Whiskey Flashcards
Scotch regions of production
Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, Campletown, Islay, and the Islands: Orkney, Skye, Mull, Jura and Arran
Lowlands
Southern Scotlands, bordering England, includes the major cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Lighter malts w/ subtle aromas, often triple distilled, very little peatiness.
Lowlands producers
Only 3 today: Glenkinchie, Bladnoch, Auchentoshan
Highlands
Northern Scotland mainland, the largest region, can be further separated into Speyside, Eastern, Central & Southern, Western and Northern
Blended Scotch producers
Dewar’s, Cutty Sark, Chivas, Johnny Walker, J &B
Highlands producers
Oban (western), Dalwhinnie (central/southern), Glenmorangie (Northern), Dalmore (Northern)
Speyside
A former subzone of the Highlands on the mainland. The largest number of distilleries. Mild fruity flavor, elegant, balanced, round, finesse, peat is held back a bit
Speyside producers
Macallan, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich
Cambletown
Scotch region, covering the Kintyre peninsula on the mainland west side. Pre-prohibition Whiskey megacenter but only 2 producers remain today
Cambletown producers
Springbank (lightly peated style), Glen Scotia, and Glengyle
Islay
The most important of the Scotch Islands, on the westside. The most peaty, smoky style
Islay producers
Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig
The Scotland Islands
Orkney, Skye, Mull, Jura, Arran. Broadly speaking, peaty and smoky in style
The Scotland Islands producers
Highland Park (Orkney), Talisker (Syke), Tobermory (Mull), Isle of Jura (Jura)
Bourbon rules
Grain mixture of min 51% corn, aged in charred, new american oak barrels. May legally be produced anywhere in the US (but 95% of bourbon comes from Kentucky)
Straight bourbon
Min 2 years aging in oak, no added color of flavoring, If aged less than 4years, the age must be listed on the bottle.
Tennessee Whiskey rules
Actually a bourbon. TN legislation passed in 2013: Must be made in the state of TN, min 51% corn, must be filtered with sugar maple charcoal prior to aging, aged in new, charred oak. a sour mash whiskey, a style utilized by many Bourbon distillers, in which a portion of spent mash is incorporated into a newly fermenting mash barrels
American Rye Whiskey rules
min 51 % Rye, aged in new charred oak barrels for a minimum of two years
American Corn Whiskey ruled
min 80% corn but may be unaged or aged in used or uncharred new barrels
Bourbon Producers
Booker’s, Elijah Craig, Four Roses, Knob Creek, Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey, Eagle Rare, Woodford Reserve
Rye Producers
Sazeraz, Bulleit, Whistle Pig, Rittenhouse
American blended Whiskey Rules
min 20% whiskey, blended w/ neutral, 95% grain spirit
American blended Whiskey producers
Kessler, Seagram’s 7
What is Scotch Whisky usually aged in used
Used bourbon or sherry casks fora more subtle interaction w/ oak. Wood finished styles are increasingly popular: A single malt may be transferred and age it’s final 2-3 yrs in Port, Sherry, Madeira, Burgundy, or Sauternes casks, resulting in a fruitier, softer style. Glenmorangie and Balvenie are pioneers of the style
Why are coastal and Island Scotch distilleries typically of a more smoky style
Peat bogs are readily available on the coast/islands and a cheaper alternative to wood to malt the barley, but burning peat produces an oily smoke that imparts a distinctive and dominate smoky note to the malt
Scotch Whisky rules
The 2009 Scotch Whisky Regulations established five legal categories of Scotch: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Blended Grain Scotch Whisky and Blended Scotch Whisky. All Scotch must list a category on the label, the term pure malt is banned. Must be made in Scotland, min twice distilled, min 3yrs aging, min 40% abv. Age indications on the label indicate the youngest whisky used in the blend
How long are single malt scotch whiskys typically aged
legally 3 yrs, over at least 10 yrs is typical with some aged 25-30 yrs. Can’t really be aged must past that because evaporation would lead the whisky to fall below the required min. 40% abv after that amount of time
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The highest quality category of Scotch Whiskey. Must be made from 100% malted barley in a pot still from a single distillery bottled in Scotland. small portion of the market, 90% of Scotch is sold as blends
Single Grain Scotch Whiskey
produced at a single distillery, from unmalted barley, wheat, and/or corn
Blended Malt Scotch Whiskey
produced from a blend of malt whiskies from two or more distilleries
Blended Grain Scotch Whiskey
produced from a blend of one or more grain types of whisky from two or more distilleries
Blended Scotch Whiskey
produced from a blend of grain and malt whiskies from different distilleries
How and and why do Irish and Scotch Whisky differ
Scotch Whisky is usually made from malted barley and often with distinct peaty notes, Irish Whiskey is not. England enacted a tax on malting barley in 1725. The Scottish reacted by simply hiding the process by malting at night (moonshine origin) and the Irish by using unmalted grain. Also, the Irish don’t use peat in the malting process
Irish whiskey rules and tradition
Traditionally triple pot distilled, some use continuous still. min 3 yrs aging in oak casks, most are aged at least 7 yrs.
Irish Whiskey producers
Old Bushmills, Cooley (Coonemara: a peated single malt), Midleton (Jamesone, Red Breast, Powers, Paddy)
Japanese Whiskey producers
Suntory is the most famous producer making scotch style blended and single malt whiskies
Canadian Whiskey rules and tradition
Less restrictive rules than US, Scotland or Ireland. min 3 yrs aging but cask type is not determined, pre-used bourbon is the norm. Generally blended often w/ a high % rye.
Canadian Whiskey producers
Crown Royal, Hiram Walker & Sons (Canadian Club), Glenora (Scotch style single malts), Kittling Ridge Distillery (Forty Creek)
