Guide to whiskey

The world of whiskey and especially Scotch whiskey is filled with specialized terminology which at first glance may, at best, confuse the newcomer or, at worst, drive them away from what could have been a wonderful journey of discovery. So, in this section I hope to explain some of the terminology.

THE STILLS

The spirit which after a period of maturation will be called whisky is produced through a process of distillation. But first, we begin with barley which is soaked in water to allow it to begin the process of germination, then it is dried, ground (into Grist) and added to hot water where it is allowed to ferment. This is a process called Mashing and takes place in a large container called a Mash Tun. This process creates a liquid rich in fermentable sugars which will later produce alcohol and is called the Wort. Yeast is added and the liquid sits for up to 4 days in another vessel called the Washback, allowing it to fully ferment. At this stage the liquid is like a strong beer with up to 10% ABV strength, so in order to increase the alcohol strength it now needs to be distilled.

Distillation takes place in stills known as 'Pot Stills' which are in fact, made from copper. There are two types of still; first the Wash Still is used, sometimes repeatedly, then the resulting liquid, called the Low Wines is further distilled in a smaller still called the Spirit Still in order to finally produce the spirit that will become whisky. However, not all this liquid has the honor of being selected to become whisky. The spirit coming out of this process is divided into three 'cuts', the Head, Heart and Tail. Only the middle cut (Heart) is considered perfect for whisky, the heads and tails are not.

Did you know that the shape of still defines the overall character of the resulting whisky? Tall narrow still create lighter, more floral or aromatic whiskies, whereas shorter ones create heavier, more full-bodied whiskies.

Coffey Stills; In the early 1800's a different type of still was also being used, these were continuous ones called Coffey Stills and were more efficient than Pot Stills as they produced less-flawed spirit. Unfortunately, these 'flaws' included many desirable flavors and much of the character of malt whisky, so use of them in malt whisky production was stopped, but they are still used today in the production of grain whisky. 

The spirit (Head) selected for maturation to become whisky is filled into oak casks where it sits in warehouses for a minimum of three years before it can be called 'whisky'. Up until that time it is referred to as New Make or New Spirit. This spirit always used to be filled into the casks at full strength, straight from the stills, but today it is often filled at strengths of around 63-65% ABV.

The casks themselves are usually made from either American White Oak or European Oak as these have proven to be the best for whisky maturation. Although 'new oak' has been used, current thought is that previously-used casks help add more character to the whisky and the ones in widespread use today are ex-bourbon or ex-sherry casks.

American law dictates that casks may only be used once for bourbon maturation, so these are a sensible and very common option for Scotch whisky as they are dismantled and shipped to Scotland after that single use. Sherry casks are, obviously, made from European Oak and sourced in the major sherry-producing regions of Spain. The first time a sherry cask is used for whisky it is referred to as 'First Fill', then second-fill ... etc.

Cask sizes & volumes; Bourbon casks are generally 200 litres in size and referred to as 'Barrels'. Sherry casks come in various sizes which include Hogsheads (250 litres), Butts (500 litres) and sometimes Puncheons (450 litres).

As maturation is dependent upon time spent in a warehouse and the interaction between the spirit and the wood, some distilleries have begun to use what they call Quarter Casks (125 litres) as they increase the percentage of the whisky in direct contact with the wood, thus aiding or even speeding up and intensifying maturation, creating a whisky with totally different character to one from a 500 litre butt over the same period of time.

Did you know that the color of a whisky is highly dependent upon the type of cask used? Bourbon casks will produce much lighter-colored whiskies than sherry casks, but some producers also use artificial coloring (caramel) to help darken their products. In Germany this must be stated on the labels, but this is not yet the case in all countries.

Flavor is also dependent upon the types of cask used; As bourbon casks are charred on the inside, these carbon deposits help filter the impurities from the spirit during maturation and also help produce vanilla flavors in the resulting whiskies, whereas sherry casks help produce richer, dark fruit (like raisin, prune & currant) flavors in the whisky, along with stronger wood (oak) and sherry ones. Obviously, first-fill casks produce richer flavors than second-fill ones ...... and so on.

Previous Liquids in Cask

Scotch Whisky, unlike American Bourbon Whiskey, is very rarely matured in virgin oak casks.  This means that nearly always the casks will have contained another alcoholic drink prior to maturing whisky. This is done for a number of reasons, not least as using virgin oak would result in a very strong wood influence, which is not typically associated with the more delicate, smooth style of Scotch Whisky. In addition, the previous liquid held in the cask can also impart some very desirable characteristics and add variety to the industry.

By far the most common casks used in the Scotch Whisky industry are Bourbon Whisky and Sherry casks (typically known as ASBs and Butts), but other types of cask are being used increasingly frequently to either mature or finish whisky, with some very interesting results (e.g. wine barriques and cognac casks). See below for a list of typical flavors associated with each type of finish.

WOOD FINISH

Common Cask Name: Barrel

Wood: Virgin American oak, Irish oak, Japanese oak, etc.

