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An Introduction to Whisky English (B1 –B2)
Barley, water & a whole lot of goodness
The words highlighted in red are very important for your whisky vocabulary.
If you look at any bottle of Scottish single malt whisky, you will see one of the following four names on the label: Speyside, (Isla) West Coast, Highland or Lowland. These are the four areas of Scotland where whisky production is centralised. Whilst each area produces whiskies from exactly the same ingredients, and have different with basic characteristics… from the sherry notes of Speyside to the smoky aromas of the West Coast… whiskies can have wildly different tastes and individualities. So how can you get so many different flavours from the same 3 basic ingredients of water, barley and yeast? Well, it’s all down to the process of making it.
The Whisky-Making Process
The first ingredient is water, and that is always taken from a small river or burn next to the distillery. The second ingredient is barley – the cereal from which the malt comes from. The barley is soaked in water and then spread over a wide floor in a place called the maltings; malting is the name of the process whereby the wet barley germinates and starts to release sugar (which is later used to make the alcohol). It can be left here to be worked and turned over (an action of similar idea to ploughing, but with a spade or a rake) for up to 3 weeks, and afterwards it is then dried in a large oven.
Peat is used in the fire for the oven, and how much peat used will depend on how smoky the whisky will taste. The West Coast
whiskies are famous for their smoky taste, which is exactly because they use a lot of peat during this heating process.
After the barley has been dried in the oven it is ground into a rough powder-like substance called grist. This grist is then mixed with hot water in a giant circular metal stirring pot called a mash tun; creating a liquid called wort. Yeast is then added to this liquid wort so that it can ferment in another giant circular pot (which can be either metal or wooden) called the wash back. When the wort ferments in the wash back it turns into something very similar to beer (and smells like it too). Then this goes into the distilling process where the alcohol and water are separated – the liquid is normally distilled twice to make a product of anywhere between 60 to 70%
alcohol.
It is this part which is perhaps the most famous part – where the huge orange colour copper stills are used to distil the liquid and get the alcohol. This is exactly where the name distillery comes from – the process of distilling. Interestingly however, the liquid produced during the distillation process can be split into 3 parts – the front, the middle and the back. The curious thing is that only the middle part of what is distilled (called the distillation heart) is used to be turned into whisky, and the final product of this whole mechanical distillation process is called the pure spirit’ or new spirit, and that is what gets put into the wooden casks to be aged and turned into whisky. There are many different sizes of cask, however, there is one size which distilleries and coopers (the people who make and restore the casks) say is best for making whisky, and that size of
cask is called a hogshead (pronounced “hog’s head”).
Whilst the process always remains the same, each distillery has a slightly different way of doing it; from things like the source and quality of the barley, the composition of the water and how the malted barley is dried, to even things like the shape of the copper stills and the exact point when to take the distillation heart. All these different factors combined give very different clear spirits ready for the cask, and it is inside the cask where the magic happens.
Into the Cask…
These wooden casks are usually made of oak, and will normally have held another alcohol in them – typically bourbon or sherry, but clear spirit also commonly goes into completely new casks.
However, the distillery must be very selective in which casks they use, not just for which kind of whisky they want to produce, but also because they cannot afford to make any mistakes. Just one bad cask can give the finished whisky a hint of sulphur, and giving someone that to drink will make them think twice about buying from the same distillery!
So, what gives the whisky its unique flavour is the barley used, how much peat is used to heated, and the shape of the copper still used in the distillery. But, it is the kind of casks and how long the whisky is aged in them which makes the real difference to the flavour and colour in the end. Interestingly, over the years, about a quarter of the whisky in the cask evaporates, and that is what we call the
angels’ share
Speyside whiskies for example are famous for their sherry taste, and that is because they traditionally favour sherry casks. If you really want to smell the type of wood and type of cask used for the whisky you are drinking, pour a little drop onto your hand, rub them together, leave it for about 10 seconds and then cusp your hands together and smell inside! Speyside distilleries also use a lot less peat when drying their barley, which is why they don’t tend to have a very smoky taste.
Tips for buying and trying a good whisky
Firstly, read around – look on the internet, find some books or a whisky bible (which has the tasting notes, reviews and opinions on hundreds of different whiskies). You will see that a few names keep coming up as standard good ones. Normally 8 years is the minimum aging for decent whisky, so beware of anything less than that. Age, however, is not always an indicator of good whisky, and therefore, neither is price. The colour can also tell you something.
Generally, a good rule-of-thumb is that if a whisky is dark it will have a deep flavour and have notes of fruit cake, caramel and spices. If the whisky is light it will generally have more bright flavour, with things like citrus, pear and perhaps vanilla. The best thing to do to find good whisky is try a lot of different kinds! When you find a distillery which makes a whisky you like, try some other ones that it produces as they will all have the same basic characteristics. If you like smoke – go West Coast, if you don’t - go
Speyside. The more whiskies you try, the more you know what kind of thing you like… and what you don’t!
How you drink the whisky is also very important – never put ice cubes in it because cooling the whisky with ice cubes essentially kills it. And never ever mix it! Whisky is best drunk when warmed by the heat of your hands because that unlocks all the different flavours and characteristics hidden inside. It unlocks the fruits, the spices, the senses and the imagination. However, it is quite common to add a drop of water into it, because this can further bring out the different flavours and tastes, and we say this opens up the whisky, especially if it is very strong. When you have a cask strength whisky for example (anywhere between 55% to 62%) it is sometimes a good idea to do that because it can otherwise be a bit overpowering... and for some people it will put them straight to bed.
Cheers!
Now answer TRUE or FALSE to the following statements.
1. The three basic ingredients are water, malt & yeast.
2. A note in whisky tasting means it ‘sings’.
3. Whiskies get a taste of smoke from the peat used when drying the barley.
4. The barley is dried first, and then malted.
5. Wort is the liquid which is fermented in the wash back.
6. Grist is also a liquid.
7. The alcohol comes from sugar.
8. You can take any of the three parts of the alcohol to make the new spirit.
9. Casks rarely have already had another kind of alcohol in them.
10. A good way to smell the wood of a whisky is to dip your finger in it.
11. A 5 year old whisky would be too young.
12. A dark coloured whisky should normally have strong lemon or grapefruit notes in it.
13. Using your hands to warm a whisky is a good idea.
14. It is ok to put ice cubes in cask strength whiskies.
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________
4. __________
5. __________
6. __________
7. __________
8. __________
9. __________
10. __________
11. __________
12. __________
13. __________
14. __________
Answers
1. FALSE The basic ingredients are water, barley & yeast.
2. FALSE The term note is a specific characteristic of a whisky’s taste.
3. TRUE Peat is used in the oven’s fire, and that’s where the smoke comes.
4. FALSE The barley is malted first, and then dried.
5. TRUE
6. FALSE Grist is the powder to which hot water is added, which makes the wort.
7. TRUE
8. FALSE The middle part (distillation heart) is used to make the new spirit.
9. FALSE That helps create the specific flavour of the whisky.
10. FALSE You should rub a little into your hands.
11. TRUE
12. FALSE A light coloured whisky tends to have these flavours (notes).
13. TRUE
14. FALSE Never put ice cubes in any whisky… unless it is a cheap blend, and you are not in Scotland.
Your score:
12 - 14: You are a connoisseur. Cheers!
9 - 11: You could advise people in the super-market 6 - 8: You shouldn’t advise people in the super-market
3 - 5: You have probably had a ‘scotch on the rocks’ at least once before 0 - 2: You are a brandy drinker, non?
