Know About Whiskey

Despite whiskey’s incredible surge in popularity lo these past 10-15 years, most people honestly can’t tell their whisky from their whiskey or their blends from their single-malts. If you’re going to buy into the hype that dad needs a bottle of the brown stuff for his special day, he (and you) should at least understand what it is you’re drinking. Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about whiskey (or is it whisky?).

What’s with that pesky “E?”

Historically, the prime whisky-making territories of Scotland and Canada spelled the word “whisky” and the Irish rebels added an “E” because the word translates differently from Irish Gaelic than from Scottish, though why Americans adopted the Irish form despite both Scots and Irishmen flooding the young nation in the 18th century is unclear. For a long time, these comprised the only four nations that mattered to the whiskey-consuming world, though the rare foreign producer did follow the Scottish naming convention. While the rule still holds true, whiskey nomenclature has grown more complicated with production thriving in new-world countries like Japan, India and Australia, which all eschew the E.

Personally, I follow the protocol of my brown liquor mentor, Lew Bryson, author of ‘Tasting Whiskey,’ by identifying the liquid according to its country of origin or using the E when referencing it generally because, well, I’m American. Fun fact: The plural of whiskey is “whiskeys” while the plural of whisky is ‘whiskies.’ Now you know.

Barrels are seen outside the Auchentoshan Distillery, a Single Malt whisky distillery, on the outskirts of Glasgow on December 12, 2016. While most of Scotland voted against leaving the European Union, whisky makers have quietly been raising a wee dram to a side-effect of the Brexit vote -- a plunge in the value of the pound. The currency devaluation has made exports cheaper, generating a bump since 90 percent of Scotch whisky is sold outside Britain, although the industry warns the longer-term outlook is far more cloudy. 

You don’t spell it, Son, you drink it. So why don’t you just tell me what I need to know?

There are two main types of whiskey: malt and grain. Malt whisky comes primarily from Scotland, is made exclusively from fermented malted barley and gets distilled in pot stills. A single malt designation occurs when the product uses malt whisky from just one distillery.

Grain whiskey can combine base ingredients, from barley to corn to wheat to rye, and can be distilled in a pot or column still. These grains may or may not be malted. Again, a blended whiskey is the name given to liquid that mixes these grains rather than sticking with a single one.

However, “Blended Malt Scotch is a marriage of only single malts from different Scottish distilleries, creating an orchestra flavour, quite different from Blended Scotch,” explains Ewan Henderson, global brand ambassador for The Lost Distillery in Scotland.

Pot vs. column?

Allow me to steal borrow quote liberally from the venerable Whiskey Wash website here, as its explanation is as clear as they come.

A pot still at its simplest consists of a large kettle or pot which is heated from the bottom, boiling off the alcohol and allowing the vapors to be sent to a condenser and separated. With column distillation, the mash enters near the top of the still and begins flowing downward. This brings it closer to the heating source, and once it’s heated enough to evaporate, the vapor rises up through a series of partitions known as plates or stripping plates. … The most important point of difference between pot stills and column stills is that pot stills operate on a batch by batch basis, while column stills may be operated continuously.

What are the main whiskey producing regions, AKA where’s Islay and how the do I pronounce it?

Okay, here’s where the confusion really sets in. As I said, whiskey traditionally originates in Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the U.S., with Japan and India very recently surging ahead at full speed. But many varieties exist within those regions, particularly Scotland and America. So here’s how things break down.

Scotland – As the Master of Malts website notes, Scotch regions don’t define themselves quite as neatly as wine regions. Though certain characteristics do tend to describe each one, Scotch can’t be counted on to reflect its terroir every time.

The Highlands – As the largest region in Scotland, covering most of the northern part of the country, Highlands Scotch varies quite a bit. Most finish dry but that’s where the comparisons end. West Highlands Scotch starts sweet, while North Highlands Scotch tends toward the spicy. Other Highlands Scotches are generally slightly sweet and light. Glenmorangie is arguably this region’s most famous export.

