Whisky Fundamentals
Spirit caramel (E150A) in whisky
Published 09/08/2020
Most Scotch, and many Irish whiskies are coloured with the addition of E150A food colouring (commonly known as spirit caramel). That this is not only the case for blends, but incredibly common amoung single malts as well is one of the most controversial topics amoung whisky connoisseurs alongside No Age Statement whiskies and chill-filtration. The use of caramel colouring is common enough and regularly found in soft drinks such as cola.
Spirit caramel (E150A) in whisky
Whisky & Oxidation
Published 06/08/2020
Unlike wine, whisky doesn’t continue to mature after it’s been bottled but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t change. Oxidation is great transformation tool, and one to oft overlooked by new whisky enthusiasts. Spoiling Great Whisky There are two great truths of the human condition; We never want a good thing to end Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei (German for ‘everything has an end, only the sausage has two’) When an inexperienced whisky fan finds a spectacular new whisky they generally go through a three stages.
Whisky & Oxidation
Sulpher in Whisky
Published 06/08/2020
Sulphur is a controvertial topic within the whisky industry, and a number of high profile characters, including the man with the hat have waded in. Unfortunaly this has often served the purpose of confusing the matter rather than clearing it up. It should be understood that whiskey always has, and always will contain sulfur compounds. Sometimes its concentration is so low that it does not reach the odor thresholdand thus cannot be perceived.
Sulpher in Whisky
Whisky Production Process
Published 01/08/2020
While every distillery has its own recipe for making malt whisky, they all largely follow a basic recipe. The process, although strictly regulated, offers a lot of leeway for the master distiller to create his own style. Each step affects the character of the malt. Let’s find out how Uisge Beatha is made and how the flavors get into the whisky. Ingredients whisky consists of surprisingly few basic ingredients; grain, water and yeast.
Whisky Production Process
What is a Mortons Refrigerator?
Published 31/07/2020
A Mortons Refrigerator is a device used to cool wort drawn from a mashtun using only cold water. Largely abandoned as a technology in favour of modern heat exchangers these used to be prevelant across the whisky industry. After boiling water is fed through the ground barley in the mash tun the resulting wort must be heated before fermentation can begin. At Edraduor distillery this cooled in the Morton refrigerator only with cold water.
What is a Mortons Refrigerator?