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I’m a happy amateur There are most probably people in this room that know much more than I do about whisky. This is my personal take on it, which hopefully will add to even the most seasoned whisky connoisseur. Appreciating whisky is like appreciating art.
Introduction
The intended course
This meeting will aim to introduce people to the world of Single Malt Whisky. I will aim to cover the following areas:
Session 2-5: The whisky regions
The suggested whisky regions I want to cover are: Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, Islay. I can take Islay myself, but intend to have guest speakers for the other regions. Depending on interest, additional sub-regions can be added.
Session 6: Laphroaig
This could be a special half year event where Ken Moodie goes through the history and whiskies from Laphroaig. I haven't spoken to him yet, so this is very tentative. There are 5 “standard” Laphroaigs available: 10 year old 10 year old (cask strength) 15 year old 30 year old 40 year old I could also get hold of single cask Laphhroaig if we wanted.
Session 7: Single cask whisky
This would be the introduction to the next step: single cask whisky. I could do this myself or we can invite The Scotch Malt Whisky Society as guest speakers.
Session 8-11: Misc
Examples can be: Blending your own whisky Understanding the connection between taste and manufacturing process Cask sorcery: wood finishes and single cask variations Around the world: Ireland, Japan and USA. The magic of different whiskies from the same distillery Professional tasting
Session 12: The Single Malt Whisky exam
A big blind test where the participants can get a mock degree if achieving a certain score.
Whisky types
There are a few basic whisky types that most people agree on: o Malt o Rye o Bourbon The rest is really variations, but I’ll quickly go through: o Bourbon o Rye Whisky o Irish Whisky o Japanese Whisky o Single Cask, Single Malt o Single Malt o Vatted Malt o Blended whisky
Bourbon Made from a mash, where the main ingredient is corn (51%-80%). If a mash contains more than 80% corn, then it’s called “corn whisky”. The rest is rye, wheat or other ingredients. It’s distilled to a maximum of 160% US proof (80%). It matures on unused charcoaled oak casks. Straight and Sour mash bourbon o Sour mash: some of the low wines and feints are added to the mash. Note worthy: Jack Daniel’s (and George Dickel) is not regarded as a Bourbon by some: o Charcoal mellowed: the distilled whisky is filtered through a maple-charcoal filter (10 feet high stack of mapled charcoal). o It’s called the Lincoln County Process. Rye Whisky The mash contains more that 51% rye. The other ingredients are normally corn and malted barley. The mash is boiled under pressure and then ferments for a short time before being distilled. Very clean efficient continuous process that produces up to 94.8 very pure alcohol. Matures on cask for at least 3 years (sometimes longer, blend label: shortest maturation). Single grain whisky: o Black Barrel (Girvan Distillery) o The Invergordon (Invergordon Distillery) Canadian whisky can be categorised as Rye whisky
Irish Whiskey Very similar to scotch whisky. Main differences: o Triple distilled o No peating process Only three active distilleries today: o Midleton o Bushmills o Cooley Japanese Whisky Same process as Scotch whisky. First distillery was built 1923 (Shinjiro Torii of Suntory) Production started very late, around 1990. Suntory and Nikki are the biggest players. Single Cask, Single Malt An individual cask. Poured directly onto bottle. Not blended with any other whiskies. Single Malt The produce from a specific year from one single distillery. All casks are blended together. The whisky is normally chill filtered. Water is added to lower the alcohol percentage. Vatted Malt A blend of Malt whisky from several distilleries. Normally mixed together and the allowed to mature together for a shorter period of time. Blended Whisky Several kinds of malt whiskies blended together with Rye Whisky. o “Base Malts” (or “heart of the blend”, normally owned by the distillery themselves, normally low lands and southern highlands). o “Top Dressing” (or “flavouring malts”, the spice, normally Islay and Speyside). o “Packers” (primarily volume, almost not taste - Rye). Quite small part is malt whisky (De luxe whiskies can contain some 45-60% malt whisky). About 94% of all scotch whisky sold in the world today in blended.
The art of tasting
I'll go through the basics of colour, smell and taste, which all are a part of the tasting. I'll talk about glass types, professional tasting, why ice is banned and not the least: the “water no water” debate.
