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.

SCOTCH

Scotland has more distilleries than any country, with close to 100 of them peppered throughout the land. The most distinctive Scotch whiskies are the single malts. In addition to being distilled and matured in Scotland for a minimum of three years in oak barrels (a requirement for all Scotch whisky), single malt scotch is produced at one distillery (“single”), using only malted barley as the grain (“malt”), and distilled in copper pot stills. It is an expensive process but produces a richly flavored whisky and, because it’s not blended with whiskies from other distilleries, very individualistic. This is why single malt scotch is generally more expensive than blended scotch and coveted by aficionados. It’s also the reason why single malts are so much fun to drink and explore.

Single malts are diverse in flavor, ranging from the gentle and subtly complex whiskies of the Scottish Lowlands, to the firmer, sometimes spicy whiskies in the Highlands, to the briny and often smoky whiskies from the Scottish coastlines and islands. The heart of Scottish distilling is an area known as Speyside, where nearly half of Scotland’s distilleries are situated on—or near—the Spey River. Some Speyside whiskies, like Balvenie and Macallan, are full-bodied and rich. Others, like the Glenlivet 12 year old, are very elegant.

Even with all these great single malts, blended scotch still outsells them by a wide margin. Single malt enthusiasm is a relatively recent phenomenon, gaining popularity over the past two decades.
Blended scotches, like Johnnie Walker, Dewar’s, Chivas, and Cutty Sark, are marriages of several, if not dozens of different single malts. The advantage of blending is that it smoothes out the rough edges and fills in the missing gaps of a whisky’s flavor profile.

Probably the least known fact about blended scotch is that the majority of the blend is not single malt scotch at all, but rather grain whisky. Grain whisky is made from various cereal grains and distilled in continuous column stills, similar to the way vodka is made. It produces a less expensive, lighter flavored whisky. Some blends are incredible products, but are generally lighter in flavor and less expensive than single malts.

Many people think all Scotch whiskies are smoky, but only a handful of them really are. The smoke flavor comes from using malted barley that is dried over a peat fire. Peat was, at one time, the only practical fuel source for many distilleries. These days it’s an optional flavor enhancement that, by the way, is very much in vogue right now.                                               

Japanese Whisky

Japan's whisky industry has been in existence longer than many realize, being founded in 1924 with the building of Yamazaki Distillery. In 1934 Masataka Taketsuru founded the Nikka Distilling Company following his years of study in Scotland at Longmorn, Ben Nevis and Hazelburn distillery. After he had returned to Japan with his Scottish wife Rita, he built Yoichi distillery on the north island of Hokkaido in an area, which he considered close to the natural environment of Scotland.

Japanese malt whisky is based on the Scotch model being double-distilled in pot stills. They have made certain innovations of their own however, like maturing their whiskies also in rare, slow-growing Japanese oak in the case of Suntory's whiskies, and filling them into specially charred new oak in the case of Yoichi.

As Japan has far fewer distilleries and no tradition of trading casks as blenders do in Scotland, they often distil many different spirits within the same distillery.

Irish Whiskey

In contrast to Scotch whisky production, there are only a handful of working Irish distilleries. The small number of Irish distilleries explains the disparity between the amounts of Scotch whiskies on the market when compared to the number of Irish whiskeys.

When comparing the differences between Irish whiskey to Scotch whisky, people will often say that the difference is that Irish whiskey is distilled three times (producing a lighter flavor), while scotch is only distilled twice. The other argument is that Irish whiskey is not smoky, and Scotch whisky is. These generalizations are accurate for many whiskeys, but not all of them.

Irish whiskeys, like Jameson, contain “single pot still” whiskey. Single pot still whiskey is unique to Ireland. Unlike single malt scotch that is made from malted barley, single pot still whiskey comes from malted and unmalted barley that gives many Irish whiskeys their distinctive flavor.

AMERICAN WHISKEY

The most well-known style of whiskey produced in the United States is bourbon. It is so popular now, both in the United States and abroad, our distillers can’t make enough of the stuff. Bourbons, like Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, and Maker’s Mark, fit in a category known as “straight whiskeys,” and if you look closely enough on a bourbon label, you’ll see it identified that way.

A straight whiskey must meet strict requirements. It has to be made in the United States (and while nearly all straight bourbon is made in Kentucky right now, it doesn’t legally have to be), and its grain formula, known as the “mash bill,” must contain at least 51% corn. It can’t be distilled higher than 80% alcohol (by volume) or go into the barrel for aging higher than 62.5% alcohol, and has to be aged in new charred oak barrels for a minimum of two years. These requirements are designed to maintain the quality and consistency of bourbon.

