How to choose Whisky?

The oldest mention of whisky dates back to the late Middle Ages. Accounts from the Scottish Treasury Chancellor in 1494 include an entry for eight bolls (an old Scottish unit of weight) of malt for the monk John Cor, so he could produce aqua vitae. By the early 16th century, whisky became a royal drink and received generous support. The home of whisky is the Scottish Highlands. It is a relatively remote and sparsely populated area.

Whisky is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grains - barley, rye, wheat, corn. The grain from the grains is first soaked in water, starting the germination process, and the starch in the grains is converted into sugar. Germination of barley is also known as malting (hence the term malt). A quality water source is a significant condition when locating a distillery, and top distilleries even purchase land far around the water source to prevent its contamination. The places through which the water flows can even affect the taste of the whisky.

The grain is then dried and subsequently milled – the finer the grain is milled, the more alcohol you can extract from it. Next, it is mascerated (steeped in hot water) and later fermented in large wooden barrels. Added yeast breaks down the sugar in the fermentation process and creates alcohol.

This is where the process of multiple distillation comes into play, where alcohol is evaporated from the water (it has a lower boiling point than water) and is condensed into distillate with the required alcohol content in copper pipes.

Now comes the most important part, which greatly influences the price of the final product – aging in barrels. The longer it ages, the typically higher quality whisky you get up to a certain age, which is the maximum for that type.

The types of barrels used for aging whisky are most commonly made from oak wood. They are made from two types of oaks: from American white oak - it must grow for at least 70 years, or from European types of oak - they must grow for more than 100 years.

According to the Irish, the art of whisky production originates from Ireland and then spread to Scotland. According to legend, Saint Patrick came to Ireland, became the national saint, drove the devil out of Ireland, and taught the Irish to distill the life-giving drink from barley. This was already in the 12th century. There are also many other stories and tales circulating. These are said to confirm the fact that it was the Irish and not the Scots who invented whisk(e)y. However, all these tales are just legends; there is no evidence to prove the truth of any of them. The first written mention of barley distillation in Ireland appears only in 1556, in a law approved by parliament.

We have divided whisky/whiskey by origin:

• Scotch whisky (single malt, blended malt, grain)
• American whisky (bourbon, corn, rye, single barrel, small batch)
• Irish whiskey (blended, single malt, single pot still, grain)
• Japanese whisky (single malt, blended malt, grain)
• Canadian whisky
• Other whiskies (various countries)

Terminology explanation:

- single malt whisky - made from one malt
- blended malt whisky - made from multiple malts
- blended whisky - a mix of several aged whiskies
- grain whisky - made from grains
- bourbon whisky - contains at least 51% corn, must age for at least two years, and must be made in the USA
- corn whisky - made from corn
- rye whisky - made from rye
- single pot still whisky - made from a single type of grain distilled in a pot still