William M. Dowd heads to the Ozark mountains to investigate Glenmorangie's impressive wood policy.
In most of life’s undertakings, patience is a virtue. In whisky making, it is a requirement. And, in this era of worldwide efforts to improve the sustainability of the environment, it is becoming an absolute necessity.
It was a gray day as we stood on the Victors Point ridge high above a gentle cur...
By William M. Dowd
from Issue 72 published on 19/06/2008
A distillery’s year comprises more than four seasons,with the addition of an annual silent season.But while nature’s seasons happen quite naturally,the silent season requires a lot of planning.Ian Wisniewski explains why.
It’s called the silent season but that’s the wrong name for it, as it’s a very busy season.
“Silent just means that you’re not producing spirit,”says Alan Winchester of Chivas Brothers.
In fact, there’s plenty of alternative activity, as the silent season allows for various inspections,maintenance...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 70 published on
The mash tun is a vital vessel,accommodating the conversion of starch within the grist into sugars,using a
sequence of three,or even four waters at a progressively higher temperatures. But rather than the mashing
process,the aim of this article is to explore the design of a mash tun,and the practicalities that enable mashing
to take place – Ian Wisniewski reports.
Mash tuns were traditionally fashioned from cast iron, with the move to stainless steel dating from around 20 years ago,though Springbank and Royal Lochnagar are two examples of distilleries still using cast iron. One factor is that cast iron retains heat longer than stainless steel, but this is a d...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 68 published on 07/12/2007
Ian Wisniewski looks at how companies are developing new barley varieties
The usual question when discussing barley is whether individual varieties can influence the character of the new make spirit, and opinions on this subject vary.
But there are also other ways in which distillers, along with maltsters and farmers, appraise what a barley variety has to offer.
And tha...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 66 published on 25/09/2007
Ian Wisniewski investigates distillery character versus maturation character
The benefits of oak aging have been appreciated far longer than they’ve been understood, as it’s only since the 1970s-80s that detailed research has enabled science to supplant, or confirm, what experience had indicated. However, while maturation can account for up to 60-70 per cent of a malt’s fina...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 65 published on 20/07/2007
Ian Wisniewski delves in to the role of grains in a blend
Blended Scotch is a prime example of a speciality that evolved from a practicality. Malt whiskies were originally considered too robust for typical palates, particularly as peating was standard practise, so blending malts with grain whiskies, from the 1860s, resulted in a style that was easier to en...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 64 published on 01/06/2007
Two new distilleries announced in as many months...are we on the brink of a golden time for whisky? Ian Buxton finds out
Things are stirring in the world of Scotch whisky. With growing affluence in the so called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) the demand for luxury whisky is growing rapidly.
Sales of premium blends and malts, both single and blended, are moving ahead rapidly with double-digit growth re...
By Ian Buxton
from Issue 63 published on 20/04/2007
Ian Wisniewski looks at how companies are pushing the boundaries with casks
Innovative cask selection provides two valuable opportunities, enhancing the flavour profile of the resulting malt whisky, while also giving the distiller (and marketing department) a story to promote. And with malt whisky fans now accustomed to continual innovation, their inevitable refrain is what...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 63 published on 20/04/2007
Barley is one of the vital ingredients in whisky,but with shortages and price increases is there going to be a knock on effect?
It is the cornerstone the industry is built on, indeed the core of a good whisky and yet barley remains possibly one of the most under discussed issues.
Let’s face it barley tends to be sidelined during conversations about the whisky making process.
Distillers will often go to great lengths to dis...
By
from Issue 62 published on 01/03/2007
The tradition of high strength bottlings was a natural launch pad for cask strength malts,which have gathered momentum since the late 1980s. Ian Wisniewski finds out more.
Cask strength bottlings vary from around 65% ABV, to just above the legal minimum of 40% ABV. Being bottled at the strength they reach in the cask (rather than being diluted with water to reach a particular strength), the appeal of cask strength malts is acquiring whisky in its most ‘natural’ form.
...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 62 published on 01/03/2007
The Blue Grass Cooperage is one of the major barrel making companies in the United States, Rob Allanson took a tour
Opening the door to the work floor and you get hit with this wall of noise and a great smell of oak.
