Tasting Whiskey
Page 30
My wife, Cathy, knows this is coming, but I’ll say it as I always do: I couldn’t do it without you. Thanks for 25 years of unwavering support. I’m glad you never insisted that I get a real job; this one’s become more than real enough.
And to all my readers, my Twitter followers, my Facebook friends, the people who say such great things, and keep me honest as well: Cheers!
Glossary
ABV. Alcohol by volume, the amount of alcohol in a spirit (or beer) as a percentage of the total volume. This number is doubled to yield the “proof” of the spirit.
aldehydes. A group of aromatic compounds found in oak, with a floral or fruity character.
angel’s share. The volume of whiskey that is lost during the aging process by evaporation through the barrel.
backset. See setback.
barley. A grain that is relatively easy to malt, with abundant enzymes for converting starches into sugars and a husk that acts as a natural filter; thus well-adapted for brewing and distilling.
barrel. In whiskey making, a container built from curved oak staves, usually charred, that imparts flavor and color to the spirit through chemical changes from contact with the wood and slow evaporation. In American usage the standard size is 53 gallons (200 liters), though craft distillers commonly use smaller barrels. See also cask.
beer. The fermented, undistilled liquid that is the first step in making whiskey. See also wash.
beer still. A single column still used for first distillation in making modern bourbon and rye whiskey. Also called a “stripping column.”
blended Scotch whisky. A blend of one or more single malt Scotch whiskies with one or more single grain Scotch whiskies. This is the familiar category of whisky that includes well-known brands like Johnnie Walker, Dewar’s, and Chivas Regal.
blended whiskey. In American usage a blend of straight whiskey and grain neutral spirits; it must be at least 20 percent straight whiskey. And no, that’s not a lot.
bourbon. American whiskey made predominantly of corn (51 percent or more), malt, and either rye or wheat; distilled to a maximum of 80 percent ABV and aged in new charred oak barrels at an entry proof of no more than 62.5 percent ABV; bottled at a minimum 40 percent ABV.
caramel. Cooked and browned sugar; allowed as a coloring agent in European and Canadian whisky but not allowed in bourbon or rye whiskey.
cask. “Cask” is the word used more often in Scotland and Ireland as the generic term for barrel. See also barrel.
char. The thin layer of burnt wood on the inside of a barrel that has been treated with flame. Required for bourbon and other American whiskeys.
Coffey still. A still in the form of two columns that takes in a continuous flow of wash or beer, passing it over a series of plates as steam rises through the liquid, heating and “stripping” the alcohol out of the liquid, to be condensed and captured as spirit. Also known as a continuous still.
column still. See beer still.
cooper. A person who makes, repairs, or resizes barrels.
corn. A grain native to the Americas; not easy to malt, but an inexpensive, flavorful source of sugars for fermentation and distillation. The major component in bourbon.
corn whiskey. Whiskey made from a large proportion of corn in the mash, and most often aged for only a short period in either uncharred or used oak barrels.
cuts. The points in a pot still distillation where the stream of spirit is diverted. The first cut is after the foreshots or heads have run; the second is when the feints or tails begin to run. The cuts are made to get the maximum amount of clean spirit. The heads and tails are often redistilled to recover all the alcohol.
distillation. The extraction and concentration of alcohol from a fermented grain liquid (see wash or beer) by use of controlled heat. Ethyl alcohol — ethanol — evaporates at a lower temperature than water, and the alcohol-rich vapor is condensed and separated from the remaining water and other chemicals.
doubler. A simple pot still used by bourbon distillers to polish the spirit from the beer still.
draff. The leftover grains from the fermentation and distilling process, most often used for cattle feed; there is a move to use it for biogas generation recently. Also called “spent grains” or “dark grains.”
dryhouse. Where the spent grains from American-style mashing distillation go to be dried and processed for animal feed.
dunnage. A traditional type of warehouse in Scotland, with earthen floors.
ester. An aromatic chemical compound derived from aldehydes; can yield fruity, spicy, or smoky aromas.
extractive distillation. A technique in which water is added to high-proof spirit to float unwanted compounds off the top, leaving a pure spirit. Used by some Canadian distillers.
feints. Final runnings from a pot still distillation. See also cuts.
first-fill. When barrels previously used for aging bourbon or wines are used for aging whiskey, “first-fill” refers to the ones that are being used for the first time, just after being emptied of the bourbon or wine. These yield whiskey with much more character of the younger wood and previous liquid.
flavoring whisky. The lower-proof, higher-flavor component of Canadian whisky.
foreshots. First runnings from a pot still distillation. See also cuts.
grain neutral spirits. Unaged spirit distilled to 95 percent ABV. It may be bottled at that strength or diluted down to 40 percent.
grain whisky. Whisky distilled to a very high proof, up to 94.6 percent, using a column or Coffey still, and aged in oak barrels for blending.
heads. See foreshots.
hogshead. A cask of 250 liters capacity, often built from used bourbon barrel staves for aging Scotch whisky. Also called a “hoggie.”
