Whisky Fundamentals
Japanese whisky distilleries worth knowing about
Published 17/01/2021
For the inclined drinker, ouzo belongs to Greece and cognac to France. When they think of whisky, they almost certainly thinks of Scotland. When Japan is invoked most would think of sake. However the country has a tradition of nearly one hundred years of distilling excellent whiskies. The pioneer: Yamazaki It all started here. Shinjiro Torii produced Japan’s first whisky in 1923 along the old road between Kyoto and Osaka. Torii was a pharmacist who caught the whisky fever when the first scotchs hit the country.
What are sherry casks?
Published 14/01/2021
What is the Solera method? The Solera method is a process of aging liquids such as wine, rum and brandy, by fractional blending so that the finished product is a mixture of ages. In this system, the casks are stacked on top of another, to allow the transfer cascade. That is, the change of liquids from one barrel to another by gravity. One of the characteristics of this system is that the percentage of the content of the barrels that is removed to fill others is limited.
What is an Oloroso Sherry Cask?
Published 23/12/2020
Oloroso Sherry Cask are whisky casks which have been previously held Oloroso Sherry. Oloroso Sherry is a type of fortified wine produced near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. The Sherry Triangle produces wines which have been ‘fortified’ with a higher alcohol strength in order to prevent yeast growth and bottled under the official name of Jerez-Xérès-Sherry. There is something of a manufactured misconception, that the casks used at these bodegas are the same used for whisky maturation however this is not the case.
The Danish Whisky Boom
Published 22/11/2020
The whisky and distillery boom did not stop in Denmark until very recently. In contrast to their Nordic neighbours, Danish producers are no longer subject to an alcohol monopoly with state outlets for beer, wine and spirits. Likewise the extremely high taxes on alcohol are no longer retarding domestic production in Denmark. Every supermarket can offer spirits here and the distilleries can also sell their goods directly. These are relatively recent developments however, although the state alcohol monopoly was given up in 1973 when Denmark joined the European Economic Community (EEC, the precursor to the European Union) the countries domestic alchohol tax remained high until the mid ’90s.
Washbacks
Published 02/09/2020
What are Washbacks? Washbacks or Fermentersare vessels made of wood, stainless steel , stoneware or concrete used for fermentation in connection with the production of alcohol. Within the whisky industry fermentation tanks are traditionally made of wood though a number of distilleries have followed the example of wine makers and breweries and begun shifting to stainless steel. Concrete Washbacks Famously, or perhaps infamously the Scottish Ben Nevis distillery was fitted with concrete washbacks under the tenure of former Canadian bootlegger Joseph William Hobbs.