Introduction
From its earliest days, scotch has been known for its curative and creative properties. It evolved into a unique cultural icon of the people who savoured it. Who can ever forget the distinctive bottle of VAT 69 in a Hindi movie. Today scotch is enjoying yet another revival as a cultural icon.
Legend has it that the ancient Celts knew how to distill grains at least as far back as 800 B.C. Given that they lacked the climate to grow the more fragile grapevines, they used cereals such as barley and rye. Those Celts viewed their fiery brew as a gift from their gods that literally brought the dead to life and warmed even the coldest spirit. In fact, in Celtic whisky is called "uisge beatha" (ooshka baha)-the water of life.
What is Whisky ? A spirituous liquor distilled from a fermented mash of grains, usually rye, barley, oats, wheat, or corn, and matured in wood casks, usually for three or more years. Inferior grades are made from potatoes, beets, or other roots. |
From Scotland and Ireland in the 1400's, to the United States and Canada during Colonial times and to the rest of the world as its popularity grew, Scotch has become a popular libation for any occasion. Yet each culture has placed its stamp on this "aqua vitae" and each is sought out for its particular character.
How it's Made
The basis of every scotch whisky is barley. During the malting process, barley is soaked in water for two or three days, then spread out to germinate for a week or so. During germination, enzymes turn the starch in the barley into soluble sugars - which is nice...
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Aging and Maturation
Aging is a fairly complex process, which adds richness, flavour and texture to whisky. It is surrounded by a lot of mystique and people who oversee this process are really valued. During aging the spirit loses some of its harshness and acquires the natural aromas of its environment. Thus a whisky that is aged near the sea may be different...
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Reigions
Whisky types can be clubbed by region of production. These distinctions would however emerge only if you were to sample Single Malts as Blends tend to marry different flavours..
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What’s in a name?
The story behind your favourite Single Malt..
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