The Blue Grass cooperage is an exceptionally busy place churning out high quality American white oak barrels which end up filled with Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniels among other spirits.
The 185 ...
By Rob Allanson
from Issue 61 published on 19/01/2007
Ian Wisniewski looks at the challenging role of distillery managers
It takes various professions to provide us with malt whisky, starting with the farmers who grow the barley, the maltsters and the peat cutters.
That’s before any of the distillery team become involved, including mashmen and stillmen, as well as the lab teams and nosing panels.
Then it’s onto the c...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 61 published on 19/01/2007
Grain whisky is stepping into the spotlight after years of being undervalued. Ian Wisniewski finds out more
What a change. Just as it seemed that grain whisky would always be consigned to its traditional, supporting role within blended Scotch, a new era has begun. A growing number of grain whiskies are being released in their own right, and getting a very good reception.
“We’ve had phenomenal growth in o...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 60 published on 10/11/2006
Ian Wisniewski gets to grips with an often
overlooked yet vitally important stage of the
production process – milling
With commercial maltsters preparing the vast majority of the industry’s malt requirement, milling is usually the first process undertaken at a distillery.
Although this may seem an entirely practical stage, any deviation from the usual regime can have significant consequences.
“The mill is a very ...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 59 published on 11/10/2006
The quality of a new make spirit is crucial to making good whisky. Ian Wisniewski delves deeper into the process
With various single malts offering a broader choice of ages, comparing a 12, 15, 18 or 21 year old from the same distillery shows how the balance between the distillery character, and the influence of oak aging, continually evolves.
Deliberating between different ages to see how both elements inter...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 58 published on 30/08/2006
Every part of the distillation process is crucial to making good whisky. Ian Wisniewski explains
With the character of the new make spirit being a focal point of distillation, it’s tempting to assume that the low wines are simply an interim stage.
But if the low wines didn’t comprise the right parameters to be refined by a second distillation, the new make spirit wouldn’t attain a consistent c...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 57 published on 21/07/2006
Kilning might seem to be a standard practice,but it has a large bearing on the whisky-making process. Ian Wisniewski reports
Kilning may seem an entirely practical function, in order to dry the barley once it has germinated. However, maintaining a consistent regime requires considerable skill, and not only to optimise the yield of alcohol. Kilning also develops the character of the malt, while peating adds an additional r...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 56 published on 01/06/2006
Peaty whisky has been enjoying a long spell in the limelight.But are there new territories to explore? Ian Wisniewski reports
Being called names doesn’t bother me, and I’m sure the rest of the gang are fine about it too. After all, ‘peat freak’ or ‘peat head’ only indicates a passion for peated malts, and there’s nothing derogatory about that.
As an ultimate style, peated malts have an integral sense of challenge (can you...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 55 published on 14/04/2006
Ian Wisniewski looks at evaporation and how it varies
Losing around two per cent of a cask’s contents through evaporation can seem a depressing annual statistic for distillers (and even more so for accountants). But this type of regret is a pointless emotion, as evaporation is an essential enabler of the aging process.
Often summarised as ‘concentrati...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 55 published on 14/04/2006
Ian Wisniewski explains how oxidation affects maturation
With oak casks regarded as the key influence during maturation, it’s tempting to see oxidation (the interaction of air and spirit within the cask) as a secondary factor. However, as air (principally oxygen) is an essential enabler of maturation, oxidation is actually a vital element.
But oxidation ...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 54 published on 03/03/2006
In the last issue we looked in depth at bourbon casks. Here Ian Wisniewski considers how sherry ones perform
It was entirely due to practicality that sherry casks became a staple choice for maturing malts. Sherry was originally shipped in casks from Jerez to the United Kingdom, principally the ports of Bristol and Leith. As the UK was a major sherry market, with bottling undertaken locally, the empty casks...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 53 published on 12/01/2006
Once upon a time,moonshine was big business,and the American South played out a daily game of cat and mouse as fast cars raced for the border. Jim Leggett goes in search of an American institution
The Dukes of Hazzard TV series may be relegated to reruns, but a new ‘Dukes’ movie introduced a fresh generation of fans to moonshine, rustic humour and gleeful car chases. In search of former moonshiners whose real-life adventures inspired ‘Hazzard’ story lines, I headed for the Cherokee foothills ...
