Whiskey

Saturday night, I was invited to a dinner to see traditional Sardinian dances and I spoke with one of the guests who loves whiskey. He said that his brother who works at the customs has intercepted a box filled with bottles of whiskey worth 250 euros per bottle. He offered to sell him bottles at 60 euros. It is not very legal but hey, it is the traffickers who have been wronged in history and if he had not bought them, it would have been another customs officer who would have benefited from being realistic ;o)

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Whiskey or whiskey is the generic name for a group of spirits made by distillation of malted or unmalted cereals. The origin of whiskey is controversial between Scots and Irish. Then, the whiskey was exported to the New World, the United States and Canada.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, distilleries have developed in Japan and then in the rest of the world more recently.

The word whiskey or whiskey comes from Celtic. The term simply means water.

In French, the word whiskey is generally used to refer to Scottish, Canadian and Japanese or Breton productions, whereas the word whiskey is used for Irish and American productions.
In American English, the word Scotch, abbreviation for Scotch whiskey refers to a whiskey produced in Scotland.

History

The oldest distillations attested by archaeological excavations are in Mesopotamia in the second millennium BC. BC but traces of distillation appear before in China and Egypt on paintings in tombs.

The Arabs bring this technique to the West. The Moors in Spain use it for the manufacture of perfumes and medicines. The first distillations in Europe take place in the countries with vineyards then in the countries which replace the grapes by grains of cereals.

Types

Wheat whiskey is made from various grains (wheat, corn, oats, rye) and possibly malted barley. It undergoes only one distillation.

This type of whiskey has very little taste and is mainly used to blend blends (a blend is a whiskey made from a blend of whiskeys from one or more distilleries and may contain whiskeys of different different origins (single malt, bourbons, ryes) mixed with grain whiskey or neutral alcohol).

The most common category is blended whiskey or blend, which is an assemblage of at least one malt whiskey, for taste, with grain whiskeys, for volume.

There is often a higher proportion of grain whiskey because it is cheaper to produce than malt whiskey. However some high-end blends can enhance the taste by increasing the proportion of malt whiskeys. Most of the world's consumption is of this type.

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Then there is blended malt, or pure malt, which is a blend of malt whiskeys from several distilleries.

Major brands have achieved their notoriety through the production of pure malt whiskeys quite typical, by making their assemblies from a judicious choice of productions of various distilleries, so as to provide a product very consistent in taste.

We reserve the name single malt whiskey from a single distillery. Currently, most distilleries offer a single malt for sale.

Some distilleries sell bottles from a single cask. In this case, the denomination is single cask and often the number of the cask is mentioned. In general, this type of whiskey is not extended with water and is bottled at the initial alcohol degree of the barrel (between 55 and 65 °).

It is often better to drink it with water. One can also find single malt sold at the initial degree but coming from the assembly of several barrels. In this case, we find rather traditional strength.

The whiskey is generally the assembly of several years, so as to maintain a homogeneous taste. Some distilleries however produce vintage whiskeys, starting from the production of a single year.

The different whiskeys

To qualify as Scotch Whiskey in Scotland, the degree of alcohol must be equal to or greater than 40 ° to obtain the name of whiskey and barrel aging of at least three years in the Scottish territory is essential so that it is called scotch.

The Scotch Whiskey Association has decided to restrict the names of whiskey to five :

• Blended Grain Scotch Whiskey
• Blended Malt Scotch Whiskey
• Blended Scotch Whiskey
• Single Grain Scotch Whiskey
• Single Malt Scotch Whiskey

In the United States, there is American whiskey.

North American whiskey includes bourbon (made from corn) and rye (made from rye). These different names all correspond to different compositions :

• Corn whiskey is more than 80% corn
• Straight Bourbon is made primarily from corn, rye or wheat, the rest being malted barley
• Straight Rye is made from rye.
• The Straight Tennessee has the distinction of being produced in the state of Tennessee exclusively and being filtered on maple charcoal.
• Scottish malt whiskey is made from 100% malted barley, which can be dried with peat fire.

In Ireland, the use is that whiskey or Irish whiskey is spoken while the laws use the term whiskey without e.
Irish Whiskey, when it is made from 50% malted barley and 50% malted barley, is called pure pot still whiskey.