Lincoln County process. See Tennessee whiskey.
lyne arm. The bend and tube coming off the top of a pot still. The angle of the arm — downward, straight, upward — helps determine the amount of reflux a still develops, and thus the weight of the spirit produced.
malt. As a verb malt means the process of germinating grain to convert insoluble starches to soluble starches and develop the enzymes needed to convert those starches to sugars. As a noun it denotes barley that has gone through this process.
maltings. A facility where grains are malted; they are wetted, allowed to sprout, and then kilned to kill the sprout.
mash. As a verb mash means heating a mixture of grains and water to allow the enzymes to convert starches to sugars. As a noun it describes the mixture of water and grains, especially after the conversion occurs.
mashbill. The “recipe” of American whiskeys; the ratios of the different grains that go into making a particular whiskey or group of whiskeys.
mingling. Blending together barrels of whiskey and allowing them to sit briefly together (a couple of days to a few months), to allow the different barrels to “marry” and become a harmonious whole.
moonshine. Illegally produced whiskey, whether aged or unaged, though usually unaged. Unaged legal whiskey is not moonshine.
neutral whisky. The Canadian term for grain whisky. See also grain whisky.
new make. Unaged spirit, right off final distillation. Also known as “white dog” or “clearic.”
peat. Partially carbonized vegetation that has slowly rotted and compressed in bogs and swamps over centuries and millennia; boggy plants that are on their way to becoming coal. When burned, peat creates an aromatic smoke that is used to kiln and flavor freshly germinated malt; when the malt is mashed, fermented, and distilled, it creates a spirit with the smoky aromas and flavors highly prized in Scotch whisky. Peat from different areas gives different aroma profiles because of the varieties of plant life from place to place.
phenols. Aromatic chemical compounds with a smoky or chemical aroma.
port. A fortified wine from Portugal; port casks (pipes) are used to age whiskey.
pot still. A batch-type still; essentially a large copper pot with a tapering column on the top
that leads to a lyne arm and a condenser.
proof. See ABV.
refill. When first-fill barrels are emptied and refilled, they are called “refill” barrels. They yield whiskey with less of the wood’s character and more of the distillery character.
reflux. A redistillation that occurs within the initial distillation; spirit falls back into the still before escaping to the condensers. Increase the reflux by a taller still or an upward-angled lyne arm, and a lighter, cleaner spirit is the result. Decrease the reflux with a squat still, or downward-pointing lyne arm, and a heavier, “meaty” spirit is the result.
rickhouse. Warehouse as used in America, with arrays of wooden rails — “ricks” — to hold rows of barrels in place. They vary in size, with the biggest holding upward of 50,000 barrels.
rye. Hardy grass that yields a richly flavored, somewhat bitter grain used in American and Canadian whiskeys.
Scotch whisky. Whisky distilled in Scotland from malted barley (and other grains, in the case of blends and grain whisky) to no more than 94.8 percent ABV; aged in Scotland in oak casks for a minimum of 3 years and bottled at a minimum of 40 percent ABV. Caramel may be added (for consistency of color).
setback. The soured grains and liquid left over after column distillation, used for the sour mash process. Also called “backset” or “stillage.”
sherry. Fortified wine from Spain; sherry casks (butts) are used to age whiskey.
single malt. Whisky made from 100 percent malted barley, in pot stills, from one distillery.
small grains. The grains other than corn in a bourbon mashbill; usually malt plus either rye or wheat.
sour mash. The American practice of adding the soured, spent grains and liquid from previous distillation to the newly mashed beer at the start of fermentation. This creates a more beneficial environment for fermentation (with acidic balance and yeast nutrients). All major American whiskeys use the sour mash process.
spirit still. The still (or stills) used for the second distillation in making Scotch whisky; the output from the wash still is distilled again in the smaller spirit still.
stillage. See setback.
straight whiskey. American whiskey that has been distilled from grain to a final proof of less than 95 percent ABV, at a single distillery, and aged in oak barrels for not less than 2 years; these are minimum requirements that are most often exceeded in practice.
tails. See feints.