By Jim Leggett
from Issue 52 published on 30/11/2005
Ian Wisniewski looks at how the bourbon barrel influences the taste of whisky
Although bourbon barrels dominate most cask inventories, it’s ironic that most malts also include the influence of sherry casks, with only a certain number of malts, or individual expressions, aged exclusively in bourbon barrels. This includes Laphroaig, Glemorangie 10 year old, Ardbeg 10 year old, ...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 52 published on 30/11/2005
Ian Wisniewski looks at wine finishes
Fortified wine casks introduced the concept of special finishes, with spirits such as calvados, cognac and rum following, but the range of wine cask finishes has become the most extensive.
This includes grape varieties including chardonnay and chenin blanc, styles of wine such as Bordeaux, Sauterne...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 51 published on 07/10/2005
Why is it that the reverence for single malts can turn into disappointment, or disdain,when single malts are mixed together? Is this based on knowing what blending can achieve,or just unenlightened prejudice?
Let’s start our evaluation of the category with a typical definition, that the resulting complexity exceeds the individual components of a vatted malt (I use this term in this article because it is not yet outlawed).
But with various single malts renowned for complexity, cynics assume vatted malts ...
By Dominic Roskrow
from Issue 50 published on 09/09/2005
Does the art of blending vary with the size of the operation? Richard Jones talks to John Glaser of Compass Box and John Ramsay of The Famous Grouse
They may share a common name, but the contrast between the two Johns could barely be greater.
The first, John Ramsay, is master blender for the Famous Grouse: the world’s seventh largest selling whisky, the most popular Scotch whisky in Scotland and a brand with a heritage stretching back to 1896; ...
By Richard Jones
from Issue 49 published on 15/07/2005
Nosing is a complex and skillful business. Ian Wisniewski looks at what it takes to get to the top
While each element of the production process is vital, the final stage of cask selection, vatting and blending really is paramount.
After all, the expertise and investment of preceeding years can be squandered if master distillers and blenders don’t maintain exacting standards. And as distilleries ...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 49 published on 15/07/2005
Only a couple of distilleries use Golden Promise, but they swear by it. Ian Wisniewski explains why
Barley varieties come and go on a regular basis, as new varieties offering increased yields for farmers and distillers, as well as greater disease resistance, are continually released. Developing new varieties can take up to 10 years, but this may only result in three to five years success, before t...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 48 published on 10/06/2005
Ian Wisniewski looks at whether the trend for organic proucts has a place in the world of malt whisky
Helping to make the world a more beautiful and sustainable place by drinking organic malt whisky is an evocative concept, with a few pioneering distilleries making this dream become a reality.
Although this is something of an innovation, it’s also of course a return to traditional practice, when al...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 47 published on 05/04/2005
While it doesn’t follow that older is necessarily better, great older whiskies are rare and to be respected. Ian Wisniewski reports
It’s hardly surprising that malts aged 40 years, and longer, are a rare and recent phenomenon, as 15 years aging was widely considered the limit for malts up until the 1970s.
Consequently, more mature specimens of malt can be a case of serendipity as much as strategy. Overproduction in the 1960s-70...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 46 published on 10/3/2005
It’s a fallacy to state that the older the whisky, the better it is. Young malts can have their own attractions. Ian Wisniewski reports
With so many styles of malt to choose from, including cask strength, special finishes and vintages, age statements have become a common denominator that consumers use to finalise choice.
But with the industry establishing 10 and 12 year olds as a benchmark of quality, what does this say about young...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 45 published on 21/1/2005
How important is regionalism to the character of whisky, and can broad generalisations be made? Ian Wisniewski considers
Choice is a beautiful thing, and we’ve never had so much. But choice without guidance can also be counter-productive, as knowing where to
start when faced with several hundred malts can be a real challenge.
That’s where the concept of regional character comes to the rescue, providing sound-bite def...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 44 published on 25/11/2004
Independent bottlers have driven innovation in the industry. But what future do they have?
Ian Wisniewski investigates
Alongside a few pioneers such as The Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet, private bottlers were instrumental in helping to develop the malt
whisky market.
