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The most well-known style of whiskeyin the United States is bourbon. It is sopopular now, both in the United States andabroad, our distillers can’t make enoughof the stuff. Bourbons, like Jim Beam,Wild Turkey, and Ridgemont Reserve, fit in a category known as “straightwhiskeys,” and if you look closely enough on a bourbon label, you’ll see itidentified that way.In contrast to Scotch whisky production,there are only four working Irish distilleries,and only three are currently selling whiskey.The small number of Irish distilleries explainsthe disparity between the amounts of Scotchwhiskies on the market when compared to the number of Irish whiskeys.When comparing the differences between Irish whiskey to Scotch whisky,people will often say that the difference is that Irish whiskey is distilled threetimes (producing a lighter flavor), while scotch is only distilled twice. Theother argument is that Irish whiskey is not smoky, and Scotch whisky is.These generalizations are accurate for many whiskeys, but not all of them.Irish whiskeys, like Jameson, contain “pure pot still” whiskey. Pure potstill whiskey is unique to Ireland. Unlike single malt scotch that is madefrom malted barley, pure post still whiskey comes from malted and unmaltedbarley that gives many Irish whiskeys their distinctive flavor.

Understanding

Whiskey is made from grain. This is what distinguishes it fromother distilled beverages like brandy, which is made from grapes,and calvados, which is made from apples.Simply speaking, whiskey is nothing more than distilled beer. Likebeer, malted barley and other grains are the source of the sugars neces-sary for fermentation. The sugars in the grain are released by steepingit in hot water. This sweet liquid, known as “wort,” is cooled down.Yeast is added and converts the sugars to alcohol, creating beer.The major difference between the “beer” that whiskey-makersproduce (often called “wash”) and the beer that brewers create is thatthe brewers also add hops to their beer. Hops, the flowering conesof a climbing plant, are bitter and help balance a beer’s sweetness.They also act as a preservative to stabilize the beer’s flavor. Distiller’sbeer doesn’t need hops. Oak aging balances the whiskey’s flavors, anddistilling increases the alcohol level, which preserves the whiskey.To make whiskey from beer, it must be distilled. Distillingcaptures and concentrates the beer’s more volatile components, whichinclude alcohol. The distillers use either continuously-operatingcolumn stills (as with most bourbons) or copper pot stills (as withsingle malt scotch), one batch at a time. This spirit is then aged in oakbarrels, where it matures and becomes whiskey. The types of grainused, the distillation method, and the casks chosen for aging are whatmake each whiskey taste different.

hiskey isn’t the easiest drink to embrace. Its alcohol level is much higherthan beer or wine, and some of the names, like those of Gaelic-rootedScotch whiskies, can be difﬁcult to pronounce. Whiskeys, though, arerich and diverse in ﬂavors — more than any other distilled spirit. Attheir extreme, the really smoky, peat-infused Scotch whiskies canbe downright challenging.But many of life’s great pleasures are acquired tastes and worth the pursuit.For many, whiskey is just as much an adventure as it is a drink. It invites you toexplore and indulge in its diversity. Each country traditionally produces its ownstyle of whiskey, but even within that style there is an incredible range of whiskeys to choose from.

By John Hansell

whiskey

Scotland has more distilleries than any coun-try, with close to 100 of them peppered through-outtheland.ThemostdistinctiveScotchwhiskiesare the single malts. In addition to being distilledand matured in Scotland for a minimum of threeyears in oak barrels (a requirement for all Scotch whisky), single malt scotchis produced at one distillery (“single”), using only malted barley as the grain(“malt”), and distilled in copper pot stills. It is an expensive process but pro-duces a richly flavored whisky and, because it’s not blended with whiskiesfrom other distilleries, very individualistic. This is why single malt scotch isgenerally more expensive than blended scotch and coveted by aficionados.It’s also the reason why single malts are so much fun to drink and explore.Single malts are diverse in flavor, ranging from the gentle and subtlycomplex whiskies of the Scottish Lowlands, to the firmer, sometimes spicywhiskies in the Highlands, to the briny and often smoky whiskies from theScottish coastlines and islands. The heart of Scottish distilling is an areaknown as Speyside, where nearly half of Scotland’s distilleries are situatedon — or near — the Spey River. Some Speyside whiskies, like Balvenie andMacallan, are full-bodied and rich. Others, like the Glenlivet 12 year old,are very elegant.Even with all these great single malts, blended scotch still outsells themby a wide margin. Single malt enthusiasm is a relatively recent phenom-enon, gaining popularity over the past two decades.Blended scotches, like Johnnie Walker, Dewar’s, Chivas and Cutty Sark,are marriages of several, if not dozens of different single malts. The ad-vantage of blending is that it smoothes out the rough edges and fills in themissing gaps of a whisky’s flavor profile.Probably the least known fact about blended scotch is that the majorityof the blend is not single malt scotch at all, but rather grain whisky. Grainwhisky is made from various cereal grains and distilled in continuous col-umn stills, similar to the way vodka is made. It produces a less expensive,lighter flavored whisky. Some blends are incredible products, but are usu-ally lighter in flavor and less expensive than single malts.Many people think all Scotch whiskies are smoky, but only a handful of them really are. The smoke flavor comes from using malted barley that isdried over a peat fire. Peat was, at one time, the only practical fuel sourcefor many distilleries. These days it’s an optional flavor enhancement that,by the way, is very much in vogue right now.

