The whiskies of the Scots are known world-wide for their mature, subtle flavors that Scottish distilleries have been producing for centuries. Understanding how their whiskey is made will help you appreciate sampling the many varieties of fine spirits that are brewed with loving care from ingredients native to Scotland.
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Barley and Water
The brewing process begins when barley grains are spread out across the floor of the malting house to be steeped in water. As the grains sprout they are turned with paddles that causes the starches in the barley to break down into sugars. When the mixture is just right, the barley is poured into hot, peat-fired kilns to stop the germination and prepared for the next step.
Grist, Mash & Wort
When the barley is dried, it is milled to produce the grist which is mixed with hot water to produce a mash. This mixture is transferred to a mash tun and pails made of pine or cypress are used to draw the wort. It is set aside in wooden washbacks where the fermentation process begins.
Wash & Distillate
The fermenting mash is moved to copper pot stills where the spirits go through a series of steps, first producing low wines and eventually top quality whiskies. The results are tested and the brews moved into casks were they can mature. Usually the barrels selected for maturation have previously been used for other alcohols such as bourbon, sherry, port or rum.
Cask & Bottle
Unlike wine, whiskey only matures in the cask and not in the bottle. Because they spend so long in the cask each year, up to 2% of the spirits will evaporate, which is called “the Angels’ share.” This is one reason that whiskey that has matured longer is considered more valuable.
Tasting Whisky
When you settle back to enjoy a glass of find Scottish whiskey, there are a few tips you can use to make the most of experience. First, watch how the whiskey swirls in your glass and note the colour and how the whiskey flows down from the lip of the glass –ideally it should form a teardrop shape that forms ” legs.” You can tell the age of the whiskey by how slowly the teardrops form and how far apart the legs are in the glass.
To correctly sample the first taste of the whiskey, you’ll want to judge the ” mouth feel” or mellow sensation, which indicates how expertly the distiller has aged his product. Since the aroma can take awhile to spread through your face, hold it in your mouth until you feel the vapors move into your nose, so you can smell what you are tasting.
You can swirl the whiskey around your palette to detect the many flavors and subtle undertones of the region where it was distilled.
Finally, you’re ready to swallow the whiskey, which is referred to as the ” finish” of the experience. This is when you finally get to enjoy the full beauty of all that goes into making a fine blended Scotch whiskey.
