Whilst legend has it that grains were distilled in 13th century China, it is widely accepted, that Ireland was the birthplace of water of life made from barley.

The first tangible proof of spirit of barley is from the Scottish Exchequer Rolls of 1494 wherein “VIII bolls of malt to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aquavitae”. Meanwhile, Ireland’s first such evidence comes from a 1556 Act of Parliament: “...graine in making of aqua vitae...”.

Regardless, the nomenclature is clearly Celtic; aqua vitae in Gaelic is uisge beatha, which became uisge and ultimately whisky. In both countries distillation developed through the Middle Ages and by the 17th century whisky drinking had become widespread. As a result Charles I saw an opportunity to raise a lot of money; in 1644 taxes were imposed on Scotch whisky and laws passed restricting the rights of distillation to the landed classes. In Ireland taxation began a few years later in 1661. Whilst this may have raised some money for the Exchequer it really gave rise to illicit distillation. Either distillers made false declarations and paralleled quietly on the side, or more commonly, they simply disappeared into the countryside with their stills.

Two hundred years later Scottish and Irish whiskies were aided by the arrival of the phylloxera outbreak in Europe, which temporarily removed brandy from the market. Demand for whisky rocketed with Irish whiskey outselling Scotch as the former used un-malted barley, thereby producing a more popular lighter spirit. Just as Irish whiskey was about to take the world by storm the Total Abstinence Movement—an Irish precursor of American Prohibition—took hold, forcing many small distillers out of business.

Scotland meanwhile began blending continuous-still grain whisky with pot-distilled malt whisky. Whilst the Irish continued with the slower and less economic pot distillation, Scotch whisky became more readily available for a better price, and therefore, began to dominate the world whisky market.

WHAT IS WHISKY MADE FROM?

• Barley With so many strains available today distillers want to strike the right balance between quality and quantity yielded; they look for plump, ripe barley with plenty of starch and not too much protein or nitrogen. Used as both malted and un-malted grains.

• Corn widely regarded as producing the weightiest grain whiskies.

• Wheat produces lighter whiskies.

WHAT CAN BE ON THE LABEL?
Aside from the legal requirements that include the name and address of the producer, the contents by volume and their alcoholic strength there can also be the following:

• Age Statement Referring to the youngest part of the blend.

• Single malt whisky 100 % malted barley whisky from one distillery.

• Single Grain whisky Grain whisky from one distillery, although not necessarily made from a single type of grain.

• Blended malt whisky Malt whisky created by mixing single malt whiskies from more than one distillery.

• Blended grain whisky Mix of grain whiskies from more than one distillery.

• Blended whisky Mixture of single malt and grain whiskies, usually from multiple distilleries.

• Pure Pot Still an Irish term for whiskey made in a pot still but which can come from a mixture of malted and un-malted barley.

HOW IS IT MADE?
The chosen grains are sometimes malted, and then milled, fermented to a beer with water, distilled and aged. The process for malt whiskies follows, while grain whisky’s process follows from milling onwards:

STEEPING literally soaking the grains of barley in water. After approximately 48 hours the moisture penetrates the grain. As a result, enzymes in the embryo move to the endosperm—its starch store—thus modifying it from a tough structure to a fragile one and allowing germination. The germination process changes the chemical structure of the starch and the resultant sugars promote seed growth.

MALTING there are less than 10 distilleries in Scotland who use the old-fashioned floor malting to convert barley to malt. Most is bought from specialist maltsters who will effect the process pneumatically in either box or drum, both of which contain turners that keep the grain separate and ensure the free flow of air throughout the bed. As a result of converting starch to maltose, rootlets and seedling shoots appear and the barley is now termed green malt. To maximise fermentable matter and retain adequate diastatic power this process is halted and the green malt is sent for drying.

KILNING OR DRYING a kiln is a tower-shaped hot air chamber with a furnace, sometimes fan assisted, consisting of a grate in which coke, anthracite and peat can be burned at the base. Inside the kiln the green malt is spread out on a wire floor to dry for milling.

MILLING the extent to which the grains are milled is crucial to the effectiveness of the resultant grist as it determines the amount of starch that is extracted and converted to sugar during the mashing stage. Too little and not enough starch will be exposed and converted into sugar, too much and the floury consistency will stick, go soggy and prevent good filtration. Ideally the grist should contain as many unbroken husks as possible as these provide greater buoyancy in the mash and aid filtration in the mash tun—a cylindrical metal vat with rotating paddles.

MASHING the grist is placed in a mash tun and combined with very hot water giving a slurry of about 64 ˚C; the starch dissolves and the mixture is left for about an hour. This converts the starch into sugar producing a sweet liquor known as wort. Towards the bottom is a perforated shelf through which the liquid drains into a worts receiver. The wort is then cooled to about 22 ˚C and pumped into the fermentation vessels known as wash backs. A second batch of water—smaller but hotter at about 70 ˚C is added to the mash tun and combined with the remaining grains. The higher temperature enables more starch to dissolve. Again, the wort is drained and despatched to the wash back. A third batch of hot water—about 89 ˚C—is added and vigorously stirred to dissolve as much of the remaining starch as possible. After resting the resulting solution is very weak in sugar, and known as sparge, this is returned and used as part of the first batch of water for the next mash. This use of the sparge is a great aid to consistency. After the three waterings any grains, or draff, remaining, are discarded.

FERMENTATION Yeast is added to the cooled wort and fermentation— depending on factors including the type of yeast, the temperature and the type of malt—generally lasts about 48 hours.

DI STILLATION Methods have evolved around tradition and convention. In Scotland, malt whiskies are distilled twice or thrice in pot still and all grain whiskies are rectified in column stills. In Ireland, both malted and un-malted grains can be pot distilled, either two or three times, whilst lighter grain whiskies are distilled in multi-column continuous stills.

POT DISTILLATION Shapes and sizes of stills vary between distilleries, but all effect a double or triple distillation. The ferment sent to the first pot needs rummaging as otherwise the solids may stick to the still’s sides and result in burnt aromas. Rummagers—rotating arms with webbing—are built into the inside of these stills. The heat is turned on, the alcohol vaporises and the resulting low wines (about 20 % abv) are sent to the second pot, where the procedure is repeated. In the final distillation, be it the second or third, the first vapours or foreshots and the last vapours, feints are not potable and are returned to the first still to repeat the process. The heart of the distillate is collected and this new whisky is approximately 70 % abv.

CONTINUOUS COLUMN DI STILLATION although more brutal with the raw materials the resultant whiskies can be more elegant. Steam is fed into the bottom of an analyser and the wort is fed into the top. When the two meet the alcohol vaporises and together with the uncondensed steam, they pass into the rectifier. The vapours rise to the top of the rectifier, are condensed and collected on a cool spirit plate. The foreshots and feints are returned to the wash for re-distillation.

THE AGEING OF WHISKY
Before the spirit is transferred to casks an initial reduction with de-mineralised water may be made to reduce the leaching of character from the oak. The casks are mostly second-use, traditionally old bourbon or sherry. Whisky can also be transferred to another cask for finishing; this imparts flavours from the new cask, such as sherry, wine or another spirit.

The location of the ageing warehouse is a major factor. Whiskies matured by the sea will generally pick up coastal undertones and on the west coast of both Scotland and Ireland will be affected by the moderating influence of the Gulf Stream. Their respective east coasts are much cooler and the rate of evaporation, and therefore maturation, is slower. The whiskies can then be blended—malt with malt, grain with grain, malt with grain and so on—producing some of the world’s finest whiskies.