so what is whiskey scotch whisky irish whiskey american whiskey

John Hansell is the creator, publisher and editor of

Malt Advocate,

the nation’s leading magazine for the whiskyenthusiast. He has appeared in

USAToday,

the

NewYorkTimes,BusinessWeek,Men’sHealth,Food&Wine

and numerousother publications.

Continued on bottom of next page

We wanted to depict all thatgoes into our bourbon, but howdo you illustrate passion?

Does making bourbon have to be so complicated?If you want a rich,complex taste,it does.Our storystarts 129 years ago withTom Moore’s original springand weaves its way around the distillery,ending highup in our Rackhouse Z for at least 8 years. But if youreally want to know all that goes into 1792 RidgemontReserve®, one sip should tell you everything.

1792bourbon.com

H e r e ’ s s o m e t h i n g t h a t ’ s n o t c o m p l i c a t e d a t a l l - d r i n k r e s p o n s i b l y . 1 7 9 2 R i d g e m o n t R e s e r v e K e n t u c k y S t r a i g h t B o u r b o n W h i s k e y . 4 6 . 8 5 % A L C . / V O L . ( 9 3 . 7 p r o o f ) . D i s t i l l e d a n d b o t t l e d b y B a r t o n D i s t i l l i n g C o . B a r d s t o w n , K Y .

ComplexTaste.Simple Pleasure.

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THEY SAY THE WAY TO A MAN’S HEART IS THROUGH HIS STOMACH, I TEND TO THINK IT IS MORE THROUGH A TRADITIONAL BOURBON OAK CASK AND THEN AN ORIGINAL SHERRY OAK CASK.BUT THAT MIGHT JUST BE ME

Single Malt With Unmistakable Character

Don’t think poorly of yourself if you can’t appreciate The Balvenie.It’s a rare breed who can savor its Oloroso sherry notes, layeredwith honey and vanilla. If you can, we respect your reﬁned taste.If not, we wish you all the best in your humble endeavors.TheBalvenieGuy.com