Other straight whiskeys, like straight rye whiskeys and straight wheat whiskeys must meet similar requirements. The only difference is that rye or wheat is the main grain (respectively), rather than corn.

If you walk into a bar and ask for a bourbon, there’s a good chance you’ll get Jack Daniel’s. This is probably the biggest misunderstanding in the world of whiskey. It’s a Tennessee whiskey and made just like bourbon—except for one additional step in the process. After the spirit is distilled, and before it is put into charred oak barrels for aging, it is charcoal mellowed through vats of sugar maple charcoal. This changes the flavor profile of the whiskey—which some describe as mellower, gently sweeter, and slightly sooty when compared to bourbon—making it distinctly Tennessee whiskey.

While bourbon has to be made from a mash of at least 51% corn; in reality, it usually is made with 70-80% corn. The remainder consists of rye and malted barley. You can think of rye as the “spice” ingredient of bourbon. It doesn’t have to be used, but it has a significant impact on the flavor profile. If you’ve ever tasted rye bread, then you understand rye’s contribution to bourbon.

But some bourbon producers replace the rye with wheat. Wheat changes the flavor profile in its own way. “Wheated” bourbons, like Maker’s Mark, are less bold and more approachable. Some drinkers like the easy-going style of wheated bourbons, while others enjoy the boldness of more traditional rye-spiced bourbons.

Definition:

Bourbon:  Is made from a legal minimum of 51% corn, although in practice there will often be 80% corn in the mashbill, supplemented by either rye or wheat, and 5-15% malted barley to aid fermentation.  It must be distilled to no more than 160 proof and bottled at no less than 80 proof.  Aged for minimum 2yrs in new, charred American oak, if this period is less than 4 years, the age of the whiskey must be stated on the label.  No coloring or flavoring may be added.

Rye:  is made from a legal minimum of 51%, although in practice this figure is usually around 60-65%, supplemented by corn and 5-15% malted  barley to aid fermentation.

It must be distilled to no more than 160 proof and bottled at no less than 80 proof and Aged for minimum 2yrs in new, charred American oak, if this period is less than 4 years, the age of the whiskey must be stated on the label.  No coloring or flavoring may be added.

Tennessee Whiskey:   Must be made in Tennessee from 51%-79% corn, supplemented by rye or wheat and malted barley.  It must be distilled to no more than 160 proof and bottled at no less than 80 proof.    Aged for a minimum 2yrs in new, charred American oak, if this period is less than 4 years, the age of the whiskey must be stated on the label.  Finally, and most importantly, the whiskey must be filtered through charcoal from the sugar maple tress, known as the Lincoln County Process.   No coloring or flavoring may be added.

            Corn Whiskey:  is made from a mashbill containing at least 80% corn, distilled to no more than 160 proof Aged in uncharred or reused charred barrels for at least two years and bottled at no less than 80 proof . 

Blended Whiskeys:  can be made from any of the above, mixed with at least 50% (and usually much more) neutral grain spirits (distilled to 190 proof or higher)

Canadian Whiskey:  Canadian whisky is the lightest example from the major whisky distilling countries. That’s because Canadian whisky traditionally consists of a blend of two components: a base whisky and a flavoring whisky. The base whisky, usually made from corn, is very light in flavor and comprises the large majority of the whisky’s make-up. The flavoring whisky, often one with a high rye content, makes up the rest.

Ironically, Canadian law allows Canadian whisky to be called Canadian Whisky, Canadian Rye Whisky, or Rye Whisky, even though the actual amount of rye in the grain mixture is usually very small, and much less than corn. There is a huge difference between Canadian “rye” whiskies and American “straight rye” whiskeys. The straight ryes produced in the United States are considerably bolder and more challenging. Canadian “rye” drinkers are often confused and overwhelmed by the intensity of the straight rye whiskeys from the United States, where the largest ingredient must be rye.

Canadian whisky’s lighter style makes it appealing year-round, even in the warm summer months when other whiskeys might be too heavy. While most people think of Canadian whiskies as mixing whiskies, something to be drunk on the rocks or with soda, there are also some fine Canadian whiskies that you can sip neat, like Crown Royal Reserve or Wiser’s 18 year old, both of which are worth seeking out.

Definition:  By law, Canadian Whiskey must be produced inside the Canadian borders, no less than 3 years old and no more than 50% of any straight grain whiskey with the remainder composed of lower proof whiskey.  The distillers are also allowed to add 9.09 percent of just about anything: rum, brandy, neutral spirits, caramel, or other types of flavoring.