Out of the shadows
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.
âWeâve had phenomenal growth in our grain whisky sales, we launched seven grain whiskies two years ago, each attributed to a particular distillery, and won a lot of awards. At some tastings some people have considered some of our grain whiskies on the same level as top-notch malts,â says Euan Shand of Duncan Taylor.
Thatâs great news. But thereâs still plenty to be done in terms of telling the story of grain whisky.
Having often been described (and perceived) as the pragmatic element of a blend, with a âlighterâ character counter-balancing the complexity of malts, itâs hardly surprising grain whisky is undervalued.
âSadly grain whisky is looked at as a commodity.
Iâve come across gorgeous casks of 10-25 year old grain whisky, itâs capable of being beautiful,â says John Glaser of Compass Box. Euan Shand adds, âI think people donât understand grain, perhaps people think that continuous distillation is a less expensive, more industrial process than pot still, and that grain whisky should be cheaper.â While grain whisky can be less expensive than malts, that doesnât mean there need be a compromise in terms of flavour delivery. âItâs a revelation that grain whiskies can give such.....
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By Ian Wisniewski
Section : Whisky Production
Page number : 56