Volume: Usually 200 – 500 liters, though quarter casks are 80 liters

Comes from: Country of origin

Typical flavors: Spice, vanilla, sweet oak

Get tasting: Midleton Dair Ghaelach, Octomore 7.4, Arran The Bothy Quarter Cask

WINE FINISH

Common Cask Name: Barrel or barrique

Wood: Typically French oak

Volume: Up to 220 liters

Comes from: Local to each wine region, e.g. Bordeaux, France

Typical flavors: Varies according to wine. Sauternes has notes of fresh bread, tart au citron, and crème caramel. Bordeaux gives red berry, cherry, and plum.

Get tasting: Glenmorangie Quarter Century, Glenfiddich Age of Discovery 19 year old Red Wine Cask Finish, Glenmorangie Pride 1981

PORT FINISH

Common Cask Name: Pipe or barrique

Wood: Usually French oak

Volume: Up to 600 liters for a port pipe, up to 220 liters for a port barrique

Comes from: Portugal

Typical flavors: Berry fruits, red currant, sultana

Get tasting: Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, Angel’s Envy Port Barrel Finish, Laphroaig Brodir, Balvenie PortWood 21 year old.

MADEIRA FINISH

Common Cask Name: Drum

Wood: Portuguese oak

Volume: Up to 650 liters

Comes from: Portugal

Typical flavors: Sweet fruits, figs, spice,

Get tasting: Laphroaig Cairdeas 2016, Tyrconnell 10 year old Madeira Cask Finish

RUM FINISH

Common Cask Name: Puncheon

Wood: American oak

Volume: Up to 500 liters

Comes from: Caribbean

Typical flavors: Molasses, vanilla, tropical fruits

Get tasting: Balvenie Caribbean Cask, Teeling Small Batch Rum Cask Finish, Angel’s Envy Rum Cask Finish

BEER FINISH

Common Cask Name: Barrel

Wood: American oak

Volume: Up to 200 liters

Comes from: Usually a local brewery

Typical flavors: Sweet, malt, creamy

Get tasting: Glenfiddich IPA Experiment, Jameson Caskmates, Mackmyra Vinterrök

The Whisky

So, the new spirit must be matured in oak casks for a minimum of three years before it may be called whisky. However, this process called maturation causes some of the spirit to be 'lost' due to the fact that the casks 'breathe'. This loss, or evaporation, is affectionately known as the "Angel's Share".

The whisky that remains will have also lost some of the original (ABV) strength and if filled at 63% it will, after three years, have dropped to around 55-60%.

The whisky may be left to mature for more years, or bottled, depending upon many factors including quality, standard age expressions for that distillery, economics (the bean-counters always have their say) and the whims or choices of the Master distillers and blenders.

The Age of Whisky

No matter if it's a single malt, grain, blended, IB or OB, if a whisky label states an age it refers to the youngest whisky used in that bottling. So, if the label states 30y, then the bottle may contain whisky older than 30y, but nothing younger than 30y.

NAS, quite simply, stands for “No Age Statement.” It’s still a bit of a controversial subject. No age statement simply means that there is no age listed on the bottle itself. By law, if you put an age statement on the bottle then every drop in that bottle has to be at least that age. A 20y scotch is comprised entirely of scotch older than 20 years. Without an age statement, the distiller has more flexibility in what they produce because they aren’t limited by age.

Here is an interesting article about transparency in whisky.

The Glass

Other than something to hold our favorite dram, does it matter which type of glass we use?

It does and it doesn’t. Whisky should be savored slowly, including the aromas which are an integral part of the whisky experience and the shape and style of the glass we use dictates how these aromas are presented to our noses. This is a subjective experience so it’s up to you what kind of glass you’d prefer to use. I always go for the Glencairn as it enhances my scotch experience by providing enough room to smell and taste.

THE REGIONS

Scotland tends to be geographically divided into whisky producing regions. There is often much debate about exactly how many regions there are and whether a particular whisky belongs to one or another region, but I personally work with the following six regions: Lowland, Campbeltown, Highland, Speyside, and Islay.

Lowland

Lowland whiskies are traditionally triple distilled and due to the tall narrow stills which are typically used by this region’s distilleries, tend to be light and more aromatic in character.

Campbeltown

Once a thriving and possibly a major whisky-producing region, but sadly few names now remain.

Highland

Very often, but not exclusively, quite rich-tasting and full-bodied, Highland whiskies offer an insight into the richer, more powerful flavors of Scottish single malts.

Speyside

Home to many of the household names in Scottish single malts and also to about half of all Scottish distilleries, Speyside remains the largest regional producer of single malt whisky. Speyside whiskies typically offer a variety of flavors and are often described as ‘complex’ due to the wonderful combination of flavors one can experience within a single expression. 

Islay

Although also an island, Islay enjoys its own regional categorization due to its typical style of whiskies. Thanks to the unique geology of the island, the resident distilleries produce some of the most distinctive drams, encompassing the strong flavours of peat, smoke, sea, salt and iodine.

Source: http://www.whisky-emporium.com/