During the 1980s, for example, various malts were only available from independent bottlers. But with more distilleries releasing a broader range of e...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 43 published on 23/10/2004
Ian Wisniewski looks at the role of the cooper and assesses what future the profession has
Oak management has become a mantra in the industry, reflecting the fact that between 40-70 per cent of a malt’s flavour is derived from the cask. But the people who help to ensure that casks give of their best, the coopers, rarely get a mention.
The profession divides up into production, bond and s...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 42 published on 3/9/2004
Ian Wisniewski explores the phenomenon of marine characteristics and asks why we can taste the sea when we drink some malts
The flavours we find in malts are inevitably a personal matter, reflecting the individuality of our palates, though the question of marine characteristics in malts is an increasingly public, and controversial debate.
Variously manifested as briny, sea breeze, seaweed, iodine, sea spray, and salty l...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 41 published on 16/7/2004
The reactions that go on in the cask and create whisky are still not fully understood. Ian Wisniewski takes a close look at the most recent research on the subject to see what it can tell us
It’s a ritual for the senses: colour, aroma, texture, flavour and follow-through, making the experience of a dram complete in itself.
But I also relish another form of fulfillment, based on analysis and research: to know how a malt achieves its apotheosis. And that means looking inside a cask, to s...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 40 published on 4/6/2004
What are the advantages of commercial maltsters, and why do some distilleries still have their own floor maltings? Ian Wisniewski reports
Embodying a sense of heritage and craftsmanship, floor maltings enable the entire production cycle to ben undertaken at the distillery, rather than ordering in ‘convenience malt.’ But various factors (beyond evocative photo opportunities for brochures) are involved in the decision to retain floor ma...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 39 published on 1/5/2004
Ian Wisniewski looks at the effects of different filling and bottling strengths
Choice is a wonderful thing, and that includes malts bottled at a comprehensive range of alcoholic strengths. This can be an important part of a
malt’s credentials, as well as influencing the flavour profile.
The strength at which malts are consumed is a subsequent consideration. But long before th...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 38 published on 7/4/2004
Ian Wisniewski compares the merits of worms against those of shell and tube condensers
If only I’d been taught chemistry on the basis of how malt whisky is distilled, I wouldn’t have spent so many years ignoring the teacher. Always an arts swot and never a scientist, I’ve got a lot of homework to do now that malt whisky has added meaning to my life.
Although I still consider malt whi...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 37 published on 23/2/2004
Ian Wisniewski explores the mysteries of the ageing warehouse and looks at how different types affect the eventual taste of your whisky
With the cask contributing up to 70 per cent of a malt’s flavour, oak management has become an essential element of every distillery manifesto. But it’s not just the provenance of the oak that matters, as the ageing warehouse in which casks reside also contributes to the quality and character of the...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 36 published on 28/12/2003
Ian Wisniewski takes us step by step through the mashing process
With distillation and maturation seen as the key partnership influencing the flavour of malt whisky, it’s easy to dismiss mashing as an ‘industrial equation.’ Starch equals sugar, which in turn equals the yield of alcohol. However, as every stage of the production process plays a vital role in maint...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 35 published on 17/11/2003
Keep advertising and advertising will keep you”, famously quipped whisky baron Tommy Dewar. He was renowned for advertising firsts and for
the lavish promotional budgets that built the Dewar’s brands round the world.
And, across the industry, his successors and competitors have taken him at his wor...
By Ian Buxton
from Issue 34 published on 5/10/2003
The cask plays a major role in the flavour of whisky. Ian Wisnieski takes a closer look
at how they end up sitting in a warehouse for years
Contributing up to 70 per cent of a malt’s flavour, the cask is a vital factor, but in the course of its life-time a cask offers varying maturation
influences and has, of course, already led an active life before reaching Scotland.
The vast majority of casks used to mature Scotch malt and grain whi...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 34 published on 5/10/2003
Ironically few subjects are likely to make a whisky aficionado’s blood boil quicker than that of chill filtering. Ian Wisniewski presents the arguments
It’s all very well for the militant malt brigade to criticise the industry for chill filtering, but as consumers we also have to take our share of collective responsibility. Okay, not all of us are squeamish, but many consumers would be put off if their dram looked different after adding water or ic...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 33 published on 25/9/2003
Ian Wisniewski asks that all-important question: does the way a still is heated affect the final product?