Water and ice
Whisky tastes the best with a temperature between 17 and 21 degrees Celsius. Warmer and it will not be pleasant to drink. Colder and the taste substances will be bound to the liquid and thus not possible to detect. Water will allow the taste substances to develop and gives the whisky a much richer taste. (freshly sprung flower compared to a flower bud). o Normal strength (40-43%): up to 1/3 with water. o Cask Strength (~60%): up to ½ with water Smokiness in a whisky can be very sensitive to water, so be careful when diluting smoky whiskies. Ice lowers the temperature well below the recommended temperature. The result is of course that the whisky barely tastes anything (reason to add ice to Bourbon?).
The glass
The glass should: o Expose the whisky to much air to allow the scent particles to evaporate. o Be narrower towards the top to allow the evaporating alcohol to carry the scent particles. The best glass is a tulip shaped glass, with a reasonable wide lower half and a fairly narrow opening. Other good glasses are wine tasting glasses and it’s even possible to use cognac glasses. The wide straight edged glasses (often called tumblers) are inappropriate to drink whisky from as they don’t allow the aroma and smell to develop well. Some even say that the whisky glass should have a lid as the whisky starts to develop when exposed to air.
Tasting
Professionals do this with an exceptional level of complexity. This includes, colour, viscosity, smell and several sections of taste. The tasting phases are divided into: o Primary Taste (Mouth Feel) [I had: Foreteaste] o Body (Texture) [I had: Initial Taste] o Overall Taste (Palette) [I had: Main Taste] o Finish [I had: After Taste] I’ve reinvented the wheel in good IT spirit: “Not invented here”. My take on this is the highly scientific method called the PECT methodology. o Petzen Envelope Curve Tasting. It turns out that the way I taste whisky is indeed quite close to the way it’s officially done. (I just had to change my original names for the different phases in the tasting. The “proper” way to taste whisky will, if there is interest, be covered at a later course.
Hand out the 6 pre-printed envelope curve papers. The topmost should be a description. Ask them not to flick through the rest. Describe the 4 different phases. Suggest how to take a sip (practice with water): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Sniff. Take a small sip. Whirl it around (back of your tongue). Swallow gently. Whirl around after you’ve swallowed to spread out residues of the whisky. Take time to feel the taste develop. Carefully let air into your mouth.
Glenkinchie – Lowlands
This is the first whisky we’ll taste. I need to go through how we’re going to use the envelope curve for the tasting. Go to the second page which is Glenkinchie. Take the first sip and focus on the very first taste. Write down what you tasted as Primary Taste. Wait for a bit. Drink water. Take another sip. Focus on the taste that comes immediately after the first impression. Write down what you tasted as Body. Wait for a bit. Drink water. Take another sip. Notice the first impression, the second first real taste and then focus on the taste that becomes dominant after 2-3 seconds. 8. Take not of what you tasted as Palette. 9. Wait for a bit. Drink water. 10. Take another sip. Recognise the first impression, the second impression, the main taste, swallow and then let some air into your mouth. 11. Take note of what you tasted as Finish. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Started out in very small scale, but was officially named Milton Distillery 1825, when the production ramped up. It was named Glenkinchie Distillery 1837 by the licensees John and George Rate. The name comes from the name of the stream, Kinchie (de Quincey – owners in the 14th century), that runs in the valley of Glen Kinchie and is a tributary to the river Tyne. Is today owned by United Distillers & Vintners. The malting was done locally until 1968, but the malt is nowadays produced centrally. Glenkinchie is one of the driest and smokiest whiskies from the lowlands. Both the stills are of Lantern Glass Still type, which is quite unusual. The condenser is oddly enough rectangular and is of the worm tub type. The water comes from the stream Kinchie Burn. Very hard water that has been running through grounds with much lime stone. Glenkinchie is part of several blends, such as Dimple. Normal maturation is 10 years, but many other bottlings exists. In 1998, the amontillado sherry finish was introduced.
