Whiskies Flashcards
Whiskies
- Scotch Malt
- Scotch Grain
- Irish
- American
- Canadian
- Japanese
- Indian
Scotch Malt
malted barley
batch dist
Scotch Grain
Malted barley +unmalted cereal
cont dist
Irish
Malt whiskies produced by triple pot dist.
large stills
American
bourbon, rye, wheat, corn
different dist practices.
Canadian
Rye ( major source of grain)
exogenous enzymes maybe used
Japanes
CLosely modelled on Scotch whisky industry
Indian
Fundamentally based on spirit from fermented molasses
IRISH
bushmill, middleton and cooley ( 3 centres)
brley, maize and other grains
pot and cont. either
aged in small oak casks
mixture of malted and unmalted barley and other unmalted cereals ( unmalted? cost purposes, more easily available, not available in suitable conditions for distilling in terms of distatic power )
often triple distilled - wash still, low wine still and a spirit still.
30% stronger from scotch
also, smoother and lighter – this is due to the fact they remove low volatility congeners ( these are availble in heavy spirits) –> why is this so ? because a greater level of rectification is being carried out because of the additional stage of the dist. )
wash strength higher ( OG 1090) , 13% abv
large stills - so produces sulphery and heavy because of limited SA to vol ratio. reflux needs to be increased for more palatable spirit
because of big stills produce large volumes but less contact with copper , so purifier is added
Irish Whisky Act 1980
- distilled in state / NI from mash of cereal which have been sacrified by malt.
- Fermented by action of yeast
- distilled at alcoholic strength no less than 97.4 - 98
- flavour and aroma from material used
- warehoused in NI or state for at least 3 years
state - republic of ireland
NI- Northern Ireland
AMERICAN
min 51% corn, rye, wheat and malted barley
Distilled at no more than 80% abv
new oak casks ( charred) - tannins from oak.
Makes 13% of spirit consumption in the USA
Corn whiskey
at least 80% corn
distilled to no more than 80% abv ( need congeners, hence character)
new uncharred or used casks
min 2 years
Backsets of American whiskey
pot ale from still added to fermentor to create sour mash
exogenous enzymes permitted
matured in freshly charred bourbon casks for approx 4 yrs
Depth of char determines the colour and flavour
Why do we char a cask that is new?
Breakdown the lignin (polymer of cellulose hence is chemically inert)
we want to break down these long chains down ( can use ligninase but it’s a powerful enzyme)
charring breaks down ligninans and releases vanillins.
oak has many sugars in it !
Corn
kentucky and tennessee ( because of vast corn production)
Rye
Maryland and Pennsylvania
Why choose rye? It grows better in some places. Problem with growing rye? B-glutans and ergot (fungus) that contains phyto toxin that contains LSD
Bourbon
51% maize
2 years mat in oak casks to strength below 62.5%
Distillers tend to maintain their own yeast strains and innoculate into sterile sour mash
Slow and temp controlled fermentation
Double distilled ( cont then pot) - with the doubler
Light whiskey
Distilled at 80-95%
matured in used casks ( min 2 years )
Tennessee whisky
cleaner spirit
regulations as per other american whiskies but must be produced in Tennessee.
filtration done through maple charcoal ( cannot consume in Tennessee) - charcoal used to remove congeners
Canadian Whisky
mostly rye malt, minor proportion of cereal used,
cont dist.
mashing with malt and/or microbial enzymes ( permitted)
sour mash fermem
enzymes can be added during fermentation.
sour mash fermentation - pot ale from prev dist to fermentation process. Why? Nutrition. Best thing to feed yeast cell is yeast cell. pot ale has all the nutrients that the yeast needs.
cont and batch.
maturation in bourbon casks ( first or second filled ) no longer than 150 gallons and for no less than 3 years.
light bodied grain whiskies are blended with heavier flavoured whiskies
MAY CONTAIN UPTO 9.09% FLAVOURING ADDITIVES , LIKE WINES, SHERRIES, RUMS, BOURBON AND MALT WHISKY.
pROCESS ( THE ONE WITH WATER IS ADDED LATER TO reduce abv by using city water this is done to eliminate some of the high alcohol soluable congeners
Legislation of Canadian whisky
- potable alcoholic distillate
- mixture of potable alc distillate from mash of cereal grain or cereal grain products saccharified by the diastase of malt or other enzymes
yeast / mixture of yeast and other organisms for ferm
aged in small wood
no less than 3 years
possess taste aroma and character generally attributed to candian whisky
manufactured in accordance with the requirements of the excise act and the regulations made thereunder
must be mashed, distilled and aged in canada
not more thab 40% abv ( limiting congeners)
caramel and flavouring permitted
Japanese whisky
fourth largest whisky producer
second largest single malt producer
suntory and nikka ( two main companies)
prodn similar to scotch whisky but not restricted by scotch whisky regulation
longer ageing - results in inc conc of phenols which hence contribute to smoother mouthfeel
Indian Whisky
-primarily based on neutrl spirit from cont dist of fermented molasses
categories : regular/medium and premium/prestige and super premium
flavour : smooth and light to complex and colourful ( depends on the run)
gradually increasing malt whisky production to comete internationally