The focus tends to fall on the influence that a still’s shape, size and accessories such as boil bowls or purifiers have on the character of the new make spirit. But the rate of distillation is also crucial, and that depends on controlling the heat applied to the still, using either the indirect met...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 32 published on 13/7/2003
Richard Jones reveals the terrible truth: the ‘auld enemy’ may have been involved in the production of your treasured dram
In the beginning, God created the earth. On the second day, while he was making his countries, God discovered a small island off a continent he’d decided to christen ‘Europe’.
“I know,” thought God, “I shall make this land an area of outstanding natural beauty. I shall bless it with lochs and glens...
By Richard Jones
from Issue 31 published on 9/6/2003
So how do whiskies cope once they have come of age and are ready for single-malt marriage? Ian Wisniewski investigates
Reaching maturity is a major event in the life of a whisky, leaving a cask that has been home for years and preparing for marriage. Various
approaches are used to promote marital bliss, depending on the master distiller or blender presiding over the ceremony. Some are more pragmatic than others, bu...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 31 published on 9/6/2003
‘To cork, or not to cork’, that is the question, as Federico Valori explains
Travelling south from Lisbon towards the Odemira district in the Baixo Alentejo region of Portugal, I am eagerly on the lookout for the first sight of a cork tree. It will not be long before cork oak forests stretch as far as the eye can see. Solemnly imposing, having crowned these hills and mounta...
By Federico Valori
from Issue 30 published on 7/4/2003
Peter Mulryan looks at the increasingly rare art of triple distillation
The theory is simple. You put your wash into a pot still and gently turn up the heat. Alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water, so it’s the first to evaporate. This liquid is collected and the process happens all over again, then again. In other words it does exactly what is says on the tin; ...
By Peter Mulryan
from Issue 29 published on 24/3/2003
In Issue 27, Martin Isark argued that whisky aged in the bottle. His views have provoked a storm of opposition. Here Peter Wood makes the case against Isark’s theory
So, Martin Isark has uncovered an industry conspiracy to conceal from us drinkers the fact that our malt changes in the bottle? He is in good company, if a little late in the piece, for back in 1967, Professor McDowall had the following to say; “It continues, however to improve in the
bottle … but f...
By Peter Woods
from Issue 29 published on 24/3/2003
Ian Wisniewski reveals the secrets behind this rather complex stage of whisky-making: malting
It’s easy to romanticise floor maltings, but anyone who has turned the malt and pulled a plough (as I did at Bowmore) knows this is a demanding, not to mention expensive, practise.
Commercial maltsters, who provide for the vast majority of the industry’s requirements, have been around since the 19t...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 28 published on 16/1/2003
Marcin Miller visits Colin Scott, Master Blender at Chiva Brothers to learn about the subtle art of alchemy
Let’s avoid the stuff you all know about already. The stuff about blending being the backbone of the industry, that blending accounts for up to 95% (estimates vary) of total whisky sales and so on. You know all that because you read Whisky Magazine and we take every opportunity available to remind y...
By Marcin Miller
from Issue 27 published on 16/11/2002
Gavin. D. Smith examines the legacy of the philanthropic Andrew Usher and sons, blending pineers
On 23rd August of this year, 22 of Scotland’s leading whisky blenders assembled at Kyndal’s Glasgow headquarters, each bearing a sample of specially blended 16-year-old whisky. The samples were duly vatted together and just one bottle of the resultant ‘superblend’ produced.
This collector’s item is...
By Gavin D. Smith
from Issue 27 published on 16/11/2002
Martin Isark uncovers the conspiract: whisky does in fact evolve in the bottle, not just the barrel
It happens all the time. Suddenly, new information on food, health, exercise –whatever – confounds all our long-held beliefs, making it necessary to readjust. And it’s happened with whisky. For decades, scientists, marketeers – all the movers and shakers of the big brands – have assured us that the...