Overview of the whisky regions
I'll outline the characteristics of the main regions: Lowlands, Highlands, Islay and Campletown. I will focus on what can be expected from a tasting perspective and why that is. I'll then briefly cover the subregions. The bulk of the meeting will be when we go through the six selected regions, that most probably will follow United Distillers “Six Classic Malts” collection. The areas are: Overview Not a precise science, more of a guide. These are not appellation de controlées. Local resources, different climates. Very different sizes and number of distilleries – more focus on taste than numbers. The main regions are: o Lowlands o Highlands o Isle of Islay o Campbeltown Lowlands Southern Scotland. North border is between Firth of Clyde and Firth of Tay. Southern border is England. Severely diminished by overproduction caused by the introduction of the Coffey Still. The area is fertile farm land, with many rivers and lakes. (sometimes referred to as “The Garden of Scotland”). The whisky is quite mild, with a flowery aftertaste. It’s a very good beginner’s whisky, but has enough complexity in it’s sometimes quite sweet taste for the whisky connoisseurs. Known distilleries: 124 Active today: Examples: o Auchentoshan o Glenkinchie Highlands The south border is lowlands and covers the entire Scottish mainland. Many regard the islands (apart from Islay) as being part of the highlands as well. There are some strong and peaty whiskies from this region, but the vast majority is very pure and clean in their taste. Huge area. Has been divided into 5 sub regions: Northern, Western, Eastern and Southern and Speyside.
Sub region of Highlands: Northern Highlands Border: North of Loch Ness and the river Nairn. It’s full, with some hints of sweet, fruity and clean taste. There are some more peaty exceptions, such as Clynelish and Balblair. Known distilleries: 27 Sub region of Highlands: Western Highlands Border: Oban to Fort William Some level of salt and peat. Mild, but fill and sometimes with a hint of tar and smoke. The smallest region in the highlands. Known distilleries: 7 Only two active distilleries: Ben Nevis and Oban Sub region of Highlands: Eastern Highlands Border: Aberdeen (south west), Perthshire (south). Speyside border along the river Deveron, which meets the sea at the coastal town Macduff. Normally quite full, with a fruity and sweet taste. Known distilleries: 23 Sub region of Highlands: Southern Highlands Border: East of Loch Lomond, Pitloch (north), Forfar (east) Similar to the lowland whisky, with a fruity taste with a dry aftertaste. The area of Perthsire is produces a somewhat sweeter whiskey, with a mild, taste of honey and a hint of clover. Known distilleries: 26 Sub region of Highlands: Speyside Border: The western border is along the river Nairn and its eastern border along the river Deveron. Better known as Glenlivet, before WWII. The region is massive from a Whisky perspective: about 70% of all the world’s malt whisky is produced here. Half of all Scotland’s distilleries are here. Very aromatic and full of taste. Ranges from very light to medium, but always very well balanced. The Speyide whisky is normally regarded as the sweetest of all Scotch whisky. It’s not as full as the whisky from other highland regions, but can sometimes have a hint of peat that comes from the water used to produce the mash. Known distilleries: 93
Sneaky attempt: break away region: islands The Islands along the west coast; Jura, Mull, Skye and the Orkney Islands to the north. These Islands have more in common that they don’t fit in anywhere rather than having a common taste or geographic placement. The tastes are very varied, but normally have a pronounced salty, smoky and/or peaty taste. Known Distilleries: 11 Islay West coast of Scotland, part of the Inner Hebrides. Exceptional Island with unique conditions for whisky production. Mild climate with much inland rain. Especially the southern Islay distilleries produce a whisky that have an exceptionally strong taste of peat, iodine, tar and smoke. The other Islay whiskies share the same base taste, but have a lower level of phenols, that gives them a milder but still very full taste. They are not as sweet as the Speyside whisky. Known distilleries: 23 Active today: 7 Campletown The town of Campletown on the southwest part of the Kintire peninsula. Exceptionally salty and somewhat smoky whisky. The town had over 30 distilleries around 1830. Local coal mine (Dumlemble), railway, steam boats, high population close by and appreciated in the states. Prohobition, change in whisky taste, the two world wars and closure of the mine killed off all distilleries but two. Known distilleries:33 Active today: 2 Examples: Glen Scotia and Springbank (Longrow and Hazelburn).
