" Uisge Beatha ". The Water of Life
Whisky is made the world over - Canada, the USA, Japan, the Isle of Man, Australia, Jamaica, India and Germany, but most famously in Scotland and Ireland as are other fine spirits such as Tequila, Rum, Vodka. But by far and away the finest of all Spirits are Cognac and Scotch Whisky.
It is only since the 1980's that Whisky has made an impression upon the discerning market that here is a drink that can compare with the finest brandies for after dinner drinking for variations of palate and style. Brandy is made from fruits, Whisky is made from grain and the finest grains makes the finest Whiskies. Hence a Single Malt has within it the finest malted barley, made into a a beer and distilled to a spirit. Added to the original maltings are distinctions of taste, due to water supplies, the methods of drying / heating the barley, the storage containers for the finished spirits such as sherry casks and the length of time of maturation within the cask. Thus a multitude of variables can produce a multitude of subtleties with Scotch, within an area of Scotland and even within a specific Distillery, although this tend to be infinitesimal so that only a very experienced blender would appreciate the nuances contained within the spirit. We will describe the making of Whisky as follows after dismissing the quality of blended spirit which is aimed at a mass market and by force requires the same product to be produced month after month for people with brand loyalty and for manufacturers with market share, profits, dividends and shareholders to protect. Nothing wrong with that but we will be talking about the whisky that invites exploration, encourages a degree of risk taking and rejects blandness and the implantation of colourings not found in the original product. Blended Whisky is just that, a blend of a number of different Whiskies including Whiskies made from grains other than Barley such as Rye, Wheat and Corn. Blends can include as many as 40 plus different Whiskies, and only contain as little as 5% of Malt Whisky. In defference to the requirements of consistency mentioned above the strength of blended whiskies very rarely differs from the standard of 40% alcohol by volume. By contrast Malt Whisky can be obtained in strengths of 40%, 43%, 46%, and such strength as "Cask" which is pure Whisky from the Distillery bottled from the Cask and labelled with the strength at which it has matured over the years. This can be in the region of 58% to 62% abv. and is for the very experienced drinker, the very brave drinker or somebody who whishes to take a serious challenge but is intelligent enough to know that such a pure water as may be desired to make the drink as palatable as he or she required. The writers personal view is that no water should be added to any Single Malt Whisky as this dilutes the original tastes and aromas but you may have different views and find your own personalized method of enjoying the World's finest and variable spirits.
So
how is it made?
Whisky is made from Barley, Yeast
and water, and thats it. Three of natures basic natural ingridients,
but being totally natural they are three ingridients that given a
little human help interact with each other in such a way as to produce
a widely different flavoured end product. Water. The only treatment used
in the preparation is filtration so that the water that has run off the
hillside or soaked through the peat bogs has the flavours of the
locality within it and passes this on to the Barley and the spirit.
Barley. The finest Barley is used and is malted and ground
to a meal called grist before being converted to beer.
Yeast. This is added to the soaking grist to produce
fermentation that is controlled and allowed to progress through a number
of days to completition.
The processes.
Malting. This is the treatment of the Barley to change the starches within the grain to soluble sugars that will eventually react to produce alcohol. The grains are steeped in water and allowed to partially germinate producing tiny little shoots. This process is than stopped by drying with hot air in a kiln-this air may well be produced from burning local peat, which adds some of the traditional flavour to the Whisky. The dried grains are than rolled and ground down to grist. Hence the expression "Grist to the Mill".
Mashing. This is the soaking of the grains in warm water inside a mush-tun in which the liquid is allowed to rest during which time the final conversion of starch into sugar takes place naturally. The liquid, known as "wort" is recycled up to four times.
Fermentation. The wort is than fed into a vessel which converts the sugars into alcohol using yeasts. Wooden vessels are used so that a continuance of flavour is maintained and yeasts is also maintained through natural growth. Yeast is a living organism and can be propagated again and again thus ensuring a continuance from an original source.
Distillation. After distillation the wort is boiled and distilled. Alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water so that vapour is given off by the alcohol before the water boils. This vapour is than cooled, run off and collected as finished spirit. The traditional pot still of Scotland is a familiar sight on tourist posters. There is a process of not using the first third or the last third of the distilletion but re using this material at a later stages. This is all part of the distillers art and goes long way to producing individual Malt Whiskies.
Maturation. Thi is basically the storage of Whisky in Casks. Legally a Whisky must mature for a minimum of three years in Casks before it is released. That is a bald and technical definition. However, at this point the fantasy and joy of fine Whiskies take over. Then the longer the Whisky stays in the Cask, the longer nature has to work on the original basic material, the surrounding air in the warehouse may be peat flavoured wiyh heather overtones, it may be besides the sea thus intriducing salty flavours as in the Islay or Campbelltown malts. The wood itself may have originally contained sherry, port or madeira. The wood breaths and some spirit is lost in the atmosphere, this is known as the " Angels share" and as I have never seen an inebriated Angel, they are obviosly conservative in the amounts they take. Thus flavours are injected and ejected during a period of time-this time is not definable as some Whiskies are at their best at 10 to 15 years old and some go on to 25 years without any form of deterioration.
It has to be said though that Whisky does not improve in the bottle as flavour does not percolate through glass and without air Whisky reactions do not take place. This is the very best advertisement that I can find for drinking the staff. To paraphrase Beauty is in the glass of the beholder and unlike wives you are allowed to try more than one of Scotland's Beauties.
So " Slainge", go forth and enjoy.
Acknowledgements Michael Jackon / Collins
