Scottish national drink. Whisky
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Scotland is famous for its whisky and if you've ever tasted it, you'll know why. You will learn the truth about using barley, water, yeast and peat to create the distinctive taste, texture, colour and smell of whisky. You will also be treated toq some different whiskies and learn all about the different kinds available. Many of them can only be visited by booking in advance and you can do an organized trail or create your own.
Scottish
Whisky or better known as Scotch, is widely familiar as the world's
leading splendid spirit. Its success in the international market has
led to Scotch being sold in over 200 countries around the globe. The
world's principal national drink, may only be called "Scotch"
if it has been distilled and matured in Scotland. This well known
international spirit is distilled in a land that is of utmost beauty,
and it takes nothing from mother nature that she will not gladly
replace. Of all the spirits mankind has distilled, refined and
improved from nature's huge stores of goodness, Scotch is the most
dignified. It is a natural drink, a distillation of the riches with
which Scotland is so richly gifted - fields of golden barley and
wheat, clear waters tumbling down glens of granite and over moors of
peat; and the cool, pure air of Scotland. Scotland is home to the
greatest concentration of Malt Whisky distilleries in the world.
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Regulations and labelling
Legal definition
As of 23 November 2009, the Scotch Whisky Regulations (SWR) define and regulate the production, labelling, packaging, and advertising of Scotch whisky. They replace previous regulations that focused solely on production. The SWR define "Scotch whisky" as whisky that is:- Produced at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) all of which have been:
- Processed at that distillery into a mash
- Converted at that distillery to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems
- Fermented at that distillery only by adding yeast
- Distilled at an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 94.8%
- Wholly matured in an excise warehouse in Scotland in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres for at least three years
- Retaining the colour, aroma, and taste of the raw materials used in, and the method of, its production and maturation
- Containing no added substances, other than water and plain (E150A) caramel colouring
- Comprising a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40%
Labelling
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The label always features a declaration of the malt or grain whiskies used. A single malt Scotch whisky is one that is entirely produced from malt in one distillery. One may also encounter the term "single cask", signifying the bottling comes entirely from one cask. The terms "blended malt" or "vatted malt" are interchangeable, and signify that single malt whisky from different distilleries are blended in the bottle. The Cardhu distillery also began using the term "pure malt" for the same purpose, causing a controversy in the process over clarity in labelling—the Glenfiddich distillery was using the term to describe some single malt bottlings. As a result, the Scotch Whisky Association declared that a mixture of single malt whiskies must be labelled a "blended malt". The use of the former terms "vatted malt" and "pure malt" is prohibited. The term "blended malt" is still debated, as some bottlers maintain that consumers confuse the term with "blended Scotch whisky", which contains some proportion of grain whisky.
The brand name featured on the label is usually the same as the distillery name (for example, the Talisker Distillery labels its whiskies with the Talisker name). Indeed, the SWR prohibit bottlers from using a distillery name when the whisky was not made there. A bottler name may also be listed, sometimes independent of the distillery. In addition to requiring that Scotch whisky be distilled in Scotland, the SWR require that it also be bottled and labeled in Scotland.
WHISKY'S AGE
A whisky's age may be listed on the bottle providing a guarantee of the youngest whisky used. An age statement on the bottle, in the form of a number, must reflect the age of the youngest whisky used to produce that product. A whisky with an age statement is known as guaranteed age whisky. Scotch whisky without an age statement may, by law, be as young as three years old.A label may carry a distillation date or a bottling date. Whisky does not mature once bottled, so if no age statement is provided, one may calculate the age of the whiskey if both the distillation date and bottling date are given.
Labels may also carry various declarations of filtration techniques or final maturation processes. A Scotch whisky labelled as "natural" or "non-chill-filtered" has not been through a filtration process during bottling that removes compounds that some consumers see as desirable.
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Types of Scotch whisky
- Single malt Scotch whisky means a Scotch whisky produced from only water and malted barley at a single distillery by batch distillation in pot stills.
