What is Whisky / Whiskey?
A beginner’s guide to aqua vitae.
What is whisky? Aqua vitae, or, usquabae; loosely translated, means “water of life”, its history is a varied one, as so often, great spirits are. But what is it, actually? Broken down simply, whisky/whiskey, is a cereal based distillate that’s been aged for at least three years in wooden barrels.
The way whisky/whiskey is spelt, depends on the region that it’s made in. Scotch whisky is made in Scotland, Irish whiskey is made in Ireland, and bourbon is made in Kentucky.
Whisky is a drink rich in history and mystic lore — what we now call “Science” — of copper pot stills having to be replaced by one identical down to the last dent and scrape.
Let’s break down how the distillates are made.
Whisky distillates are the true spirit (pun intended) of the distillery’s essence. Made using cereals (commonly, grains and barley) in either copper potstills or column stills.
They are colourless when they’re first distilled and gain the colour and flavour/aroma from the wood casks; typically, ex-bourbon casks, though, recently, sherry butts/sherry finishes have seen a huge surge in popularity.
There are more bourbon casks available on the market, as traditionally, bourbon has to be aged in the United States, in new american oak barrels. Whiskies that are aged in bourbon casks typically have a light, golden hue and, as a rule of thumb, can be characterized as being vanilla and honey forward.
Fun fact: the biggest industry for bourbon casks is actually… tabasco!
There are several terms that you’ll hear thrown about by whisky afficianados. Here are several to add to your cheat-sheet to make it seem like you really know your shit.
“IB”, or “independent bottler”
An independent bottler is a third-party operator who buys casks from distilleries itself. One of the oldest, and more famous ones, are G&M — Gordon & Macphail.
Cask Strength
Whisky (legally) has to be at least 40%ABV (80proof if you’re American) to be called whisky. Typically, whiskies are watered down once they come out of the cask to a more palatable 40%, though again, there is a rising trend of “cask strength” whiskies. What this means is that it has not been substantially diluted. As a rule of thumb, it’s safe to say that anything between 55%-66%ABV is cask strength.
Single Malt / Single Grain
This is an entire essay by itself, but simply put: the single in single malt or single grain, simply means that it’s distilled and matured in one single distillery.
Blended
Again, an entire essay/topic in itself, but in general, blended means a blend of malt + grain whisky (can also be from one distillery, can also be from several. We will touch on this topic soon.)
Next post, we will go into Single Malts & Single Grains.
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