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Bourbon, being a straight whiskey, must meet strict requirements. It has to bemade in the United States (and while nearly all bourbon is made in Kentucky rightnow, it doesn’t have to be legally), and its grain formula, known as the “mashbill,” must contain at least 51 percent corn. It can’t be distilled higher than 80 per-cent alcohol (by volume) or go into the barrel for aging higher than 62.5 percentalcohol, and has to be aged in new charred oak barrels for a minimum of twoyears. These requirements are designed to maintain the quality and consistencyof bourbon.Other straight whiskeys, like straight rye whiskeys and straight wheat whiskeysmust meet similar requirements. The only difference is that rye or wheat is the maingrain (respectively), rather than corn.If you walk into a bar and ask for a bourbon, there’s a good chance you’ll get Jack Daniel’s. This is probably the biggest misunderstanding in the world of whiskey.It’s a Tennessee whiskey and made just like bourbon — except for one additional stepin the process. After the spirit is distilled, and before it is put into charred oak bar-rels for aging, it is mellowed through vats of sugar maple charcoal. This changes theflavor profile of the whiskey — which some describe as mellower and gently sweeterwhen compared to bourbon — making it distinctly Tennessee whiskey.While bourbon has to be made from a mash of at least 51 percent corn, in real-ity it usually is made with 70 - 80 percent corn. The remainder consists of rye andmalted barley. You can think of rye as the “spice” ingredient of bourbon. It doesn’thave to be used, but it has a significant impact on the flavor profile. If you’ve evertasted rye bread, then you understand rye’s contribution to bourbon.But some bourbon producers replace the rye with wheat. Wheat chang-es the flavor profile in its own way. “Wheated” bourbons, like Maker’s Mark,are less bold and more approachable. Some drinkers like the easygoing styleof wheated bourbons, while others enjoy the boldness of more traditionalrye-spiced bourbons.Largely ignored for decades, straight rye whiskeys have made a huge comebackand create a distinctive impact when used in cocktails, making it very a trendyingredient right now for mixologists.Canadian whisky is the lightest examplefrom the major whisky distilling countries.That’s because Canadian whisky tradition-ally consists of a blend of two components:a base whisky and a flavoring whisky. Thebase whisky, usually made from corn, is very light in flavor and comprises the largemajority of the whisky’s make-up. The flavoring whisky, often one with a high ryecontent, makes up the rest.Ironically, Canadian law allows Canadian whisky to be called Canadian Whisky,Canadian Rye Whisky, or Rye Whisky, even though the actual amount of rye in thegrain mixture is usually very small, and much less than corn. There is a huge dif-ference between Canadian “rye” whiskies and American “straight rye” whiskeys.The straight ryes produced in the United States are considerably bolder and morechallenging. Canadian “rye” drinkers are often confused and overwhelmed by theintensity of the straight rye whiskeys from the United States, where the largest in-gredient must be rye.Canadian whisky’s lighter style makes it appealing year-round, even in the warmsummer months when other whiskeys might be too heavy. While most people thinkof Canadian whiskies as mixing whiskies, something to be drunk on the rocks orwith soda, there are also some fine Canadian whiskies that you can sip neat, likeCrown Royal Reserve or the new Canadian Club 30 year old, both of which areworth seeking out.

Continued from previous page

Whiskey

aPPReCIaTINGWHIsKeY

If you’re drinking whiskey just for fun, and aren’t interested in learning more about your whiskey, then go ahead and drink it however you like.You paid for it and you earned that right. However, if you want to capture as many aromas and ﬂavors as possible, then try to understand that whis-key expresses itself best at room temperature. I know you are tempted to just go ahead and drink the whiskey, but don’t. Not just yet, anyway.

lOOK

Before you do anything, look at the whiskey. You can learna lot about your whiskey by its color. Generally speaking, thedarker the whiskey, the older it is, because whisky gets itscolor from being in contact with the oak barrel during aging.The type of barrel also matters. For example, if a Scotchwhisky is being aged in a bourbon barrel that has been usedseveral times over, it’s not going to pick up much color fromthe barrel. However, if that same whisky was put in a caskthat contained sherry or port wine, it will pick up some of thecolors of the wine, in addition to those of oak barrel.I must also warn you that some whiskeys (particularlythose that are younger) contain caramel coloring to makethem look “the way we think whiskey should look,” becauseyoung whiskeys haven’t had enough contact time with theoak barrel, and will appear lighter in color.Realize that you can smell morefrom your whiskey than you willever be able to taste. In fact, all themaster blenders work primarily bynosing, not by tasting. So do your-self a favor and smell your whiskeybefore you taste it. Don’t thrust yournose into the glass, because the al-cohol will be too dominant. Gentlyraise the whiskey up to your noseuntil you begin capturing its aroma.Think about what you smell.Often, but not always, a whiskey’saroma will be a good indication of how it will taste.

TasTe

Now go ahead and taste the whiskey. Make sure youcoat your entire tongue and let it linger on the palate fora little while before swallowing. Is it thick on your pal-ate or thin? What flavors do you taste? Does the whiskeytaste the same way it smells? Do the flavors evolve on thepalate or just stay the same? After you swallow, does theflavor fade away quickly or does it linger on the palate?Most importantly, did you like it?For many of you, the alcohol will just be too intenseto fully appreciate the whiskey. I recommend that youadd a little water to your whiskey, then nose and tastethe whiskey again. Add a little bit at a time (a few drops)and keep adding until you find your comfort zone. Add-ing water brings out more of the whiskey’s aroma. It alsolowers the alcohol level, reducing its numbing effect onthe palate.

smell

CaNadIaN WHIsKY

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Friday, November 21, 2008

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