- Single grain Scotch whisky means a Scotch whisky distilled at
a single distillery but, in addition to water and malted barley, may
involve whole grains of other malted or unmalted cereals. "Single
grain" does not mean that only a single type of grain was used
to produce the whisky—rather, the adjective "single"
refers only to the use of a single distillery (and making a
"single grain" requires using a mixture of grains,
as barley is a type of grain and some malted barley must be used in
all Scotch whisky).
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Three types of blends are defined for Scotch whisky:
- Blended malt Scotch whisky means a blend of two or more single malt Scotch whiskies from different distilleries.
- Blended grain Scotch whisky means a blend of two or more single grain Scotch whiskies from different distilleries.
- Blended Scotch whisky means a blend of one or more single
malt Scotch whiskies with one or more single grain Scotch whiskies.
As was the case under the Scotch Whisky Act 1988, regulation 5 of the SWR 2009 stipulates that the only whisky that may be manufactured in Scotland is Scotch whisky. The definition of manufacture is "keeping for the purpose of maturation; and keeping, or using, for the purpose of blending, except for domestic blending for domestic consumption." This provision prevents the existence of two ‘grades’ of whisky originating from Scotland, one “Scotch whisky” and the other, a “whisky – product of Scotland” that complies with the generic EU standard for whisky. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, allowing non-Scotch whisky production in Scotland would make it difficult to protect Scotch whisky as a distinctive product.
In addition to prohibiting whisky production in Scotland other than Scotch Whisky, the law forbids maturing or blending whiskies in Scotland other than Scotch Whisky. This prevents descriptions such as “whisky – matured in Scotland” or “whisky – blended in Scotland” on spirits that are not Scotch Whisky. The Scotch Whisky Association says this will help ensure “Scotch Whisky” remains a distinct product.
Single grain
The majority of grain whisky produced in Scotland goes to make blended Scotch whisky. The average blended whisky is 60%–85% grain whisky. Some higher-quality grain whisky from a single distillery is bottled as single grain whisky.Blended / vatted malt
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Blended
Blended Scotch whisky constitutes about 90% of the whisky produced in Scotland. Blended Scotch whiskies contain both malt whisky and grain whisky. Producers combine the various malts and grain whiskies to produce a consistent brand style. Notable blended Scotch whisky brands include Bells, Dewar's, Johnnie Walker, Whyte and Mackay, Cutty Sark, J&B, The Famous Grouse, Ballantine's and Chivas Regal.A bit of history:
Independent bottlers
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Most malt distilleries sell a significant amount of whisky by the cask for blending, and sometimes to private buyers as well. Whisky from such casks is sometimes bottled as a single malt by independent bottling firms such as Duncan Taylor, Master of Malt, Gordon & MacPhail, Cadenhead's, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Murray McDavid, Signatory, Douglas Laing, and others. These are usually labelled with the distillery's name, but not using the distillery's trademarked logos or typefaces. An "official bottling" (or "proprietary bottling"), by comparison, is from the distillery (or its owner). Many independent bottlings are from single casks, and they may sometimes be very different from an official bottling.
For a variety of reasons, some independent brands do not identify which facility distilled the whisky in the bottle. They may instead identify only the general geographical area of the source, or they simply market the product using their own brand name without identifying their source. This may, in some cases, be simply to give the independent bottling company the flexibility to purchase from multiple distillers without changing their labels.
History
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Whisky production was first taxed in 1644, causing a rise in illicit whisky distilling in the country. Around 1780, there were about eight legal distilleries and 400 illegal ones. In 1823, Parliament eased restrictions on licensed distilleries with the "Excise Act", while at the same time making it harder for the illegal stills to operate, thereby ushering in the modern era of Scotch production. Two events helped to increase whisky's popularity: first, a new production process was introduced in 1831 called Coffey or Patent Still (see in section below); the whisky produced with this process was less intense and smoother.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_whisky
Video source: youtube.com
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