Whisky, Scotland's national drink, has been lovingly crafted throughout the country for centuries. There's over 100 working distilleries operating today (and counting!), each making whisky in their own unique way. Learn more about the different types of whisky, find out how malt whisky is made and discover the history of this illustrious golden spirit.
SCOTLAND'S WHISKY REGIONS
Scotland is split into five whisky producing regions. These are:
TYPES OF WHISKY
There are three different types of Scotch whisky: malt whisky (also known as single malt), grain whisky and blended whisky. But how do they differ?
MALT WHISKY
Malt whisky is made using malted barley, water and yeast. The liquid is distilled in huge copper pot stills (you’ll see them on most distillery tours) and is matured in whisky barrels for a minimum of three years (though most is matured for much longer than this). Single malt whisky is produced at one distillery while blended malt whisky is the product
of two or more distilleries.
GRAIN WHISKY
Grain whisky is made pretty differently. This time malted barley is mixed with unmalted barley and other cereals (such as maize and wheat) before the whole mixture is combined with water and then yeast. The resulting liquid is distilled in a tall patent still (or Coffey still) which looks very different to the traditional pot still and yields more spirit at a much higher strength.
BLENDED WHISKY
Blended whisky involves an intricate process of mixing different single malts (anything from 15 to 50) with grain whisky. It’s a complex process – whiskies from different distilleries have characters all of their own and don’t always blend happily with certain others – which is why the art of blending is so skilled and recipes are a closely guarded secret. Many blended whiskies are now household names, including Bells, Dewars, Whyte & Mackay, Johnnie Walker and The Famous Grouse.
HOW SINGLE MALT WHISKY IS MADE: A 5 STEP GUIDE
STEP1:MALTING THE BARLEY
Barley is steeped in water and then left out on a malting floor to sprout shoots. It is then baked in a kiln to dry it out before being milled. Some distilleries burn peat to dry out the malted barley. This gives their whiskies deliciously smoky notes.
STEP 2: MASHING THE BARLEY
The ground barley, or 'grist', is mixed with hot water in a mash tun , producing a sugary liquid called ‘wort’. This is the basis for the alcohol. The remaining solids are used as a nutritious cattle feed - nothing goes to waste here!
STEP 3: FERMENTING THE WORT
The liquid wort is passed into large vats called 'washbacks'. Yeast is then added and allowed to ferment which converts the sugars in the wort into an alcohol at around 8% abv. This liquid, similar to a strong beer, is now known as the ‘wash’.
Smelling the wash at Springbank Distillery, Campbeltown
STEP 4: DISTILLING THE SPIRIT
The liquid wash is heated in two copper pot stills, the wash still and the spirit still. Only the highest quality part of the spirit, the 'heart of the run', is collected and poured into oak casks to age. The rest is siphoned and re-distilled.
STEP 5: MATURING THE SPIRIT
By law, whisky cannot be called Scotch unless it has been matured for a minimum of three years in oak barrels in Scotland. Barrels may have contained sherry, port, whiskey or beer, which along with the oak, influences the flavour. If an age is shown on a label of blended whisky, it indicates the age of the youngest whisky in the blend.
HOW TO PROPERLY TASTE SCOTCH WHISKY
Whether in a pub in front of a crackling fire or on a distillery tour, Scotch whisky is one of life's little pleasures. Maybe you've the refined palette of a connoisseur or have never tasted a dram before in your life. There is nothing like a proper tasting to unlock the secrets of a single malt. Read on for our top tips for tasting:
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Ensure you have a clean, tulip-shaped nosing glass and a jug of still spring water at room temperature. Unlike tumblers, a tulip glass traps the aromas in the bulbous bottom of the glass.
STEP 1: POUR
Serve your whisky neat, or with a little water added. No tap-water or (heaven forbid) mixers please. To appreciate the aroma and flavour to the utmost, a measure of malt whisky should be 'cut' (diluted) with one to two-thirds as much spring water. Still, bottled spring water will be fine.
STEP 2: LOOK
Hold your glass up against a neutral background and examine the colour. Scotch whisky appears a light gold, amber or dark ochre colour depending on the wood finish of the cask it is stored in and the length of time it has been aged in it.
STEP 3: SWIRL
Give your glass a good swirl and coat the inside well. Notice the legs streaking down the glass. The more there are and the faster they run, the thinner, lighter bodied and younger the malt. If the legs take longer to form and run slowly down the glass, or there are fewer and they appear thick, the malt is most likely fuller bodied and older.
STEP 4: NOSING
Stick your nose in the glass and take short, sharp sniffs. Do this again and again, pulling the glass away then bringing it back to your nose. Open your mouth slightly and inhale to release the bouquet. What do you smell? Fruit and flowers, seaweed, a bonfire? No matter how unexpected the scents the whisky conjures up, there are no wrong answers!
STEP 5: TASTING
Take a sip, then 'cut' with half as much still spring water and repeat. Breathe in and out while rolling the whisky around your mouth; try to pick out flavours from your previous sniffing. Think about how the whisky feels in your mouth. Is it smooth, dry, syrupy or tingly? Try other whiskies, repeating the process until you find your favourite!
HISTORY OF WHISKY
The art of distilling whisky began as a way of using up rain-soaked barley and, as it still does today, used water from Scotland’s crystal streams and burns.
It is generally agreed that monks brought distillation with them along with Christianity in the fourth and fifth centuries. The first official recording of distilling stretches back to 1494, when Friar John Cor of Lindores Abbey in Fife was granted the king's commission to make acqua vitae, Latin for 'water of life'.
The first official taxes on whisky production were not imposed until 1644, causing a rise in illicit whisky distilling in the country. Around 1780, there were about eight legal distilleries and 400 illegal ones. In 1823, Parliament eased restrictions on licensed distilleries with the Excise Act, while at the same time making it harder for the illegal stills to operate, thereby ushering in the modern era of Scotch production.
Two events helped to increase the popularity of whisky: firstly, a new production process was introduced in 1831 using a Coffey or patent still. The whisky produced with this process was less intense and smoother. Secondly, the Phylloxera beetle destroyed wine and cognac production in France in 1880, meaning that stocks of both in cellars around the world dwindled to almost nothing.
Since then, whisky production has gone from strength to strength, weathering prohibition in the United States, two world wars, the Great Depression and economic recessions throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Today, it is enjoyed in over 200 countries around the world.
DID YOU KNOW?
THE WORD 'WHISKY' DERIVES FROM THE GAELIC 'UISGE BEATHA' (PRONOUNCED: OOSH-GA BEH-HUH).
When you're enjoying a dram of whisky with friends try toasting in Gaelic.
Simply raise your glass and say 'slàinte mhath' (pronounced: slan-tche vah), which means 'cheers' or 'good health'.