By Martin Isark
from Issue 27 published on 16/11/2002
Ian Wisniewski looks into that vital ingredient in whisky production so often overlooked-barley
The main talking point is always a distillery’s water source, with the influence of the stills, peating levels and wood policy more recent additions to the debate. But what about barley, which seems to be taken for granted, as though it’s merely a starting point before all the other influences take ...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 27 published on 16/11/2002
While oak ageing is an historic tradition, wood management is a far more recent discipline. The benefits of oak ageing have long been appreciated, rather than understood, but it’s only since the 1970s /80s that technical knowledge has supplanted anecdotal theories. With the continual advance of anal...
By
from Issue 25 published on 16/8/2002
Drink writer of the year Dave Broom investigates what exactly makes up a blend- and how blenders are steering away from old-school terminology to describe their art
It all started at a distillery (names don’t really matter here, as we will see). A discussion that was meant to be about whether we can talk terroir in whisky had, in the way of these things, ended up with a discussion of how important specific malts are to certain blends.
God, I have an exciting ...
By Dave Broom
from Issue 24 published on 16/7/2002
Peat is a staple ingredient of many classic whiskie. Ian Wisniewski looks at the hows, and whys and wherefores of this valued element .
I assumed my palate would follow the archetypal route: savouring Speyside elegance before graduating to Islay’s blockbusters. But my first trip to Islay revealed a deep commitment to everything peating can achieve. Smoky embers? Yes, please. TCP, creosote and fresh tar? Give me more, I love it.
In ...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 24 published on 16/7/2002
Richard Paterson, Kyndal's Master Distiller, takes our Editor's thoughts on dogs as whiskies a step or two further
I refer to Marcin Miller’s opening remarks in Issue 20 where he made reference to similarities between whisky and dogs. My initial reaction was you had obviously had one too many and gone barking mad! But on reflection, I felt you really had a point … After all, aren’t single malt whiskies frequentl...
By Richard Paterson
from Issue 24 published on 16/7/2002
Ian Wisniewski investigates the effect this enigmatic metal has on the finished product - whisky
A mellow, gleaming colour that exemplifies ‘industrial aesthetics’ is an initial, superficial evaluation of copper. Now, let’s slip into our anoraks and take a closer look. Being highly malleable, copper is a perfectly compliant medium, however idiosyncratic the shapes and dimensions of pot stills s...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 23 published on 16/6/2002
Dave Broom decides it’s high time for Inver House Distillers to spill the beans
When you think of whisky distilling, Airdrie doesn’t spring to mind.
Situated in the industrial belt that runs between between Glasgow and Edinburgh it’s a tough, working class town which has struggled ever since Scotland’s industrial base was decimated. Ships are no longer built on the Clyde, the ...
By Dave Broom
from Issue 23 published on 16/6/2002
Tom Bruce-Gardyne visits Speyside still-makers Forsyth’s to find out about the leading coppersmiths
At the heart of every malt whisky distillery stands the still-room where its glorious diversity of weird shaped stills reside. The fact they are all so different allows each distillery to stamp its own genetic thumb print on its new-make spirit. This adds greatly to the fascination of Scotch whisky,...
By Tom Bruce-Gardyne
from Issue 22 published on 16/5/2002
A source of pride for the Scots – but Barry Walsh discovers the ‘truth’ behind the origins of whisk(e)y
The Irish and the Scots have always argued about who first invented whisk(e)y. It is generally accepted the noble art of distillation from fermented grain and water had Celtic origins in the British Isles – but which particular brand of Celt was first involved? Well, the Irish have always stoutly ma...
By Barry Walsh
from Issue 22 published on 16/5/2002
Ian Wisniewski investigates one of whisky’s most controversial and maligned ingredients … caramel
What a lot of fuss. You only have to mention caramel and a certain group gets over-anxious and condemnatory. Admittedly it’s the more militant single malt brigade rather than the majority of Scotch whisky drinkers, but it’s usually the most vociferous group whose views get prime publicity.
Adding...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 22 published on 16/5/2002
Does older always mean better with whisky? Gavin Smith looks at the facts
There is an influential school of whisky thought that considers older necessarily equals better. Older also usually equals more expensive, and paying a high price for whisky reflects the status of the consumer in many important markets.
Today, there is an increasing trend for mainstream Scotch singl...
