Whisky

“Whisky is liquid sunshine.”

-George B. Shaw  
Irish playwright, Pygmalion
 Structure
• Why Whisky?
• What is Whisky?
o History
o How it’s made
• Types/Styles/Categories of Whisky
• Whisky Jargon
• Tasting Whisky
 Origin
• What is Whisky??
• Scotch
• Japanese
• On the Rocks
• Shot
• Old fashioneds
• Whisky and coke
 Origin
• Etymology: 
• UISCE in Irish Gaelic, and UISGE in Scottish Gaelic
• Uisge Beatha meaning "water of life,"
• Aqua Vitae in Latin.
• ‘a spirit distilled from malted grain, especially barley or
rye.’
• Distilling techniques were brought to Ireland and Scotland
sometime between 1200 and 1400 by monks.
• Medicinal purposes: treatment of colic and smallpox
• 1404 – Oldest reference to Irish Whisky
• 1494 - Oldest reference to Scottish whisky
 The Rise of Whisky
• 1880s - the
French brandy industry was
devastated by the phylloxera pest

• Destruction of 60% - 85% of

Europe’s vineyards

• Whisky became the primary

liquor in many markets.
 Whiskey or Whisky?
• IRELAND/USA : Whiskey
• UK/Europe/Asia: Whisky
 How is Whisk(e)y Made?
• Malting
• Milling
• Mashing
• Fermentation
• Distillation
• Maturation
Grains
Malting
• Best quality grain is first
steeped in water and then
spread out on malting floors
to germinate.
• Enzymes are activated
which convert the starch
into sugar.
• After 6 to 7 days of
germination the barley,
goes to the kiln for drying.
 What is peat?
• Kilning - To stop the germination process, the malt is dried by
heating in the kiln.
• In Scotland , in islands sand regions were there are a few trees,
kilning traditionally used heat from a peat fire as it was freely
available fossil fuel.
• Peat forms over thousands of years in poorly drained wetland
conditions, from partially decomposed vegetation and other
composting agents.
The smoke emitted by the peat imparts very different flavours and
aromas to the barley
The amount of peatiness/smokiness is measured in parts per
million (ppm) of phenols
 Milling
Powder form: Grist
Consistency is important for
maximising extraction of
fermentable sugars during
the mashing process.
• 20% Husk (coarse)
• 70% heart (medium)
• 10% flour (fine)
Types of Mills
 Mashing
• The Grist, is mixed with hot water in the mash tun. The
water is added in 3 stages and gets hotter at each stage,
starting around 62°C and rising to almost boiling point. 

The quality of the pure water is important. The mash is

stirred, helping to convert the starches to sugar. After
mashing, the sweet sugary liquid is known as wort and
drained.
Mash Tuns
 Fermentation
•The wort is cooled to 20°C and pumped into washbacks,
•Yeast is added and fermentation begins (2-7 days).
•Producing alcohol, carbon dioxide and quantities of other compounds known
as congeners
•Main Difference between whisky and beer production:
•No Hops
•Wort is not boiled – Yeast converts more sugars into alcohol for longer and
allows more complex reactions,
•After fermentation is complete the beer-like wash, (4-8% ABV), is pumped
into the wash still for distillation.
Stainless vs Wooden Washbacks
 Distillation
• Distillation is the process by which lighter and heavier
molecules are separated by means of temperature
manipulation, this is typically achieved by heating, though
freeze distillation is also possible. 
• 78.37◦C
• Copper -  interacts with the alcohol vapor to clean and
purify from sulfur, some of the esters and other (taste and
scent imparting) impurities – called congeners are drawn
out 
 Double/Triple
• First to separate the alcohol from the water, yeast and
residue. Known as low wines, about 20% ABV.
• Second distillation. The more volatile compounds - the
foreshots, and the feints where more oily compounds are
vaporised, are both channelled off and mixed with the next
batch of Low wines
• Third distillation – More refined spirit (typically Irish
whisky)
 Pot still vs Column still
• Column (Coffey) Still: • Pot still:
• 24hours a day production • Single cycle
• Higher concentrate output ( 95% • Lower alcohol Concentrate
ABV) (70%ABV)
• Cheaper
• Inefficient
• Less congeners to the spirit (150-
300ppm) • More congeners (260-490ppm)
Pot Stills
Continuous Stills
 Maturation

American White Oak European Oak

• Coconut • Richer dried fruit cake

• Honey • Raisin
• Dates
• Tropical fruits (Pineapple)
• Toffee
• Vanilla
• Bitter/tannic
• Lighter in colour • Darker in colour
 Extra Flavour
• Casks have previously o Rum
held: o Cognac
o Beer
o Bourbon
o Sherry (Olorosso, PX,
Manzanilla, etc.)
o Port
o Muscat
 Age
• Smoother, gains flavour and richer in colour.
• A proportion of the higher alcohols turn into esters and other
complex compounds which subtly enhance each whisky's
distinctive characteristics. 
• Age statement – reflects the youngest whisky that
compromises that whisky
• Angel Share
• 2% p.a. (UK)
• 5% p.a. (USA)
• 12% p.a. (India/Australia)
,
Barrel Sizes
 Styles of Whisky
• Blended Whisky
• Single Malt Whisky
• Single Grain Whisky
• Blended/Pure Malt
 Single Malt

