Whisky Fundamentals
The Truth About Whisky Awards
Published 14/07/2021
Every now and again the newspapers run headlines like: The Scotsman - Scotch Whisky Masters 2021: Top winners include The Sassenach, £15 Lidl blend and 25 year old Bunnahabhain The Independent – Lidl whisky costing £13.49 named one of the best in the world The Metro – Four of Aldi’s whiskies have been named among the best in the world Forbes – Inexpensive Whiskies From Supermarket Aldi Win Gold at 2018 Scotch Whisky Masters As exciting as these headlines sound you will almost certainly not be surprised to learn that that £15 whisky is not actually the best in the world.
The Truth About Whisky Awards
What is a whisky neck pour
Published 10/07/2021
The concept of oxidisation Unlike wine which can continues to mature within a bottle* whisky maturation is entirely cask based meaning that no further maturation will take place once a whisky is bottled. This does not mean however that a whisky will remain the same indefinately even if properly stored. Once opened the effect of additive and reductive oxidisation may improve a whisky for a time, though will ultimately destroy a whisky to such a degree that oxidisation must be guarded against.
What is a whisky neck pour
The languages of Scotland
Published 09/06/2021
Officially there are three languages in Scotland: English, Scots and Gaelic. Almost all Scots speak standard English these days, which is the official and educational language and, as in other countries, is regionally colored with different accents and dialects. English This so-called “Scottish English” does not diverge much in vocabulary and sentence melody from “Oxford English”, but is often difficult to understand in everyday use due to the mixture with Scots for visitors.
The languages of Scotland
What is high diastic power?
Published 11/05/2021
Diastatic Power (DP) is an important quality trait for malt used in adjunct brewing and distilling. For single malt production the DP of barley is more than sufficient to be used unaided, the same is not true for all other grains such as rye or wheat. For this reason US producers looking to make pure rye whiskies rely on the use of commercial enzymes. In other countries such as Scotland where the use of additive enzymes is not allowed, or more traditional producers a volume of high dp malted barley will be used instead.
What is high diastic power?
Types of Whisky Maturation Warehouses
Published 10/04/2021
The warehouse is a building, mostly attached to a distillery, in which the spirits slowly mature in oak barrels for years. In Scotland, and most of the rest of the world, the minimum period for whiskey to mature is three years in appropriate warehouses. There are three different categories of warehouses; the traditional dunnage warehouses, racked warehouses and the more modern the palletised warehouse. What is a Dunnage warehouse? A Dunnage (warehouse) is a traditional type of warehouse for maturing spirits, which is made of stone or brick these have no solid floor, are built rather low and have thick walls.
Types of Whisky Maturation Warehouses