Whisky Fundamentals
What Is a Dram Of Whisky?
Published 24/07/2020
If you drink whisky regularly, you really can’t avoid hearing someone use the word dram. With good friends in the pub, at a whisky show or when touring a distillery the volume always seems to differ making a dram seem to be a rather imprecise unit of measurement. So it’s high time to get to the bottom of the measure of dram. The British Measurement System Our first research impulse lead us to the Anglo-American system of measurement, which is still used today in parts of the former British Empire.
What Is a Dram Of Whisky?
Whisky Casks: The Hogshead
Published 24/07/2020
After barrels, hogsheads are the second-most common type of cask used in maturing Scotch whisky. A hogshead, or ‘hoggie’, is a unique type of reconstructed cask with extra staves and new ends. Considered the most popular aging mechanism, it allows for more whisky to be stored in the same amount of warehouse space, though with less wood contact than the common American Standard Barrel. What Is A Hogshead? A Hogshead is an approximately 250 liter oak barrel used for the maturation of Scotch whisky.
Whisky Casks: The Hogshead
Americans and Prohibition
Published 22/07/2020
United States At the beginning of the seventeenth century it’s fair to say Europe was not at its peak, famines, war and repressions led many of its citizens to emigrate to other countries and the New World was often seen as a place full of possibilities. Among the migrants there were also Scots and Irish, who in addition to their luggage, they also carried the secrets of distillation. The first settlers Initially Scots and Irish settled on the east coast of the New World, they founded the states of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Americans and ProhibitionBarley Varietals and Whisky Production
Published 22/07/2020
Barley, water and yeast are the only ingredient in Single malt Scotch (colourings aside) but few whisky drinkers seem to know or care much about it. Bruichladdich whisky distillery among others feels very differently about this, as shown by their recent terroir experiment, and few are keen to admit that more and more is being produced not in Scotland but in England. How much Malted Barley is used for Whisky Making?
Chill Filtration
Published 22/07/2020
‘Non chill-filtered’ the term sounds good on the label of a whisky bottle. And many whisky connoisseurs are firmly convinced that an unfiltered single malt is the way it should be. But what exactly happens with the chill-filtration of whisky? And do unfiltered whiskies really taste better? Are ‘non chill-filtered’ whiskies better than chill-filtered whiskies? The general consensus is that from a purely taste perspective the impact is so small as to be unnoticible in a blind tasting.
Chill Filtration