Dalwhinnie – Northern Highlands
Founded 1897-98 by the George Sellar and Alex Mackenzie from Kingussie. Very desolate, but used to be a place where cattle herders rested on their journeys between western and northern highlands. Dalwhinnie is Gaelic for meeting point. Devastating fire 1934, much of the equipment was taken from Towiemore Distillery. Went through a major renovation in 1984: improved the worm tubs and placed the mashtun underneath the pagoda tower (the steam makes it look like it’s active again). The malting used to be done locally, but is now done centrally. The malt is still very lightly smoked and neutral. The mashtun is a semi lauter mashtun in stainless steel. The fermentation takes place in larch tree washbacks using a floating mix of distillers yeast and beer yeast. The distillery only got two still pans of the onion still type with broad necks. Whisky run: o Foreshot: 20 minutes o Middle-cut: 2.5 - 3 hours o Second cut: 2.5 – 3 hours Cold climate, long maturation time: 15 years. Both bourbon and sherry casks of both first fills and refills are used. Dalwhinnie is the base malt for the whisky blend Black & White (It’s also a part of the Buchanan blend). 10% of the production is bottled as 15 year old single malt (Primarily as part of United Distillers Six Classic Malts).
A brief history of whisky
This will briefly cover: the debated origins of whisky, the early whiskies, the booties, the exercise act and a few anecdotes. It will be short and very basic. Distilling Discovered as side effect of Alchemy in the ancient Egypt. The knowledge spread to the Greeks and later to the roman empire. Very popular in the roman empire: Diocletianus (296 AD) tried to ban it. Development continued, especially in Alexandria. Focus on medical appliances. Spread to the Arab world. Picked up by Arabic alchemist and doctors. The distilling process as such is regarded to have been invented in it modern form by Jabir ibn Hayyan (circa 800 AD). The result of the process was called “al-khwl” ( )ال كحولor “al-ghawl” ( ,)ال غولwhich means “fine powder” in Arabic. The crusades brought the technique to europe. The technique was used to create perfume, but experiments soon lead to medical appliances, where wine and later wash was distilled (Arnold de Vilal Nova, circa 1200 AD) Whisky – who invented it? This is simply not known. Ask an Irishman – they invented it and brought it to Scotland. Scotsman – the other way around. The art of distilling most probably came to Scotland with the Scotti. They were migrating from the Kindom of Scotti in Ulster and settled down on the peninsula of Kintyre, which they named Dalradia, hence becoming the Dalradians. It’s very likely that the druids knew the art of distilling long before this. Beer had been made for several thousands years at this time. The making of whisky was most probably invented in the ancient monasteries (especially on the monastery on the island of Iona). The Irish monks were well known for their knowledge in distilling (The Red Book of Ossary” praises the Irish whisky about 500 years ago). First official note: taxation note from June 1, 1494 (selling of 48 bushels (114 kg) malt to the friar John Cor for the production of uisge beatha). Uisgea beatha -> usquebaugh -> Whisky (latin: Aqua Vitae).
The recorded history – taxation Doom and gloom: the taxation act of 1644. (Scotch parliament, 13.3 pence per Scottish pint (1.5 litres, to fund the restoration of the royal troops that had suffered badly). Discontinued 1660, reintroduced 1690. Very small scale up until about 1700 (farm distilleries, more as an extra income). First recorded distillery was the small farm distillery Ferintosh owned by Duncan Forbes of Culloden: 1690 (freed from tax because of service under William of Orange in the war against James in 1689). English alcohol (malt) taxation was introduced 1713 as a part of the union act of 1707 (Islay and Jura missed out – partly because of the Campbell clan). Easily enforced in the lowlands – quality dropped drastically (distilled potatoes and everything they could find). Quality remained high in the highlands as enforcement was much more difficult (fierce bearded incomprehensible warriors in kilts). Inept politicians created more and more ridiculous laws, which lead to a constant deteriorating situation (10% was legal whisky, Edinburgh 1777: 400 illegal bothies and 8 licensed). Excise act of 1823: o Only licensed distilleries with a wash capacity of more than 40 gallons (182 l) o License fee of £10. o A taxation of 11.25 pence per gallon of whisky First license: George Smith farm distillery in Upper Drumin (the valley of Livet). Exceptional development and increase in production. Worth noting: Coffey still pan -> rye whisky, which later lead to the invention of blended whisky (Andrew P Usher, 1853, Edinburgh, George Smith’s agent, “Usher’s Old Vatted Glen Livet”). Worth noting: wine pest lead to move from Cognac casks to sherry in the 1850s. No big taste difference. Skipping through: first world war, the prohibition (Jan 15 1920), second world war and “Food Before Whisky” (movement to reduce whisky production). International break through in the fifties. Increased production and taxation (over 70% of the price is tax). Latest twist: single malt becomes popular main stream drink.