The Whiskey Distillation Process

The elaboration of a whiskey must last at least three years; if aging in oak casks is less than three years, it is impossible to give it the name of whiskey. There are five stages in its manufacture.

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Malting

To obtain malt, it is necessary to extend the cereal (barley, maize, rye ...) and humidify it so that it germinates. This operation lasts one to two weeks. During germination, the grain makes enzymes capable of cutting the starch molecule into fermentable sugars.

For the production of grain alcohol, a synthetic enzyme is added, making it possible to suppress the malting operation. The product is also significantly less fragrant. Malting is stopped by drying the seeds over an oven, sometimes fed with peat, which gives certain whiskeys their particular taste. When dry, the malt is crushed, producing a coarse flour called grist.

Brewing

The grist is then mixed with hot water. This water will typify the whiskey, depending on the terrain it has crossed, giving peaty aromas, minerals or heather earth.
This operation aims to transform the starch contained in malt into fermentable sugars by the action of enzymes.

Fermentation

The sweet mash thus obtained is supplemented with yeasts and the alcoholic fermentation then occurs. The fermented must is then called the wash.

Distillation

The resulting wash is subjected to distillation (a process for separating a mixture of liquid substances whose boiling temperatures are different) the purpose of which is to separate the water from the alcohol.

Aging

The whiskey is finally aged in oak barrels. It is during this stage that the whiskey is colored and acquires specific aromas according to the wood used. The barrels used can be new or used : in the second case it may be 80% bourbon barrels, from the United States, 20% sherry from Spain, port or wine.

New barrels can undergo different treatments before use, such as wine seasoning: the inside of the barrel is impregnated with wine to bring specific aromas, or the charring: the inside of the barrel is burned in a more or less intensive way to concentrate the aromatic compounds of the oak on the surface.

The barrels used for the aging of American whiskeys (Tennessee, Kentucky ...) are regularly new, with a very strong heating to transmit to the brandy toasted and toasted notes.

Tasting

To fully appreciate the taste of a good whiskey, it is generally not recommended to add ice cubes. Indeed, the thermal shock denatures the aromas and makes the taste buds sleep.

It is however possible, even recommended in some cases, to extend its whiskey with a few drops of water.
Connoisseurs say that this addition helps to release the aromas. The amount of water to add depends on the whiskey: some must be tasted at the highest degree of comfort, 43% alcohol, others can be extended up to 30 degrees.

It is also possible, even recommended in some cases, to drink water apart from whiskey. Water is never mixed with whiskey, neither in the glass nor in the mouth. A glass of whiskey and a glass of neutral water before the second glass of whiskey.

Some waters are known for this, because of their neutrality, like the Tŷ Nant, produced in Wales. It is a popular method when tasting several whiskeys, but also as a standard way of drinking whiskey.

Although traditional (old fashion) whiskey glass is cylindrical, connoisseurs recommend tulip-shaped whiskey glasses such as Glencairn Whiskey Glass.

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The fire of a whiskey can help determine its age. If the alcoholic force is felt at the beginning of the tongue, then the aging time of this whiskey is less than ten years. The more the fire of the beverage goes deep in the throat, the more it has aged in cask.

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The most expensive whiskeys

Here are some of the most expensive whiskeys in the world:

Isabella's Islay

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Isabella's Islay is the most expensive whiskey in the world, with a price of $ 6.2 million. The bottle is adorned with 8,500 diamonds and 300 rubies, to which is added a beautiful amount in white gold.

Master of Malt - 105 Year Old

The 105 Year Old Master of Malt is the oldest whiskey in the world. Its price is $ 1.4 million.

64 Year Old Macallan

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The 64-year-old Macallan is priced at $ 460,000. The bottle is made of Lalique crystal and was designed using the lost wax technique (precision casting process, to obtain a sculpture from a wax model, this wax model will then be removed by heating during the operation) .

62 Year Old Dalmore

The 62 Year Old Dalmore is one of the most prestigious alcohol brands in the world. This rare bottle was sold for $ 200,000.

Dalmore 64 Trinitas

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It is the fifth most expensive whiskey in the world, it was sold at $ 160,000. The brand has produced only three bottles of this whiskey.

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Personally, I have never tasted a real good whiskey, I would like to try one day because I was told that it was completely different from the cheap whiskeys that are found in our supermarkets and that I do not do not appreciate especially.