Islay – Scotches from this western island’s handful of distilleries are not for the uninitiated. When you think of smoky (AKA peaty) Scotches, they’re generally grown here and get their peat intensity from the naturally occurring moss that distillers use as fuel to malt the barley. Ardbeg, Bruichladdich, Lagavulin and Laphroaig all hail from Islay, which is pronounced EYE-lah.

Campbeltown – Only three distilleries still operate on this southwestern peninsula and none have become famous here across the pond. Maybe they should, considering Master of Malt describes the single malts as “very distinctive, tending to be full bodied, renowned for their depth of flavour and also for their slightly salty finish. With peat adding a hint of flavour similar to that found in an Islay malt.”

Speyside and The Islands – Though both of these territories are officially subdivisions within The Highlands, they factor heavily in the production of Scotch. Speyside, in the northeastern corner of Scotland, boasts more distilleries than anywhere else in the country, with bold-faced names like Glenfiddich, The Macallan, Balvenie and Glenlivet making their home here. Six western landmasses comprise The Islands region, which produces softly peated Scotch influenced by the sea and salty air. Arran is probably the best-known among these brands.

The U.S. – Home to bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, along with rye, corn, wheat, moonshine and others, the U.S. has been producing its own since the earliest days of American immigration.

Bourbon - of course, is the most widely recognized but it does not, contrary to conventional wisdom, have to be produced in Kentucky. To qualify as legal bourbon under federal law, the liquid must be made in the U.S., contain at least 51% corn and be aged in new charred oak barrels for a minimum of two years.

Tennessee - whiskey, on the other hand, does need Tennessee roots (since 2013, when the Volunteer State became the first to obtain its own designation) and should be filtered through charcoal. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same as bourbon. Jack Daniels falls into this category.

Everything else - is a hodge-podge. Legal classifications dictate how much grain needs to go into a product before it can identify itself with it. Rye, for example, has to make up at least 51% of a rye whiskey’s mash bill. White whiskey, otherwise known as ‘moonshine’ or ‘white dog,’ is simply unaged whiskey. It’s clear in appearance because it hasn’t sat in the barrels that give most whiskeys their brown color.

Canadian whisky – There’s one qualification for Canadian whiskey: it must be fermented, distilled and aged in Canada. Though rye has been most closely associated with Canadian distillers, they do use other base malts, too, and typically ferment, distill and age each one separately then blend the liquids together at the end. Crown Royal, Canadian Club and Seagram’s are those most commonly found south of the border.

Irish whiskey – Who hasn’t heard of Jameson, Tullamore Dew and Bushmills? The recent success of these three Irish whiskey producers helped bring the industry back from the brink of annihilation after various forces combined to decimate it throughout most of the 20^thWith its lighter flavor – commonly derived from blending malts and grains -- Irish whiskey proves easy on the lips and conducive to many a shot at so-called ‘Irish’ bars around the globe.

Japanese, Indian and other whiskies 

Japan - Over the past decade or so, international whiskey drinkers have caught on to the fact that Japan makes some of the best Scotch- and (to a lesser extent) bourbon-style liquors in the world. Suntory, the mega-distiller that bought Jim Beam and its many associated brands, is a Japanese company.

India – Though not many have made it to America, India produces more whisky than any other country and consistently wins top awards for its quality. Interestingly, India distills most of its liquid from molasses instead of grains so the European Union doesn’t recognize it as whisky. Despite that, The Whisky Exchange claims this nation makes eight of the top 10 bestselling whiskies in the world.

Elsewhere – Thanks in part to the global whiskey boom, Australia now makes a good bit, as does Scandinavia and South Africa. Most New World whisky countries don’t regulate the definition of whisky, so they can generally be of any style and use any type of production methods.

Ok, I sort of get it. So are older whiskeys better than younger ones?