Tennessee whiskey. Tennessee whiskey is bourbon, except that before it is put in the barrel to age, it is filtered (“mellowed”) through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal, a step known as the Lincoln County process.
thumper. An alternative to a doubler, in which the vapors from the beer still are put through hot water before condensing. The condensation and bubbling causes a thumping sound, hence the name.
vatted malt. Former term for a blend of single malt whiskies without any grain whisky added. Now known as “blended malt Scotch whisky.”
wash. The fermented, undistilled liquid that is the first step in making whisky; this is the commonly used term in Scotch whisky making, while the Irish and Americans mostly use the term “beer.”
wash still. The still (or stills) used for the first distillation in making Scotch whisky; the fermented wash is put in the larger wash still. The product of this distillation is known as “low wines” and goes into the spirit still.
washback. The fermenting vessel in Scotch whisky making.
worts. The runoff from mashed and converted malt in Scotch whisky; full of malt sugars and ready to ferment and become wash.
yeast. The marvelous little fungus that eats sugar and excretes alcohol and aromatics; the engine of fermentation, the necessary and natural precursor to distillation.
Interior Photography Credits
© AA World Travel Library/Alamy, 132
© All Canada Photos/Alamy, 157
© Attitude/Shutterstock, fabric texture backgrounds (throughout)
© Balcones Distillery, Laura Merians, 103, 179; © Bert Hoferichter/Alamy, 155
© Blaine Harrington III/Alamy, 47
© Bon Appétit/Alamy, 221
© BWAC Images/Alamy, 69
© Cephas Picture Library/Alamy, 135, 138, 150
© Chris George/Alamy, 158
© Chris Willson/Alamy, 174 (bottom)
© Corsair Artisan Distillery, Anthony Matula, 190
© Daniel Dempster Photography/Alamy, 94, 149, 152, 159
© David Gowans/Alamy, 115
© David Lyons/Alamy, 117
© David Osborn/Alamy, 88
© David Robertson/Alamy, 30
© Denis Kuvaev/Shutterstock, parchment texture backgrounds (throughout)
© dk/Alamy, 224
© Dorin_S/iStockphoto.com, 168
© Finger Lakes Distilling, 186
© foodcollection.com/Alamy, 222
© graficart.net/Alamy, 11
© Hemis/Alamy, 25
© Ian M. Butterfield (Ireland)/Alamy, 96
© i food and drink/Alamy, 148
© Jan Holm/Alamy, 32, 109
© Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Alamy, 77, 173, 174 (top), 176, 177
© Jiri Rezac/Alamy, 112
© Jo Hanley/Alamy, 90
© JTB Photo/Superstock, 101
© Keller + Keller Photography, 70, 196–199, 201, 204, 205, 208 (right), 209–213, 214
© L Blake/Irish Imag/agefotostock.com, 126–127
© Lev Kropotov/Alamy, 219
© LOOK Die Bildgentur de Fotografen GmbH/Alamy, 118, 129
© Madredus/Shutterstock, wood plank backgrounds (throughout)
© Mar Photographics/Alamy, 50
Mars Vilaubi, 131
© Martin Thomas Photography/Alamy, 122
© Marti Sans/Alamy, 203
© Mary Evans Picture Library 2008, 14 (left)
© Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy, 14 (right)
© McClatchy-Tribune Information Services/Alamy, 229
© Mira/Alamy, 16
© Mountain Laurel Spirits, Todd Trice, 185
© Nicholas Everleigh/Alamy, 202
© Niday Picture Library/Alamy, 19
© Northwind Picture Archives/Alamy, 17, 92
© Paul Bock/Alamy, 41
© Peter Horree/Alamy, 43, 140–141, 154, 157
© Rachel Turner/Alamy, 184
© Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling, 180
© Rawan Hussein/Alamy, 215
© Robert Harding World Imagery/Alamy, 27
© Robert Holmes/Alamy, 108
© South West Images Scotland/Alamy, 82
© St. George Spirits, 182–183, 189, 193
© Superstock/agefotostock.com, 128
© Trevor Mogg/Alamy, 175
© Victor Watts/Alamy, 89; Wikimedia Commons, 15
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Edited by Margaret Sutherland and Nancy Ringer
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