Barrel House Diagram

Ever Wonder about The Real People on the Labels

Here are some cool details about the legends and how they influenced what and how we drink today.

                 

Whiskey production Basics

           MILLING: The distillery gets truckloads of corn, rye, wheat, malted barley delivered which are then stored in the grains silos.  Depending on the recipe of the whiskey being made, they grind up the grains and weigh them to the correct % of each grain and then that grain is added to thecooker along with water and some of the set back from the previous run (this is also called the “sourmash process…it’s the liquid that is left after the alcohol is all distilled out.)  The cooking process is done to release all the starches from the corn, rye, or wheat.

COOKING: For example: for making bourbon, corn is added first, then the rye and then the malted barley is added last.  Malted barley is very important.  “malted” means that it actually sprouts and starts growing a plant.  When it does that it releases enzymes to feed that plant.  When the malted barley is added to the cook, those enzymes immediately turn those starches in to sugar.  The next process is fermentation, and since yeast cannot feed on starch…the malted barley turns those starches in to eatable sugars for the yeast.

FERMENTATION: After the mash is cooked and the barley has been added to turn those starches in to sugars, it is pumped over to a fermenter which is a simply a large stainless steel tub, and yeast is added.  Yeast are single celled organisms that are just like people going to a Las Vegas buffet because all they want to do is eat.  As they eat, they belch out cO2 and piss alcohol, and they give off heat all during this feeding frenzy.  After about 3 days of non-stop eating, the yeast die off and that sweet mash that started out originally with all that sugar, now kind of tastes like a stale beer (and a little sour) and we have a low alcohol “distillers beer”.

DISTILLING: That distillers beer is fed 3/4 of the way up to the column still, and steam is coming up from the bottom of that first distillation in that column still (also called a beer still) under 212 degrees.  Since alcohol vaporizes at a lower temperature than water the alcohol rises out of the top of the still, and cold water tubes surround that pipe of alcohol vapors and that condenses that vapor back in to liquid, and that is what comes off the first tail box (also called a trybox).  This still just raised the alcohol content from low proof alcohol, into a higher proof, usually around 125 proof or so, depending on the distillery and the product.  This is a pretty clean product, but it has a bit too many fusel oils (bad stuff that gives ya a headache) so it needs one more distillation to be cleaned up and a little better.

The grains and liquid that is left over from the first distillation are separated, and the liquid is added to the next cook, and fermenters to help the PH levels and helps give a consistent flavor profile from mash to mash.  The alcohol is sent to a second still that is not a column still since it is only liquid and no grains, and it is a sort of hybrid pot still called a “doubler” (since this is the second distillation).  After it is distilled a second time it comes off around 135 proof, and is very clean and less oily.

BARRELING: The distillate is then sent to the FILL HOUSE to a retention tank, since bourbon/rye/wheat whiskey can’t enter a barrel at more than 125 proof in the barrel, water is added to the product to bring it down from the upwards of 135 down to at most, 125 proof before the whiskey is put into the barrels are put up in the rickhouses for aging, often times for 4+ years. 

How is Whisky produced: From Grain to Barrel

Whiskey production Basics

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MILLING: The distillery gets truckloads of corn, rye, wheat, malted barley delivered whichare then stored in the grains silos.  Depending on the recipe of the whiskey being made, they grind up the grains and weigh them to the correct % of each grain and then that grain is added to the cooker along with water and some of the set back from the previous run (this is also called the “sourmash process…it’s the liquid that is left after the alcohol is all distilled out.)  The cooking process is done to release all the starches from the corn, rye, or wheat.

COOKING: For example: for making bourbon, corn is added first, then the rye and then the malted barley is added last.  Malted barley is very important.  “malted” means that it actually sprouts and starts growing a plant.  When it does that it releases enzymes to feed that plant.  When the malted barley is added to the cook, those enzymes immediately turn those starches in to sugar.  The next process is fermentation, and since yeast cannot feed on starch…the malted barley turns those starches in to eatable sugars for the yeast.