Not necessarily. Something that’s been aged a long time tends to get viewed as more special because it’s taken up space in a distillery, sometimes for decades or even generations. And whiskies pick up more flavors from the barrel (think wood, caramel, vanilla, etc…) the longer they age, and that’s considered a good thing. But bourbon doesn’t age as well as Scotch so age statements (the age of the liquid, as displayed on the bottle) on bourbon can mislead a novice buyer into thinking older is better, and because an age statements can only be as high as the youngest liquid in a blend, they don’t always tell the whole story. Plus, with producers rushing to meet demand, they’re whisking product out the door and not aging some like they used to. So even some of Scotland’s most noble distilleries are doing away with age statements because they don’t want to broadcast the fact that their liquid may only be aging for the minimum required time or a few short years beyond.

What whiskeys are used in some of my favorite drinks?

Thank The Drinks Business for running a Google analysis on the most searched-for whiskey cocktails of 2016 and presenting us with their ingredients. Here are a few of the classics, listed in descending order of popularity.

Old Fashioned: Bourbon or rye, Angostura bitters, sugar, water

Manhattan: Rye or Canadian whiskey, sweet red vermouth, Angostura bitters

Whiskey Sour: Bourbon, egg white, lemon juice, simple syrup

Sazerac: Rye whiskey, absinthe, Peychaud’s bitters and a sugar cube.

Mint Julep: Bourbon, fresh mint, sugar and water over ice

Rob Roy: Scotch, Drambuie

Lynchburg Lemonade: Jack Daniel’s, triple sec, Angostura bitters, lemon juice, simple syrup, soda water

Rob Roy: Scotch, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters

Journey of Whiskey

Journey of Whiskey

Whiskey history is a long, adventurous story, and many brave people fought to keep the drink flowing along the way. Fittingly, some exact dates were forgotten (whiskey was involved, after all), but this timeline will help you grasp the basics and understand its origin; who played key roles in the history of distilling, how whiskey came to be, how it evolved to be the whiskey / bourbon / rye / scotch we know today, and some fun little annals of history.

The History of Whiskey

2000 BC

Arguably, the art of distillation was founded in ancient Mesopotamia (the modern day equivalent is an area covering parts of Iraq and Syria), often used as a way to produce perfumes and aromatics.

100 AD

Here we find the first written record of distilling. Ancient Greek philosopher Alexander of Aphrodisiac describes the process of taking sea water and distilling it into pure drinking water. Medieval civilizations evolved their techniques over the following centuries, although still not resulting in alcohol.

500-1000 AD

Knowledge of distillation spread to Europe along with the travelling Moors of the early first millennia. The process is picked up by those in the Christian religion, using it to produce ingredients for various ceremonies, and also medicines for colic, palsy and smallpox.

1000-1200 AD

The origin of whiskey began over 1000 year ago when distillation made the migration from mainland Europe into Scotland and Ireland via travelling monks. The Scottish and Irish monasteries, lacking the vineyards and grapes of the continent, turn to fermenting grain mash, resulting in the first distillations of modern whisky. 

1250

Around this time, the earliest records of alcohol distillation appear in Italy, with it being distilled from wine. The technique was recounted by Ramon Llull (1232 – 1315). 

1405

The first written record of ‘whisky’ appears in the Irish Annals of Clonmacnoise, where it was written that the head of a clan died after “taking a surfeit [excessive amount] of aqua vitae” at Christmas.

1494

By this time, the distilling of whisky in Scotland is fully underway, as evident by a record in the Exchequer Rolls of 1494 where King James IV of Scotland granted a large amount of malt “To Friar John Cor, by order of the king, to make aquavit.”

1536-1541

The production of whisky shifted to the general public, after King Henry VIII of England dissolved the monasteries, making a large number of monks independent and looking for new ways to make a living. Distillation was it.

1600-onwards

As the European colonists began to arrive in America, they brought with them the practice of distilling whiskey. Many Scottish and Irish immigrants settled in their new territories, eventually beginning to distil their new types of grains and mash.

