO = min 10 years
XXO = min 14 years
Armagnac
from Armagnac delimited region / Gers department / south west france
3 subregions:
- Haut-Armagnac
- Bas-Armagnac
- Tenareze
Continuous Still (less plates than normal = less pure than Vodka,Gin)
Armagnac Age Indications
3* = 1-3 years
VSOP = 4-9 years
Napoleon = 6-9 years
XO = min 10 years