FERMENTATION: After the mash is cooked and the barley has been added to turn those starches in to sugars, it is pumped over to a fermenter which is a simply a large stainless steel tub, and yeast is added.  Yeast are single celled organisms that are just like people going to a Las Vegas buffet because all they want to do is eat.  As they eat, they belch out cO2 and piss alcohol, and they give off heat all during this feeding frenzy.  After about 3 days of non-stop eating, the yeast die off and that sweet mash that started out originally with all that sugar, now kind of tastes like a stale beer (and a little sour) and we have a low alcohol “distillers beer”.

DISTILLING: That distillers beer is fed 3/4 of the way up to the column still, and steam is coming up from the bottom of that first distillation in that column still (also called a beer still) under 212 degrees.  Since alcohol vaporizes at a lower temperature than water the alcohol rises out of the top of the still, and cold water tubes surround that pipe of alcohol vapors and that condenses that vapor back in to liquid, and that is what comes off the first tail box (also called a trybox).  This still just raised the alcohol content from low proof alcohol, into a higher proof, usually around 125 proof or so, depending on the distillery and the product.  This is a pretty clean product, but it has a bit too many fusel oils (bad stuff that gives ya a headache) so it needs one more distillation to be cleaned up and a little better.

The grains and liquid that is left over from the first distillation are separated, and the liquid is added to the next cook, and fermenters to help the PH levels and helps give a consistent flavor profile from mash to mash.  The alcohol is sent to a second still that is not a column still since it is only liquid and no grains, and it is a sort of hybrid pot still called a “doubler” (since this is the second distillation).  After it is distilled a second time it comes off around 135 proof, and is very clean and less oily.

BARRELING: The distillate is then sent to the FILL HOUSE to a retention tank, since bourbon/rye/wheat whiskey can’t enter a barrel at more than 125 proof in the barrel, water is added to the product to bring it down from the upwards of 135 down to at most, 125 proof before the whiskey is put into the barrels are put up in the rickhouses for aging, often times for 4+ years. 

Whisky Pronounciations

Ever wondered how to pronounce that one distillery's name? 

What is the Difference between Whiskey and Whisky?

The term 'whisky' derives from the Gaelic usquebaugh – itself from the Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha, or the Irish Gaelic spelling uisce beatha. Uisce comes from the Old Irish for ‘water’ and beatha from bethad, meaning ‘of life’. With this in mind, whisky is etymologically linked with a great number of spirits, all of which refer to the origins of the spirit – the quest for the elixir of life.

The spelling of whisky, or whiskey, differs geographically. As a rule, American and Irish prefer ‘whiskey’ and the Scots, Canadians and the rest of the world’s single malt makers prefer ‘whisky’. This originated during the 19th century. For in around 1870, Scotch whisky was of very low quality, much of it being distilled poorly in Coffey stills. For exportation to America, the Irish distillers wanted to differentiate their product from the poorer Scotch whisky, thus they added the ‘e’ to mark the crucial distinction. Today, Scotch whisky has become one of the world’s greatest spirits, but the spelling still differs. On mass, Americans still spell their spirit with an ‘e’, though legally it is spelt ‘whisky’. A few distillers, Maker’s Mark and George Dickel for example, prefer the Scottish spelling, this is to be attributed to their Scottish ancestry.

What is Whisky?

Simply speaking, whiskey is nothing more than distilled beer. Like beer, malted barley and other grains are the source of the sugars necessary for fermentation. The sugars in the grain are released by steeping it in hot water. This sweet liquid, known as “wort”, is cooled down. Yeast is added and converts the sugars to alcohol, creating beer.

The major difference between the “beer” that whiskey-makers produce (often called “wash”) and the beer that brewers create is that the brewers also add hops to their beer. Hops, the flowering cones of a climbing plant, are bitter and help balance a beer’s sweetness. They also act as a preservative to stabilize the beer’s flavor. Distiller’s beer doesn’t need hops. Oak aging balances the whiskey’s flavors, and distilling increases the alcohol level, which preserves the whiskey.

To make whiskey from beer, it must be distilled. Distilling captures and concentrates the beer’s more volatile components, which include alcohol. The distillers use either continuously-operating column stills (as with most bourbons) or copper pot stills (as with single malt scotch), one batch at a time. This spirit is then aged in oak barrels, where it matures and becomes whiskey. The types of grain used, the distillation method, and the casks chosen for aging are what make each whiskey taste different.