By Gavin D. Smith
from Issue 22 published on 16/5/2002
The influence of yeast on the final flavour of a whisky is hotly debated within the industry. Ian Wisniewski takes a closer look at whisky's most active ingradient.
The hardest worker in any distillery has always been yeast, according to traditional staff humour. But then yeast’s job description has always entailed two vital functions performed simultaneously: converting fermentable sugars into alcohol, while also creating a range of aromas and flavours beyond ...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 21 published on 16/2/2002
A keen collector of first-hand information on whisky, Martine Nouet had the fantastic opportunity to make a whisky-lover and -writer’s dream come true: work in the Glenfiddich and Balvenie distilleries for a week. Have a dram of her dream.
How close can a whisky writer approach whisky, apart from nosing and tasting? Visiting a distillery certainly brings you nearer to your subject but there’s still a sense of distance. The knowledge journalists patiently collect through visiting distilleries and interviewing whisky makers may be first...
By Martine Nouet
from Issue 20 published on 16/12/2001
Ian Wisniewski explains how differing still designs influence the style and flavour of whisky
Knowing that stills of a certain size and shape yield spirit with a particular flavour profile is all very well, but applying this knowledge the other way around is far more challenging. In fact, designing stills in order to produce a spirit with specific
characteristics is merely a starting point,...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 19 published on 16/11/2001
Gavin Smith traces the reportedly romantic but often mercenary history of illicit distilling in Speyside
A great deal of romance has grown up around the figure of the noble Highlander, distilling without benefit of a licence in order to feed and clothe his family, opposed by the brutal forces of the excise officers, or ‘gaugers’. Stories of the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the whisky-makers are leg...
By Gavin D. Smith
from Issue 19 published on 16/11/2001
There is a plethora of special finish styles and now there’s a trend for maturation in spirit barrels: is this a progressive move or a gimmick that will outrage traditionalists? Ian Wisniewski investigates
As special finishes evolve into an ever more specialised genre, the options span various styles of wine: chenin blanc and chardonnay, red bordeaux and burgundy, malaga and madeira among fortified styles, not to mention casks that haven’t aged a drop (in the case of a new oak finish).
So, what’s ne...
By Ian Wisniewski
from Issue 18 published on 16/9/2001
Dave Broom talks to the people behind some of the world’s most famous brands, the blenders, and attempts to piece together the complex jigsaw of tasks their job entails
Blenders are the unsung heroes (and heroines) of the whisky trade. Little time has been spent asking them quite what they get up to in their sample rooms. No great surprise then that most of us have no idea about the complex work that goes on to ensure a blend ends up on the shelf. During this short...
By
from Issue 17 published on 16/7/2001
Gavin Smith recounts the early days of blending, when a court case in north London helped secure the future of the Scotch whisky industry
By an historic quirk of fate, the present day Scotch whisky industry does not owe its existence to happenings in some remote Highland glen, nor even in the boardrooms of Edinburgh, but rather to a series of events that began in 1905 with legal proceedings in the London Borough of Islington.
The ‘W...
By Gavin D. Smith
from Issue 17 published on 16/7/2001
Anthony Troon puts forward his views on why chill filtering leaves the whisky enthusiast with a spirit that may well be a shadow of its former self
You pour yourself a dram and add a splash of spring water before holding your glass up to the light. Seen through the clear glass of your Blender’s Malt Glass the liquid glows with a golden-amber brilliance – clear, pure and absolutely transparent.
It’s getting late and your mind wanders: by savour...
By Anthony Troon
from Issue 17 published on 16/7/2001
Brian Hennigan investigates the murky world of the miniature collector and discovers that these hardened collectors
will stop at nothing to achieve their goals
They’re difficult to find. There aren’t many. But take care: they’re fanatics. They will stop at nothing to achieve their aims. And they have the resources to do it.
The Editor’s words rung in my ears as the wind swept me down the cobbled streets of Scotland’s capital. Word had been around for some...
By Brian Hennigan
from Issue 17 published on 16/7/2001
Coopering is an essential part of the maturation process. Gavin D Smith hails an irreplaceable art.
It was the diminutive Scottish comedian Ronnie Corbett who once said, “The common belief that whisky improves with age is true. The older I get, the more I like it”.
The process of personal maturation must, however, be matched by maturation of the whisky itself if the drink is to be worth getting o...