Cragganmore – Speyside
Founded 1869 by John Smith (Director at Macallan, worked at Glenlivet, ran Wishaw, licensee of Ballindalloch and Glenfarclas). Anecdote: 140 kg, didn’t fit in a normal railway carriage seat – had to go in the jail carriage (hence steam engine on the whisky label). Current owner is United Distillers & Vintners. Used to have local peat (dried 1 year outdoors and 3 years indoors before used). Centrally malted malt (lightly peated) of the type Optic. Grinded locally in a Porteus mill. Stainless steel lauter washtun. 6 washbacks made of European larch tree (fermented to about 7 percent). 4 still pans since 1964: o Mash still is of the Lantern Glass Still type o Spirit still is of boiling ball (Reflux Bulge Still) type. Heated by steam coils (oil heated). The Lyne arm is almost at a 90% angle ant the top of the stills are flat, which increases the reflux ratio. The condensers are old style copper spirals in wooden water cooled tubs (worm tubs) placed outside the distillery building. The water used in the process comes from two local wells, Garlane and Coris, which have water that has run through eruptive layers made of for example feldspar. The Whisky mature exclusively on bourbon cask in a Dunnage Warehouse. Was (or is) regarded as “a one” (the highest quality whisky the available for blending). Is used in the blended whisky Old Parr together with Glendullan. The standard bottling is done after 12 years. Single malt is available in: o Cragganmore 12 year old o Cragganmore 20 year old.
The process of making whisky
I'll walk the audience through the process of making scotch whisky. It's easy to get an information overload here, so I'll keep it at a minimum, focusing on the parts which are important to understand why the different single malts tastes as different from each other as they do.
Overview – basics
Whisky is really about a few main steps: 1. Get Barley to grow until it developed enough sugar for sustain the fermentation process. 2. Grind it down and put it in hot water together with yeast. 3. Let it ferment for a few days. 4. Distill the result. 5. Let is mature on casks. 6. Drink it!
Overview – the process
Malting
Barley Is really a grass (Gaminae, specifically Hordeum of the sub species Triticeae) The mostly used kinds are: o Golden Promise o Prisma o Chariot The more starch, the more sugar, the more whisky. Balance between starch and natural taste substances. Golden Promise is being used less and less as it contains less starch. Many distillers are hesitant to switch to new barley with more starch because of the risk of loosing the genuine taste. It was long since the distillers grew their own barley. It’s now even imported from England, Sweden, USA, Australia and Chile. Normally bought at markets in units of 500-2000 metric tones – important to get it right. Testing is nowadays done in laboratories (tests water, protein and amylas concentration). Humidity in Scotch barley is normally around 20%. Humidity should not be over 10% (dried before storage) It can’t be completely dried (living organism - less can damage the barley). More can cause it to rot or start growing. The barley goes through a process called screening (removal of straws and other rubbish). Steeps
To start the internal growth process. The barley is mixed with water in steep tanks (water temp: 14-17 degrees). The growth starts when the inner core contains about 12% water. The process is stopped when the barley contains 40-45% water. Normally takes 2-3 days, depending on barley size, water temperature and the barleys ability to
take up water. The steep water is changed 2-3 times during the process. Some distilleries blows air through the steep tanks (oxygen). It can be dried if it’s over steeped
Malting The process converts starch into sugar. The barley is put in thick layers in the malting building to grow. The process creates heat – must not go over 22 degrees or the barley will burn and die. Regularly turned to give it air and allow the heat to dissipate (about every 8 hour). It’s important to terminate the process before the sugar is used up for the growth process. The process takes 7-12 days, depending on temperature (season) and barley quality. When the process is complete, then it’s called “modified” and should contain: o 8-11% protein o 6-8% hemicellulouse o 8-11% sugar o 58% starch This is no longer called barley, but “Green Malt”. Peat Kiln The process is to terminate the growth process. The green malt is heated up in different ways: o Peat o Coal o Steam heated radiators Peat is from the perspective of taste the most interesting way of heating. Peat has traditionally been used as much of Scotland is more or less barren of trees, while the peat is available in most parts. The very special smell (and later taste) that the drying of peat gives is called peat reek. The strength of the peat reek is defined by the type of peat and the ventilation conditions. About peatiness: The amount of eteric oils (phenols –) taken up from the burning peat. Basic formula: C6H5OH (which is a hydroxide derivate, commonly known as phenols (carbolic acid)). Very similar to alcohol (C2H5O2). The strength is measured in parts per million (PPM). Different whiskies have very different levels of PPM phenols: o Lagavulin, Ardbeg and Laphroaig are all over 50 PPMs. o [more examples!] o … Peat Kiln (continued) The main part of the drying is done over burning coal or hot air. The green malt is spread out in a layer (20-45 cm thick) on a perforated floor. The burning of peat is only used in the beginning when the green malt is wet, as that’s the only time it can take up the particles from the peat smoke. The initial temperature is about 40 degrees and peaks at about 70 degrees at the end of the drying.
