Liquid gold.
Water of life.
Hedonism in a bottle.
If you’re a poetic spirit, this explanation could be enough.
However, if you tend to nitpick a little bit, it might not be enough especially if it concerns your favorite drink. So, what’s the delicious thing sloshing in the bottle?
Called “water of life” in Gaelic, whisky is made from fermented grain mash. The other things that all the whiskies have in common is that the fermented grains are distilled, and then aged in wooden barrels.
Although whisky comes in many varieties around the whole world, its production – and not just production – is strictly regulated by the law.
The grains used for whisky making can be barley, corn, rye, and wheat.
Malt whisky is made from malted barley using copper pot stills.
Grain whisky is made from any type of grain – corn, wheat, rye, and/or unmalted barley.
These two types of whisky can be combined, and they end up as one of the following whiskies:
Single malt whisky is whisky from a single distillery. This whisky is made from only a one particular malted grain. It can contain whisky from many casks and of different age. This way, the master blender can achieve a flavor typical for the distillery. It’s usually presented under the name of the distillery and with an age statement. The guideline for the age of the whisky is its youngest component. There are also whiskies presented as NAS, which stands for “no age statement.” Another information, especially on casks it might have matured in, can be included. Examples: Glenfiddich, Talisker, Caol Ila.
Blended malt whisky is composed from more single malt whiskies. These whiskies can come from many distilleries, but they are made exclusively from malts. Examples: Monkey Shoulder, Mossburn Island Blended Malt.
Blended whisky is quite similar to it, but it contains grain whisky as well. Blending is an usual way of achieving the taste typical for the particular brand. Blended whisky brands are usually named differently than after distilleries. Examples: Johnny Walker Blue Label, Big Peat.
When it comes to American whiskey, there are also other types:
Bourbon is whiskey is made from corn mash consisting at least 51 % corn. It also has to be aged in new charred oak barrels.
Mash used for production of rye whiskey consists of at least 51 % rye. Rye malt whiskey uses malted rye mash of at least the same percentage as rye whiskey. And finally, the malt used for making wheat whiskey has at least 51 % wheat in it.
Oh, and if you’re wondering why it’s sometimes “whisky” and sometimes “whiskey”… The spelling “whiskey” is common in USA and Ireland. The rest of the countries uses “whisky.” The good thing is that if you want to order a dram anywhere in the world, the difference between these two won’t matter.
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