By Gavin D. Smith
from Issue 11 published on 16/9/2000
What does smal batch whiskey actually mean? The explanation is far from simple Gary Regan and Mardee Haidin Regan discovered.
n 1989 Booker’s, the first small-batch bourbon, hit the American market place and, rightly so, it was a great success. But it also created a mystery.
Issued at cask strength (usually over 60 per cent abv) and completely unfiltered, it’s a giant of a whiskey. The Jim Beam Brands Company, which make...
By Gary Regan
from Issue 10 published on 16/6/2000
Blended whiskies are too often dismissed as the poor relation of single malts, but as Dr Jim Swan reveals, their creation is extraordinarily complex.
Attractive though they may be, it is not the single malts that have created the enormous success of Scotch that has taken place since the 1950s – that has been the domain of the blended whiskies. Nevertheless, single malt whiskies are at the core of all successful Scotch blends. So how are these hig...
By Jim Swan
from Issue 9 published on 16/4/2000
Glenmorangie's creative relationship with wine barrels has produced some radical and fascinating results, Maragaret Rand reports on the progression so far.
It’s a tempting prospect – a fine malt matured in a barrel that once contained one of France’s greatest red wines. True, the Glenmorangie Claret Finish does not advertise the fact that the barrel in which it spent its last few months came from Château Mouton Rothschild, one of the finest Bordeaux re...
By Margaret Rand
from Issue 9 published on 16/4/2000
he whisky label is a treasure trove of information if you know how to crack the codes. Graham Moore reveals all
Whisky brands emerged when the law first allowed the Scots to export whisky to England in bottles, as opposed to kegs, and merchants began to promote their own unique blends, creating for each an image that would identify their whisky the world over. Advances in printing technology led to the adopt...
By Graham Moore
from Issue 8 published on 16/2/2000
The bourgon barrel industry is on a roll, but that's not good news for the whisky industry Richard Neill reports on tough choices and smart solutions.
New moves in the rum and tequila industries rarely cause more than an eyebrow twitch in the boardrooms of Scotch whisky distillers. After all, the arrival of the latest 'slammer in a can' or 'ready-mix mojito' is hardly the stuff of a whisky-maker's nightmares.
But recent developments in Mexico and...
By Richard Neil
from Issue 7 published on 16/12/1999
Neil Wilson vistis Loch Lomond Distillery, where four pot stills and a continuous still add up to seven single malts and a soon-to-be-released single blend. And it's done with technology, not mirrors
On one of my trips north to Speyside some years ago I recall an American visitor asking the be-kilted Australian tour guide at Glenfiddich what a ‘double malt’ was. Her confusion had been prompted by the fact that so many distillers referred to ‘single malts’. I sympathized with her entirely.
All ...
By Neil Wilson
from Issue 3 published on 13/5/1999
Whiskies, like people, mature at different rates. Andrew Jefford (himself in his prime) wonders why
Sitting on the table in front of me, as I write this, is my most treasured bottle of whisky. It’s a Glenlivet; still largely full, I’m pleased to say. This Speyside is not necessarily my favourite malt, but the contents of the bottle were distilled in the same year that, so to speak, I was: 1956. No...
By Andrew Jefford
from Issue 3 published on 13/5/1999
Sixty per cent of the flavour of malt whisky comes from the wood in which it is aged, says Dave Broom-but what does American oak do that European oak doesn't? And what real effects does a fino cask have?
Virtually every malt distiller, these days, sends some whisky to finishing school. This takes the form of giving it a final polish in barrels made of a particular sort of wood. The influence of these different types of wood on a malt’s flavour is a recognized fact; but it wasn’t always so. For centu...
By Dave Broom
from Issue 2 published on 16/3/1999
The character of Speyside malts has been forged by geography and geology. Dave Broom looks at how remote glens and freezing water combined to produce consistent quality moonshine.
Speyside is familiar territory. The names of the distilleries trip off the tongue with ease; we think of Dufftown, Rothes and Keith as if they were just up the road. The mind’s image is one not just of countryside, but of familiar, cosy countryside, within easy reach. Yet as anyone who has driven no...
By Dave Broom
from Issue 1 published on 12/1/1999