The water content is about 2-3% at the end of the drying. It’s important to not heat up the green barley, as this will kill the enzymes that later will take part in the conversion of starch during the fermentation. The green barley is then cooled down and is now called malt. Everything until this stage is today done in what is referred to as central malting facilities. Very few distilleries do this locally today. The characteristics of the malt can clearly be appreciated at this very early stage.
Mashing
Mill The malt is cleaned up in two steps: Dressing and de-stoning o Magnetic cleansing o Mechanical separation based on weight and size (fans and filters) Not too coarse: the malt won’t mix with the water and yeast well enough. Not too fine: the malt might clog up filters and pipes in the mashtun. The perfect balance is called grist.
Mashtun The process is to mix the grist with warm water and extract the wort. The grist is mixed with water in a mashing machine. The mix is normally 1 kilo malt on 5 liters of water. The malt and water should be 65-68 degrees (the water is normally 75 degrees to give the right final temperature). The mix is then put into a mashtun, in which it cools down slowly stirred. It’s then allowed to settle, which will create a thick layer at the bottom of the mashtun. Then the lower of the two bottoms is lowered, allowing the finer particles and water to pass through the upper, perforated bottom into the wort receiver. It’s important to do this slowly and allow the mix to settle properly to avoid a so called collapsed mash incident, which is a messy business (retry, bit failing again: shovels). The filtered substance is called the wort and will be used in the fermentation. The process is repeated up to three times with the same mix (no lower than pH 6). Regarding the water The big debate. How it trickles through the peat, mountains, lakes and so on. Regarded as quite important in whiskies with low levels of phenols. Personally: it doesn’t affect the taste of the whisky to any great degree. EU regulations have rejected many local water sources. Many distillers have been forced to use EU approved sources: read: tap water.
Fermentation
Washback Normally contains 9000-45000 litres. Wood or aluminum. Wood is need more work (washing etc), but is most probably contributing more to the final result as it contains bacteria and other substances. Aluminum is easier to clean and allows much finer control over the fermentation process. Changing type is a risky business, especially since it may take until after the whisky has matured until the change in taste becomes apparent. There are normally two kinds of yeast used in combination: Distiller yeast and beer yeast. Distillers yeast: o Produces very clean alcohol. o Normal brands are: DCL(M) and Mauri. Beer yeast: o Produces alcohol with quite a few additional substances that contributes to the taste. o Normal brands are: Courage and Newtons. More and more distilleries now use only distiller yeast (claim: contaminations, truth: more alcohol). Some distilleries prepare the yeast with water a few days before it’s mixed with the wort. The yeast is mixed with the wort in the washback. Sometimes the fermentation is kicked off by pumping air through the mix. The fermentation should be visible within 12 hours. The process creates alcohol and carbon dioxide from starch: C6H12O6 -> 2C2H6O + 2CO2 + 90Kj The temperature is normally as high as 32 degrees at the end of the fermentation (never above 32 degrees – nasty substances called “off notes”). Time is as varied as 44 – 144 hours (amount of bacteria in equipment main contribution factor). When the process is done, the alcohol content is 7-8%. The mix is now called wash and is will be ready to be distilled after at least 48 hours rest.
