WHISKY

the name is an English corruption of the ancient name for spirits 'water of life' - which in Scottish and Gaelic is 'uisge beatha' or 'usquebaugh' and sounded to the English ear like 'uishgi' and hence 'whisky'. 'Alcohol' incidentally is an Arabic word.

SCOTCH

means simply that the whisky was distilled and matured in Scotland. Whiskies are made in other countries, notably Ireland and Japan but whiskies they may be, and good ones even, but Scotch they are not. Scotch comes from Scotland.

MALT WHISKY

this indicates that the raw material is barley malt, by itself fermented with yeast and distilled in a pot still. This produced a far superior whisky to the common grain whisky found in blends. Note however that just occasionally quality single grain whiskies can be found.

MALT

is essentially barley which has been allowed to germinate by soaking in water then has been dried by the application of heat. The malting process converts the stored starch into soluble compounds such as sugar maltose and by so doing makes fermentation possible. Drying the malt over a furnace stops the germinating process and lacing the furnace with peat imparts a peaty aroma to the malt.

GRAIN WHISKY

indicates by contrast that the raw material is unmalted barley, wheat or maize produced as a continuous process in a column still. There are eight grain distilleries in Scotland (an older source lists 15 note).

SINGLE MALT

indicates that the whisky was made in only one distillery and has not been blended with any other product from elsewhere. It may however contain whisky from several production batches over a period of up to a couple of years. There are rather fewer than 100 working malt whisky distilleries in Scotland with the dominant concentration in the Spey valley in north-east Scotland around Elgin. A smaller group of particularly characterful malt distilleries exists on the western island of Islay and there used to be a third group centred round Campbeltown. About 120 single malts can be identified.

VATTED MALT

such a malt is a blend of single malts. This produces a product which is more consistent and can be 'tuned' to bring out a particular character. Such whiskies may be less demanding and can form a convenient introduction to the rich and varied world of true single malts. Lovers of malts will argue that it is precisely this inconsistency that gives malt whiskies their charm.

BLENDED SCOTCH

such a whisky contains a variable proportion of blended malt and grain whiskies, commonly about 40% malt: 60% grain. A good quality bend may contain more than 40% malt, a cheap one much less. Many malts may be incorporated in the blend to provide bulk then fine elements of the final taste ('top dressing').

SINGLE WHISKY

such a whisky is the product of a single distillery. Most distilleries produce Scotch Whisky primarily for the purpose of blendung, but many retain some of their production for sale as single whiskies. A single Malt Whisky is the product of one Malt Whisky distillery and a single Grain Whisky is the product of one Grain Whisky distillery.

PROOF

Originally meaning 'of tried strength or quality', this acquired new meaning with the invention of the hydrometer - a floating instrument used to determine the specific gravity of a fluid - in this case an alcohol/water mixture. The definitions were progressively firmed up via published tables but for purposes of argument, British 'proof spirit' contains 57.1% alcohol by volume or 49.28% alcohol by weight at 51 deg F. American proof spirit by contrast contains 50% alcohol by volume at 60 deg F. 100 deg proof British spirit therefore corresponds to 114.2 def proof in the USA, similarly American 100 deg proof spirit is 87.7 deg proof British. On this scale incidentally pure alcohol rates 175 deg proof (British).

CASK STRENGTH

Newly distilled malt whisky is generally 115-120 deg proof as it comes off the still. It is generally watered down and bottled at 70 deg proof for the domestic British market.

SACCHARIFY

to saccharify means to convert to sugar.

DIASTASE

when conditions of temperature and moisture favour germination, the embryo and associated parts of the barley grain secrete a mixture of enzymes commonly known as diastase.

WORT

is the liquid drawn off the mash - tun in which the malted and unmalted cereals have been mashed with warm water Wort contains all the sugars of the malt and certain secondary constituents.

WASH

the wort or mash technically becomes wash as soon as yeast is added to start fermentation However, the term is usually used to refer to the liquid at the end of the fermentation. It IS the wash which forms the raw material of the first distillation in the Pot Still process and of the only distillation in Patent Still process.

WORM

the worm and its surrounding bath of cold running water, or worm-tub, form together the condenser unit of the Pot Still process of manufacture. The worm itself is a coiled copper tube of decreasing diameter attached by the Iyne arm to the head of the Pot Still and kept continuously cold by running water. In it the vapours from the still condense. Fed by the still, it in turn feeds the receiving vessel with the condensed distillate.

LOW WINES

this is the name given to the product of the first distillation in the Pot Still process of manufacture.

POT ALE

alternatively burnt ale, is the liquor left in the Wash Still after the first distillation in the Pot Still process, i.e. it is the residue of the wash after the extraction by distillation of the low wines.

FORESHOTS

is the term applied to the first fraction of the distillate received during the distillation of the low wines in the Spirit Still used in the Pot Still process of manufacture.

FEINTS

is the name given to the third fraction of the distillate received from the second distillation in the Pot Still process.

SPENT LESS

are the residue in the Spirit Still after the distillation of the foreshots, potable spirits and feints. They are usually treated and run to waste.

DRAFF

is the spent grain left in the mash - tun after liquor, wort, has been drawn off.

RYE WHISKY

is produced both in the United States and Canada but the name has no geographical significance. Rye Whisky by definition must be produced from a grain mash of which not less 51% is rye grain.

BOURBON WHISKY

must be produced in the United States.