1608

The Old Bush mills Distillery is licensed in Northern Ireland, and today holds the title of oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world.

 

1707-1725

The Acts of Union resulted in the merging of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, creating Great Britain, and in the following years, taxes rose dramatically. The English Malt Tax of 1725 seriously threatened the production of whisky, and led the majority of Scottish distilleries to head underground and begin production at night, giving whisky one if its finest nicknames, “moonshine.”

1775-1783

After many years of producing their own whiskey, and seeing its value to the general population, distillers often used whiskey as a currency during the American Revolutionary War.

1783

The first commercial distillery is founded in Louisville, Kentucky on the banks of the Ohio River by Evan Williams.

1791

A new excise was introduced to help fund debt from the Revolutionary War. Import duties were already high, and so an excise tax on domestically produced distilled spirits was levied – the first of its kind by the new national government. Although the tax applied to distilled spirits of any kind, whiskey was the most popular, and so the excise became commonly known as the “Whiskey Tax.”

1791-1794

The ensuing unrest between grain farmers and the US government was soon dubbed the “Whiskey Rebellion“. Farmers were used to distilling their surplus grains into whiskey and a united protest gathered speed, particularly in the western counties of Pennsylvania where federal officials were intimidated in order to deny collection of the tax.

The rebellion came to a turning point in July 1794 when the home of tax inspector General John Neville was attacked by nearly 600 armed men. President Washington responded by sending in a militia force of around 13,000 to march west and meets any resistance with force. The rebels disbanded before their arrival, key leaders fled to safety, and the mass protesting came to an end.

1801

While the physical rebellion halted, opposition to the Whiskey Tax continued, and became a significant issue in following political elections. The newly formed Democratic-Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson, would pledge to repeal the tax if voted into power, and when Jefferson took office in 1801, he did just that.

1820

A certain Scottish grocer named John Walker began producing his own whisky, which would become one of the most famous and most widely distributed brands of Scotch whisky in the world. John Walker himself was a teetotaller.

1823

The United Kingdom brought “moonshine” production to an end, when they gave Scottish distilleries an option to legalize their operations by paying a fee.

1823

The process that is sour mash was developed by Dr. James C. Crow at what is now the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Kentucky. In the process, an amount of spent mash is added to a new mash, and the balance of acid and live yeast that is contained controls the growth of foreign bacteria, improving consistency between batches so that every bottle is as close to the previous as possible. This revolutionized the way in which bourbon is made, and is also a current legal requirement when producing Tennessee whiskey.

1831

After inventing a “continuous still” and improving the technology involved in distillation, Irish inventor Aeneas Coffey patented the Coffey still, allowing manufacturers to produce whiskey more efficiently, and at a lower cost.

1840

Old Bourbon County had been producing “Old Bourbon County Whiskey” for some years; the name was used to differentiate it from other whiskeys because Old Bourbon was the first corn whiskey that most people had come across. It wasn’t until 1840 that it was officially given the name Bourbon, when a distiller by the name of Jacob Spears was the first to label his product as “Bourbon whiskey. “

1850

The first blended whisky comes into production. Andrew Usher mixed traditional pot still whiskey with that of a new batch produced in a Coffey still. Usher met stubborn resistance from traditional Irish distillers, many of whom claimed that this new blend was not whisky at all. Still, his company became the first to produce and mass-market a bottled blended scotch, and even became a popular import in the U.S. after finding distribution with Nicholas & Co. in 1853.

1920-1933

For 13 years, the American Prohibition era banned all production, sale, and use of alcohol. However, the federal government made an exception: the prescription of medicinal whiskey from a doctor, to be sold through a licensed pharmacy. (During this same timeframe, the pharmacy chain Walgreens used this to their advantage, growing from 20 stores to nearly 400.)

1964

Bourbon really hit the big time, as American Congress declared bourbon whiskey the country’s official distilled spirit. They also laid out the specific regulations that are to be met in order to label a whiskey as bourbon. (For more details, read what is Bourbon? section of our whiskey introduction.)

