whiskey/whisky Flashcards
Where can you find whisky?
USA, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Japan
What do the countries have in common due to whisky? 2 things
Made from grains, matured in oak
what is the most important grains?
Barley, corn, wheat, rye
what is starch?
sugar molecules (glucose) that are bounded together
How can you convert the starch into fermentable sugars?
By malting and cooking
How can you release the sugar starch from the net when it comes to barley?
put the grains of barley in a warm, damp room -> they start to grow and releases chemicals called enzymes. Then it becomes green malt and you stop the process by heating the grains. =malted barley
What is mashing?
malted barley crushed into a coarse flour and mixed with hot water.
what does the heat of the water do to the flour?
unrolls the starch granules, enzymes convert starch into glucose = sweet liquid called wort
What does the hot air do to the aromas of the malted barley?
Smoky aromas
What do the distillers do with the other grains that are not malted?
cooks it like a master chef. Crush it, mix it with water, cook it at a high temp and blended with malted barley/bought in enzymes (not in Scotland)
Why is whisky distillers production varied?
Bc the limitation by local laws
How is whisky matured?
Most cases in oak for several years
Whisky are blends, how can you blend the whisky in different ways?
pronounced flavors with light flavors, different ages, different woods.
Name the most established reputations for whisky in USA
Bourbon, Tennessee
Where is the bourbon production located
Kentucky
What is the main ingredient in a bourbon?
Corn, 51%
What aromas does rye give?
spicy, rye-bread
What aromas does wheat give?
Bourbon dough, bread
what is mash bill and what purpose does it have?
for its enzymes, to influence the style depending on their needs
What kind of aromas can be found in a American bourbon?
banana, citrus
How are bourbon usually distilled?
Column stills
How is the bourbon matured and what aromas is the result of the maturation?
New charred-oak barrels = vanilla, coconut, sweet spice
Explain the malting barley process
1) starts to grow when warm and wet
2) starch granules unpack , enzymes that convert starch to sugar are released
3) hot air are used to stop the growing = also gives smoky aromas
4) now the starch is unpacked and the enzymes are ready to convert it to sugar during mashing
how to convert starch into sugar?
boil it in water to make it unroll.
What is the combination of grains that the distillers use to influence the style of spirit that is produced called?
The mash bill
what kind of yeast does the bourbon distillers use?
unique selected yeast
how is bourbon matured?
in new charred oak-barrels = vanilla, coconut, sweet spice
how can you blend the bourbon whisky?
different mash bills, select spirit från different barrels around the warehouse, colour and flavor from the oak on top of the flor
What grain must Tennessee whisky be made of?
51% corn
what is the Lincoln County Process?
the newly made spirit must be filtered trough maple wood before it goes into barrel.
What does the maple wood filtration do to the Tennessee whisky?
soften and smooth the spirit
What grain must be mainly used when it comes to Rye?
Rye, 51 %
what aromas does the rye give?
spicy, lemon zest, rye-bread and vanilla and sweet spice from the new oak barrels
what does straight bourbon (rye whisky) indicate?
2 years in new oak barrels, no colour of flavor has been added
what does small batch indicate?
higher quality, blend from a small number of selected casks (fat)
what does single barrel indicate?
bourbon made from just one barrel, exceptional
what does age statements indicate?
youngest spirit used in the blend
what does sour mash indicate? (Tennessee)
the acidic residue (rester) in the base of the column still has been added back to the fermenter
what does bottled in bond (BIB) indicate? (Tennessee)
one distillery, one year, aged for minimun 4 years woos containers.
what is common to grains and maturation in Canada?
different grains that is blended after maturation
what is a “base whisky”?
high-streght, light-intensity, column spirit made from corn
what is a “flavouring whisky”?
pronounced, low-stregth spirit made from rye
Name the 2 most important whiskys in Scotland:
single malt scotch whisky
blended scotch whiskey
Where and how most the Scottish whisky be distilled and matured?
matured and bottled in Scotland, oak barrels for minimum 3 years, no addition of sugar is allowed, caramel colour may be added
What does single malt whiskey mean?
Fermented and distilled in one distillery
what does a short VS a long swan neck do to the spirit and its reflux?
tall = lighter spirit
short = more pronounced aromas
What kind of oak barrels are used for Scots whisky?
old American oak barrels and sherry barrels from Spain
What does it mean by wood finishing? (Scotland)
final stages of maturation when you move the spirit to another barrel for a short time. The spirit will absorb some of the previous aromas from wine or sprit that has been in the barrel earlier.
what does blended scotch whisky mean?
Typically made up of several different single grains and single malts
name the 5 Scottish whisky regions
1) Speyside
2) highland
3) islay
4) cambeltown
5) lowland
What does sherry cask finish indicate? (Scotland)
special sherry barrels has been used
what does malt scotch whisky indicate? (Scotland)
made from malted barley and distilled in pot stills
what does “aged 12 years indicate”? (Scotland)
the youngest whiskey used in the blend
what does “non-chilled-filtred” indicate? (Scotland)
has not been chill-filtred immediately prior to bottling.
what does “naturel colour” indicate? (Scotland)
all colour has come from the oak barrels
what does cask strength indicate?
undiluted with water
How is Japan whiskey?
inspired from Scottish whisky production model, usually using whiskies that were not made in Japan