Distillation
Potential introduction: The still pans role in the taste. Walk the audience through the illustration. Start with the wash still. Wash still: low wines run: The wash is pumped (wash charger) into the wash still, and is normally pre-heated to 30 degrees (fuel consumption and keep the radiators in the still clean). The wash is heated until the small hatch in the exit pipe in the wash safe starts to flap. Then the wash still is “coming in” (the wash is now boiling, getting rid of primarily carbon dioxide). Foam rises in the wash back. There are small windows (sight glasses) on the upper part of the wash still that allows the still man to make sure the foam doesn’t make it into the wash safe (foul distillation, cleaning, unlocking, distillery director). Previsously, this was done by a banging a wooden ball against the wash still to see how high the foam had gone, hence the old title “ball man” rather than “still man”. When the foam has risen as high as possible, then the temperature is lowered to 82 degrees until the carbon dioxide has boiled away. The temperature is then raised to 94 degrees, which causes the wash to gently boil.
Water alcohol and other substances rises up and out through the lyne arm to the condenser. The condenser cools down gas and steam into a liquid mix that is called low wines and is run through the wash safe into the LW/Feints receiver. Initially low temperature (15-20 degrees) and about 55% vol alcohol Different substances boils at different temperatures, lowest first -> the temperature raises. The still man shuts off the heat when the alcohol is about 1-2%. Remaining in the wash still is about 2/3 of the wash (burnt ale/pot ale). Used as fodder pellets or fertilization. The main hatch is opened before the lower valve is opened – risk for collapse. Spirit still: spirit run: The low wines (and feints/fore shots from earlier spirit runs) is pumped into the spirit still. It’s heated up quicker than the in the wash still. Flapping of lid in spirit safe indicates the early boiling. First part: fore shot (15-45 minutes). o Contains remnants from previous runs. o Will become opaque with water added. o If the dimming test fails, then it’s called “a blank run” – oils from the LW/Feints receiver has made it into the spirit still. o When time is known, then the end of the fore shot is done on time (time on foreshots”). Switch-over: describe Sprit Safe Middle part: middle cut “heart of the run”. o This is what becomes whisky. o Sometimes much less than 30%. o Spirit still is run as gently as possible (temperature lowered to give condenser “max reflux”) Last part: second cut o When is decided by when a certain alcohol level has been reached (from high to low). o What really defines the character of the whisky. o Similar to low wines run (1-2% vol alcohol before turning off heat). o The remainder is washed out. The final result is then tested before its put together with the other runs in the spirit receiver. The testing is still done mainly through sniffing it (so called “long noses”). The spirit is mixed with water (normally the local water source) to between 63.5% to 68.5. It was found that 64% gave the best results in the 1960s. The cask is sniffed to make sure its clean and not mouldy. The cask is washed with warm water (the water is checked to make sure not too much of the taste substances are washed away). The cask is weighed before it’s filled to allow the staff to keep very accurate record of how much spirit is put on each cask.
Maturation
Cask Used casks (bourbon from the US or sherry from Spain are most common). Oak of the type Quercus Alba (97%). No bigger than 700 litres. o Normal size: hogshead (about 250 l, sometimes up to 305 l). o Other sizes are (Spanish): Gorda (600 l), Butt (500 l) and Pipe (500l) o US standard is 60 US gallons (40 Imperial gallons, 180 l). Hogshead most common but other size than US casks: remade o Disassembled, shipped re-assembled with a few new pieces of wood -> 250 l. First fill, second fill and refill (lifetime of 40-60 years, 100 in very rare cases). Finish – rum, Madeira, port wine and sometimes normal Spanish wine. The cask types role in the taste: [To be written – page 121 in the whisky book] Maturation Bonded warehouse: [Details of bonded warehouse needs to be added.] Quite cold. Black fungus living on the fumes inside and outside – a sign of good environment. Angel share – 5% first year, thereafter 1-2%. Maturation: minimum 3 years, normally less than 15. More than 15 isn’t necessarily better.
Bottling
Blending Normally, all whisky from the same year is blended together. Some casks are kept to be enjoyed as so single cask single malt. Bottling For cost reasons, the whisky is normally sent off to central bottling facilities (typically Leith, Glasgow and Elgin). Horror 1: Chill filtering. o Addition of water can give chill haze. o Cooled down to +5 degrees (sometimes to -10) to isolate the substances causing the chill haze. o The whisky is then pumped through filters (chill filtering). o Yes, taste is of course lost! Horror 2: the whisky is normally blended with normal tap water. Some casks are kept to be enjoyed as so single cask single malt. For cost reasons, the whisky is normally sent off to central bottling facilities (typically Leith, Glasgow and Elgin).