2004

The American Whiskey Trail is launched to promote many of the historical sites and operating distilleries in Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York. 

Interesting Facts About whisky

Interesting Facts About whisky

It generates huge tax revenue

The export of whisky generates a healthy £125 a second for the Scottish government. Just under 38 bottles of whisky being exported from Scotland every second. Laid end-to-end, the 99 million cases of Scotch exported each year would run the distance between Edinburgh and New York – six times.

A single malt may see several casks

It’s a common misconception that single malt whisky is the product of one cask. In fact, it is the product of a single distillery and may actually come from several casks therein.

Scotland has whisky galore!

Scotland is home to more than 20 million casks of maturing whisky. That’s almost four for every person living there.

It’s name has meaning

Whisky in Gaelic reads ‘uisge beathe’, which means ‘water of life’.

A lot of whisky is lost during maturation

Whisky stored in barrels gradually evaporates at an approximate rate of 2% a year. This is referred to as the famous ‘angels’ share’.

Blending softened older, harsher whiskies

Blended whisky came about at a time when single malt whisky was considerably younger and more harsh than it is today. Blends consist of anywhere from 15 to 50 individual whiskies, testament to the blender’s art.

Alcoholics anonymous

 Bill Wilson, the founder of “Alcoholics anonymous” asked for whiskey on his deathbed, but the nurse wouldn’t give it to him.

Whisky starts its life as beer

A deliciously true story. Whisky is made from 'wort', which is the 'beer' that gets distilled. In fact, wort is made out of all the ingredients that you would find in a glass of chilled beer - water, yeast and malts. Moreover this process is used to prevent unwanted pests.

We spell Scottish and Canadian whisky without the e and the others as whiskey

To 'e' or not to 'e', that is the difference! When it comes to spelling, only refer to Scottish/Scotch whisky or Canadian whisky without the ‘e.' If its origins are rooted elsewhere, opt for whiskey.

The oldest whisky is over 150 years old

The 400ml bottle of Glenavon Special Liqueur Whisky holds the Guinness World Record for being the World's Oldest Whisky. It is rumoured to be packaged in between 1851 and 1858 and was owned by an Irish family till it was auctioned off to Bonhams in London and fetched a staggering £14,850.

Macallan 'M' whisky is the most expensive in the world

A Lalique decanter of Macallan ‘M’ whisky was auctioned for £393,109 this year in Hong Kong and came to be known as the world's most expensive make of this alcohol. The luxury decanter contains 6 litres of whisky drawn from Spanish oak sherry casks dating from the 1940s to the 1990s.

No one knows who invented whisky

No one knows who the first one was to find out how to make this magic drink. It is believed that whisky was originally crafted by monks, which made it a holy spirit. Ha! Holy SPIRIT. But it all changed when King Henry VIII dissolved all of their liquor-ridden monasteries. Poor sober monks!

Besides the malts, there are 7 regional whiskys and one of them is Indian!

So next time you drink your glass of Antiquity, make sure it is a Patiala peg fulldesi style! Scottish, American, Canadian, German, Irish and Australian are the other regional whiskies available.

It has health benefits too. Drinking whisky can prevent cancer

Drinking a moderate amount of whisky can actually have benefits! Drinking whisky can prevent cancer, reduce the chances of a stroke and also reduces possibilities of heart diseases. And that's not it! Drinking 1 to 6 glasses of whisky over a week can lower an adult's risk of dementia.

Mountain Dew was originally meant to be a whisky chaser

Barney and Ally Hartman were just a couple of bros looking to get their whiskey on so they went ahead and invented Mountain Dew. The tagline had nothing to do with either darr or jeet . The original slogan was “Yahoo Mountain Dew, it’ll tickle your innards.” Seriously, that was the slogan!

One of the basic ingredients of Tabasco sauce is whisky

Tabasco sauce is actually aged in barrels that previously contained JD . It gives the sauce an extra kick, and that lovely sting.