*The Spirits Industry

Question 1

Do any distillers grow their own raw materials?

Answer 1

Very few. Some small producers in Cognac do.

Question 2

Are there any instances whereby a distiller must source raw materials from a specified region?

Answer 2

Very few. Not even Scottish whisky.

Three exceptions: Champagne Cognacs, Tequila and Calvados.

Question 3

Why would a distiller buy in spirit rather than make its own? (4)

Answer 3

1. There’s no legal requirement for complete transparency as to the source of the base spirit. Some make it clear they don’t make their own base spirit. Some don’t.
2. It’s cheaper or just infeasible to DiY. Some distillers sub-contract independents to make their brand to a precise recipe. Then it gets blended in-house.
3. Flavoured spirits (e.g. Gin) use a generic neutral spirit and flavour it
4. Some producers just buy another’s product and relabel it, e.g. a retail chain’s “own brand”

Question 4

What is a Craft distiller?

Answer 4

There is no legal definition.
It describes a small hands-on distiller creating products with local provenance. They may be centuries old (eg. Germany, Switzerland, Alsace) or newcomers, especially in the USA.

Question 5

A single malt Scotch whisky must meet these (4) conditions:

Answer 5

1. Be made by a single Scottish distiller
2. Be made with malted barley…
3. …using pot stills
4. Matured in oak barrels for 3 years.

Question 6

A straight Bourbon must meet these (4) criteria:

Answer 6

1. Be made in the USA
2. Be made from min. 51% corn…
3. …maturing for at least 2 years in new charred oak barrels
4. No added colouring or flavouring

Question 7

What does XO mean on bottle of Rum?

Answer 7

Fuck all.

It only has meaning on a Cognac

Question 8

What does XO mean on a bottle of Cognac?

Answer 8

It has been matured for at least 6 years in oak.

Question 9

Is a filtered vodka special?

Answer 9

Nope.

Most of them are anyway.

Question 10

The law about labelling and terms used is a bit lax, but what is the (1) thing all labels must comply with:

Answer 10

Have nothing that is innacurate.

Question 11

What dangers are present when distilling spirit?

Answer 11

Dangers from CO2 poisoning

Burns or explosions are also possible

Question 12

Under WHO guidelines, a unit is taken as being how many mls of ethanol?

Answer 12

12mls of ethanol = 1 WHO unit

Question 13

WHO recommendations for average unit consumption for (1) women and (2) men?

Answer 13

1. Women: 2 units a day
2. Men: 3 units a day

On average

Question 14

General WHO recommendations for consumption (2)

Answer 14

1. Abstain from getting pissed at least once a week
2. Try not to exceed four units in any given drinking session

…and obvs, if you’re pregnant then don’t.
Then drinking driving or operating machinery. Don’t.