Oban – Western Highlands
The Oban distillery was built by the Stevenson brothers in 1794 and received its license in 1797. Its current appearance is from 1884 when James Walter Higgins renovated and rebuilt the distillery. The local malting seized in 1968, and the malt is now from central malting facilities. The distillery got three mashtuns and four washbacks [wood?] The fermentation takes 2 days and produces a wort of 8 percent. The stills are steam heated onion stills. Only refilled bourbon casks are used for the maturation. The water is quite peaty and comes from two wells in Ardconnel (Loch Gleann a’Bhearraidh), which is a moor about 2 km east of the distillery. The whisky normally matures for 14 years (this used to be 12 years in the past). The whisky matures in central bottling facilities in Glasgow (de-chalked tap water). A double matures (mantilla fino sherry finish) was introduced 1998. Known bottlings: o Oban 14 year old. o Oban 21 year old. o Glenforsa (quite young, available during a shorter period of time from an private bottler). o Oban 1980 double mature
Laphroaig – Islay
Built by Alexander and Donald Johnston 1810, but the official year is given as 1815. Donald Johnston wasn’t registered in the Custom & Excise books until 1826. Noteworthy: Donald Johnston died when falling into a vat of burnt ale (after which the distillery was run on license by the neighbouring Lagavulin Distillery). About 30% of the malt is done locally [hand out the malt from Laphroaig]: o 4 Malting floors (7 tonnes of malt on each, 45 cm thick) o 28 tonne of barley for each week. o The peat used comes from Glenmachrie Moss (close to Port Ellen airport). o Cut by hand, stacked on site in April and moved to the distillery for drying in August. o The green malt drying in the two kilns takes 15 hours. o The malt will hold about 25 ppm phenols. o The remainder of the drying is done by hot air. Laphroaig uses a modern stainless steel lauter mashtun (capacity of 8.5 tonnes). Fermentation takes 45 hours and is done in six 42,000 litre washbacks. 3 wash stills and 4 spirit stills. The wash stills are onion stills and the spirit stills are lantern stills. The water comes from a stream that comes from Kilbridge Dam, which provides drainage for the peat north of the road north of Laphroaig (half is rain water and half is spring water). Maturation exclusively on 4 year old bourbon casks, normally for 10 years. The casks are place in local dunnage warehouses (the waves reaches the one closes to the sea. Laphroig is part of the blends Ballentine’s, Black Bottle, Long John and Teacher’s. Typical bottlings: o Laphroaig 10 year old o Laphroaig 10 year old cask strength (57.3%) o Laphroaig 15 years old o Laphroaig 30 years old o Laphroaig 40 years old
Talisker – Skye
Originally built 1830, but was moved a rebuilt two times before it was built at its final location at the Loch Harport beach in 1843. Built by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill from Heigg and is the only distillery on the island. The distillery’s name comes from a farm outside the village of Carbost that in it’s turn got the name Talisker from the hill which is called “Talamh Sgeir” in Gaelic. The malt is produced at the Glen Ord Central Maltings since 1972, when the local mal house was torn down. The malt is quite heavily smoked at 25 ppm phenols. The mashtuns are interestingly enough made of cast iron (similar to those of Lagavulin). Talisker was actually triple distilled until 1928 (but still quite smoky and peaty). There are two boiling ball wash stills and three smaller onion spirit stills. The entire still house was destroyed in an accident 1960 and everything, including the stills, has been reconstructed from scratch (someone left a hatch open on one of the spirit stills). The water runs down from Hawk Hill into the distillery’s local well, called Carbost Burn on the slope of Cnoc Nan Speirag (Stockveil Hill). The water is exceptionally peaty and almost red from iron contents. The water supply is nowadays very scarce, which is cause for major concern (slagruta: divining-rod, dowsing rod ajd. divine dowse). Talisker used to be bottled at 8 years, but the standard is now 10 years. It’s also available with a sherry finish (Amaroso sherry finish). Standard bottlings: o Talisker 8 years old o Talisker 10 years old o Talisker 14 years old o Talisker 1986 Double Matured