• Produced and bottled in a

single distillery

• 100% malted barley

 Blended Whisky

• Is a blend of two or more

malt and grain whiskies

• 90% of the whiskies drunk

today
 Single Grain
• Single: Distilled in one
distillery.
• Grain: can be made from
any cereal grain.
 Blended Malt

• 100% malted barley,

• Mixed with other single malt

whiskies from various sources
(distilleries)
SCOTCH vs IRISH
vs BOURBON vs
RYE vs
EVERYTHING
ELSE
 Irish Whiskey
• Typically uses unmalted barley
• Triple distilled
• Aged for 3 years
• 1608 - Old Bushmills Distillery:  the
oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the
world
• 19th Century: the dominant player on
the world whisk(e)y stage, Was the
epitome of quality/ Victorian whisky of
the world
• 1972- 2 distilleries (2000+)
• Lighter style/peaches and
 Scotch
• Made in Scotland
• Double distilled
• By law, single malt Scotch must
be made on pot stills –minimum
aging is three years in barrels.
• £4.7 Billion (AUD $8.64Billion)
• Blends valued at £3.04 Billion
(65%)
 The Rise of Scotch
• 1830s and 1890s: Irish Temperance Movement
• 5 million of a population of ~8 million taking “the pledge”
• 1830: Invention and use of Coffey stills
• 1845-1852: Irish Famine - cut the population by 20%-25%,
• 1846: Repeal of British corn laws – Cheaper corn imports
• 1919-1921: Irish War for Independence - 20% import duty to Britain
• 1920-1933: Prohibition – USA 2nd largest market
 Bourbon
• Bourbon, comes from an area
known as Old Bourbon, around
what is now Bourbon County,
Kentucky.
• Bourbon Street in New
Orleans, a major port where
shipments of Kentucky whiskey
sold well as a cheaper
alternative to French cognac
 Bourbon
• Mixture of grains must contain at
least 51% corn.
• Double distillation
• Distilled at 160 proof or less,
• Barreled at 125 proof or less,
• Must not contain any additives.
• Must be aged in a new charred oak
barrel.
• Continuous column stills
 Tennessee Whiskey
• ‘Mellowing’ - filtered
through sugar-maple
charcoal chips before
going into the casks for
aging and bottling. 
• the Lincoln County Process
• A bourbon or not?
 Rye
• American rye whiskey, at least 51%
rye
• Canadian whisky, which may or may
not actually include any rye in its
production process.
• Most Canadian Whisky is made on
column stills. relatively high still
proof.
• Aged two years or more
 Whisky Jargon pt.1
• (E150A) Caramel colouring
• Smoky/Peaty
• Serve: Neat, On the rocks, Water on Side
• Vatted Malt/Pure Malt
• Chill filtered
• chilled to precipitate out fatty acid esters and then filtered to
remove them. Most whiskies are bottled this way, unless specified
as unchillfiltered or non chill filtered. 
 Whisky Jargon pt.2
• Sherry Bomb
• Dessert Whiskies
• Cask Strength
• Speyside, Highlands, Islay, Lowlands, Campbelltown
• Single Barrel/single Cask
• Proof
Slainte!
 Coffey Still
• After Scotland’s introduction of the coffey column still in
the early 1800s, it took the lead in the whisky market. - 2.
The invention of the continuous/column Coffey Still,
patented in 1830. Irish distillers were hugely reluctant to
adopt the column still (despite Coffey being an Irishman)
that they thought diluted the flavor of their whiskey
 Irish Famine
• 1845-1852
• mass starvation, disease and emigration which decimated
the countries domestic market
• cut the population by 20%-25%, 
• large scale emigration bringing the population down to
little over half the pre-famine period. 
The Irish Temperence Movement
• 1830s and 1890s: 5 million of a population of
approximately 8 million taking “the pledge”
 The Irish War of Independence
(1919 – 1921)
• Anglo-Irish Trade War 
• The additional 20% import duty This pretty much killed
the top market for Irish whiskey: Britain. 
• Scotch to expand and firmly entrench themselves in both
Britain and throughout the commonwealth.
 American Prohibition
• 1920-1933
• All alcohol sales were banned in the country.
• This killed Ireland’s second largest market in America. 
 British corn laws
• 1946: Protectionist laws were repealed which allowed
Scottish whisky manufacturers to import cheap grains,
which unlike barley did not require malting
• Charles Maclean, the author of Scotch Whisky: A Liquid History, said:
"Prohibition was the best thing that ever happened to Scotch.
• George Rosie, author of Curious Scotland, Tales from a Hidden History,
which chronicles the antics of the bootleggers, said the very profitable
relationship between respectable whisky firms and American mobsters "is
one of the great stories that has never been told".
• Mr Rosie said: "The Scotch whisky industry prior to Prohibition had gone
through a long period of aggressive expansion and they were determined
to keep hold of the American market by any means that they could.
 Irish
• Traditionally Irish whiskey was made on pot stills, but
today column stills play a bigger role, since many of the
big blends (including Jameson, Bushmills, and Tullamore
Dew)  are made from a combination of distillate produced
on column stills and distillate produced on pot stills.
Many Irish whiskeys, including single malts and single pot
still styles, are made exclusively with pot stills.