whisky or whiskey?
DESCRIPTION
An introduction to the world of whisk(e)y for those who love one of the best spiritsTRANSCRIPT
WHISKY or WHISKEY?
INDEX
1. Introduction2. History3. Production4. Types5. Types: countries6. Volumes7. Ways of doing
1. Recipes
8. Kinds of...9. Taste map10.Main Brands11.Cocktails recipes
Type of alcoholic distilled beverage made from
fermented grain mash («mezcla de granos fermentados»), as: Barley («cebada»)
Malted barley Rye («centeno»)
Malted rye Wheat («trigo»)
Buckwheat («alforfòn»)
Corn («maìz»)
Whisky is tipically aged in wooden casks («barriles de
madera»), made generally of charred white oak («madera de roble carbonizado»)
Introduction
Etymology
Whisky/Whiskey is the anglicisation of the Gaelic word «uisceluisge», which means water.In Latin, distilled alcohol was known as «aqua vitae», so water of life.
Spellings
The spelling difference between «whiskey» and «whisky» is, mainly, focused on regional language convention:
WHISKEY WHISKY
Rest of the
World
The art of alcohol distillation begun in Italy in the 13th century, coming up from wine, and
its use was spread by medieval monasteries, largely for medicinal purposes, such as the treatment of colic and smallpox («viruela»).
The first written record of whisky distillation comes from 1405 in Ireland.
During 1536-1541, King Henry VIII of England dissolved the monasteries, then the monks were sent out into the general public. Thus, whisky production moved to homes and farms as newly independent monks needed to find a way to earn money for themselves.
At the beginning, the whisky distillation was not allowed to age, and the result was raw and hard compared to today’s whisky.
Once in Scotland, after de merge with England in 1707 («Acts of Union»), rose up elevated taxes on it, therefore scottish distillers start to distill homemade whisky by night, raising the name of «Moonshine» and hiding all the output, forecasting an overall of over the half whisky’s production as illegal.
In the USA, during the prohibition era, lasting from 1920 to 1933, all the whisky sales were banned by the government, being approved just by a doctor prescription and sold through licensed pharmacies.
History
Distillation
A still («destilador») for making whisky is usually made of copper («cobre») as it removes the sulfur-based compounds from the alcohol that would make it unpleasant to drink. The simplest standard distillation apparatus is the pot still, but column stills are more common to produce american bourbon or whiskeys. These behave like a series of single pot stills, formed in a long vertical tube, getting a higher vapour alcohol content (= more pure alcohol, less flavoured).
Aging Whiskies age only in the casks, not in the bottle, being this the
period between the distillation and the bottling, which gives the idea how important is the interaction of the cask with the liquid, changing its taste and chemical makeup. Furthermore, after a decade or two, the aging process could not necessarily improve the liquid.
Packaging Most whiskies are sold at or near to 40% percentage, which is the
minimum statutory in some countries.
Production
Whisky is made, generally of:
Malted barley («cebada malteada») Malt whisky Any type of grains Grain whisky
Malts and grains are combined in different ways: Single Malt Whisky
Single distillery uses only one particular malted grain. It contains whisky from different casks, and different years, giving a unique taste recognisable as typical of the distillery, bearing («usar/mostrar») usually the name of the distillery.
Blended Malt Whisky Mixture of different single malt whiskies from different distilleries. They’re usually labelled «pure
malt» or just «malt».
Blended Whisky Mixture of different types of whisky. The blend («mezcla») may contain whisky from different
distilleries, creating a flavour consistent with the brand. In this case, the name of the distillery is normally omit, being sold as a part of a blend (most Scotch, Irish and Canadian whiskies).
Cask strength (or «Barrel proof») Are rare cause just the really best whiskies are bottled in this way. They’re bottled from the cask
diluted or lightly diluted.
Single cask («Single Barrel») Are botteld from an individual cask, and these bottles are usually labelled with specific barrel and
bottle numbers.
Types
American Whiskey
Fermented mash of cereal grain; types: Bourbon whiskey (Tennessee whiskey): mash of, at least, 51% corn Corn whiskey: mash of, at least, 80% corn Malt whiskey: at least 51% of malted barley Rye whiskey: at least 51% rye («centeno»)
Rye malt whiskey: at least 51% malted rye Wheat whiskey: at least 51% wheat («trigo»)
These types cannot be distilled to no more than 80% of alcohol by volume, and barrelled at no more than 125 proof («grados de prueba/gradaciòn alcohòlica»)
Only water can be added to the final product, being colouring and flavouring prohibited.
These whiskeys must be aged in new charred-oak barrels, except the Corn whiskey, while it’s sold as a legal version of «Moonshine» (does not have to be aged).
American blended whiskeys combine straight whiskey with Neutral Grain Spirits (NGS), flavourings and colourings.
Types: Countries
Canadian Whisky
Canadian whiskies must be produced and aged in Canada by law.
Is distilled from a fermented mash of cereal grain, aged in wood barrels for not less than 3 years.
They may contain caramel and flavouring in addition to the distilled mash spirits, and there is no maximum limit on the alcohol level of the distillation.
Types: Countries
Irish Whiskey
Normally distilled three times. Traditionally used the distillation in pot stills, the column
still is now used to produce grain whiskey for blends. By law, must be produced in Ireland and aged in wooden
barrels for no less than 3 years, although in practice it’s usually three or four times that period.
Main types are: Single malt Single grain Blended whiskey Pure pot still whiskey
Types: Countries
Scotch
Usually distilled twice, although some are distilled three times, and other even up to 20 times.
By law, must bear the label «Scotch», be distilled in Scotland and matured for a minimum of 3 years in oak casks.
An age statement in the bottle must reflect the age of the youngest Scotch whisky used to produce that product, being as three years old if not statement included.
The distinctive smoky flavour of the Scotch whisky comes up due to the use of peat («turba») smoke to treat their malt.
The main five regions of Scotch malt whiskies are Highland, Lowland, Islay, Speyside e Campbeltown.
Types: Countries
Volumes Currently, the direct
exports of scotch is well performing in US, Mexico and India, falling near to 30% in China.
The US is the largest market by value, while India in terms of volume.
Good performance but with difficulties due to the tax hike since 2012 in the Spirits.
There’s not a single right way to taste the
Classic Malts, eventhough there are surely ways of tasting it better.
The main ways are:
Ways of doing
1) With waterIt changes the compoundsof the whisky, raising tastes and aromas.The best would be filling itwith scotch water (watercoming from the same placeof the distillery), unless withnatural/still water.
2) With ice «On the rocks»Refreshing the whisky butit may take aromas and tastesoff the drink.
3) With sodaIt may not be the best way to taste asingle malt, but therecould be different brandsappropriate for thisway of doing (JW Red Label)
Before a meal («Aperitivo»)
They could be a perfect «aperitivo» if drinking the lighter whisky in aroma, close to recently cut grass and fresh fruit, to prepare the palate before eating.
During the meal Desserts, (salty) cakes, cheese, and other kind
of meals that could perfectly match a single malt-
Examples in the next slide
Ways of doing
The salmon gets
the control over the strong aroma coming from the single malt, increasing the other tastes.
Good with herbs and vegetables. Cut the salmon
in different parts Roll/Wrap each
piece to basilicum, parsley, and add a little lemon squeeze.
Ways of doing: Recipes
Strong flavours that match each other and offers a magnific duet of delicacy in the palate. Toast a piece of
bread spiced (with honey e.g.) making it crunchy
Put a slice of Roquerfort in the piece of toasted bread
Add some ficus fruit or grapes
Kinds of...
Taste map
Main Brands
Cocktails recipes