A Scotland trip is incomplete without a Whiskey experience. We had only one option as we stayed near Edinburgh and it turned out be a Classic Malt producer, one of the only 13 Classic Malts to be produced in the world, Glenkinchie Distillery.
Glenkinchie distillery is owned by Diageo group which owns Glenkinchie, Cragganmore, Talisker, Oban, Lagavulin & Royal Lochnagar Classic malts. It owns a total of 27 distilleries around Scotland and produces 6 Classic Malts.
Now, let me not make this a boring read and will illustrate the process of manufacuring a Single Malt and then place some interesting factoids
Process of manufacturing Single Malt
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1) A good batch of barley is chosen and it should be high in starch and low on nitrogen to produce good spirit.
2) Barley is then soaked in water for 2-3 days. This swells the grain and it germinates. It is constantly turned so that the shoots and roots don't tangle themselves.
3) The barley seed is then removed from water & spread on the floor to be peat dried. Peat is a decayed vegetation found in highlands. Peating is a process wherein 'Peat' is burnt inside the room where these grains are placed. This gives the grain a distinctive flavour. A heavily peated malt can produce a very strong flavoured whiskey
4) Then the malt is crushed and this resulting malt is called grist.
5) Grist is poured in a container and about 20,000 litres of hot water is added slowly. This solution is mixed wherein sugars from the malt dissolves into the added water. This water is collected and the same is repeated with hotter 20,000 litres of water. This is repeated again with 20K litres of water at boiling point, but this last batch of water is used for the next batch of malt.
6) This 40K litres of 'wash' is stored in washback containers made of wood.
This wooden containers can be as old as 50 years.
7) On a seperate container solid yeast is mixed with warm water and added to this washback container.
8) Yeast breaks down sugar into alcohol and the resulting solution is frothy and pungent in smell.
8) once the fermentation is complete, the solution is moved into the first distil
9) Here it is heated upto 83 deg C. Alcohol vapours are collected and passed through winding coils where it is cooled with water causing condensation. THe resulting spirit contains 24% alcohol
10) This liquid is sent to the second distil and heated at 93 deg C. Alcohol vapours flow upwards and pass through the condensation chamber. This resulting alcohol is 70% in strength. Shape of these distil is such that some alcohol vapours are trapped enroute upwards and are sent back, enhancing spirit strength.
11) Resulting alcohol is mixed with some of the first distilled spirit to produce the final spirit of strength 63.5% alcohol, which is a govt norm.
12) This spirit is then matured in Oak / Sherry casks for several years. Govt norms specify that for a whiskey to be called scotch it needs to be matured for a min of 3 years. During this process Whiskey gets it's golden colour and also loses 2% alcohol per year. Traditionally this loss is called as Angel's Share.
13) Govt norms indicate that a Scotch should have atleast 40% alcohol level, and hence it is diluted to reach roughly 40 - 45% alcohol level. Some Malt's are bottled directly from the cask and can have more than 55% alcohol.
14) Now the Whiskey is ready to be bottled.
Interesting factoids:
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1) Malt whiskey is produced from 100% Barley.
2) Single Malt is a Malt Whiskey produced from 'One' distillery only.
3) Double Malt, Triple Malt are a combination of two and three malt respectively
4) Grain whiskey is a whiskey produced from multiple grains, i.e barley, wheat, maize or oat
5) Blend whiskey is a combination of several grain and malt whiskey. Roughly 40% malt and 60% grain. Popular blend whiskies are Johnie Walker, Bells etc
6) Only 10% of Single Malt ever produced is sold as is and rest of them are sold to Blend brands
7) Over 900 thousand litres of Whiskey has been consumed by Angels (See point 12 above)
8) Natural Spring water is used in the production of Single Malt and the quality of this water can affect the Whiskey's character
9) In addition to water, quality of barley and the region where it was grown, peat, quality of washback vessel, temperature of water, distill, environment, casks used can affect a whiskey's character, strength & flavour.
10) The only ingredient used is barley, water and yeast, yet a Single Malt is very expensive. Thats because the UK govt tax on Single Malt is a whopping 77%..!!!
11) Whiskey is best enjoyed in a glass that narrows down through the opening which helps preserve it's flavour.
12) Enjoying Whiskey is purely a personal choice. To best enjoy, the first sip should be had neat with a mouthful taken and swallowed immediately. After the first sip couple of drops of water to be added and you can watch the scotch release it's oils which it would have accrued from the oak / sherry casks. This releases the flavour of the whiskey and can be more enjoyable
13) To measure a strength of Whiskey, it should be poured to a glass, swirled around and held under light. A thin leg is formed in the center which is called the 'Leg of a Whiskey'. The shorter it stays, the milder it is.
So those were the interesting process and factoids for you. At the end of this trip, we were given with a sample of Glenkinchie. As I was reading through all of their single Malt's a specific malt produced in Isle of Skye called Talisker caught my eye. It was considered to be having a spicy, salty flavour and I requested a sample of this. Our guide said that she wasn't surprised at my choice as this is the favourite Single Malt of Indian Army and is continuously imported by them.
It was an enlightening trip for a Whiskey lover like me and Prathima walked out enlightened as well. I can now see a partner who can share a drink with me here.
As I kicked off writing this blog, I have finished my drink and feel the need for a second of this 'Gentleman's drink'. Cheers and enjoy your Whiskey responsibly..!!!
