scotch whiskey culture

8/6/2019 Scotch Whiskey Culture

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Welcome to a Brief Tour to

Scotch Whisky

Skye Gears

January 23, 2008



Welcome to the Scotch Whisky

shop. In this brief tutorial, we would

like to take you to a short journey onthe history of Whisky and its

production process.



Whisky (from the Gaelic word uisge

beatha, "water of life") has been

produced for hundreds of year in

Scotland since at least the fifteenth

century.

Whisky is deeply rooted in Scottish

history and an icon product of

Scotland.



It is not only a culture icon, but also an

important part of Scotland¶s economy.

Today, more than one billion bottles of

Scotch Whisky are sold worldwide per year.

Compared with Irish whiskey of about5% of that number - American,

about 8%, Japanese about 3%.Source [1,16, 18]



It is Scotland¶s 3rd largest and UK¶s 5th

largest manufactured export.

Its overseas sales amount to a staggering

£2.5 billion per year.

In total, whisky and other spirits is worth

of £3.3 billion per year to the Scottisheconomy and provides 41,000 jobs in

Scotland.

Source [14, 15, 16]



Scotch Whisky Sales Distribution

TOP EXPORT MARKETS BY SALES

US: £400m

France: £275m

Spain: £195m

South Korea: £136m

Venezuela: £106m

Source: Scotch Whisky Association: 2006

Source [17]



You may have visited one of the

Whisky shops.

You may have been to one of the

Whisky tasting events.



Image Source [1]



Or, you may have been one of thoselucky persons who have the chance

to taste the finest Whisky straight

out of a barrel.

But do you know

where Scotch Whiskycomes from?

Image Source [1]



In this tutorial, I would like to

briefly introduce you to the regions

where Scotch Whiskies come fromand the making process of Scotch

Whisky.



Whisky is fascinating and important

to Scottish economy, but do youknow that it is made from three

ingredients only. They are:

1. Barley

2. Spring water

3. Yeast

Sometimes peat is also fired to enhancethe flavour, but this is optional.



Next is a Whisky map that shows the

distribution of distilleries inScotland.



Image Source [6]



Scotland is divided intofive

whisky- producing regions. Each has its own style and

its share of devotees.

These are the Lowlands, Highlands,Campbeltown, island of Islay and Speyside.

Interesting enough, more than half of thedistilleries are in Speyside.



Image Source [6]



Whisky Distilleries are oftenresided in scenic countryside

and with interesting architectures.

We give you some examples

here.



Image Source [7.2]



In our next selected pictures, the

distilleries sport a twin pagoda roof.



Strathisla Scotch Whisky Distillery

Image Source [7.1]



The process of

Whisky Making



To Make Whisky«

The single most important ingredient

is: Barley.

There are 7

Stages in

making

Whisky.

Image Source [8]



Stage 1: Malting

Barley are soaked in water to allow

germination, so enzymes turn the starch

into sugar.

Grains of barley start to sprout to

becomeso-called

³green malts´.

Image Source [9]Image Source [10]



Stage 2: Kilning

To smoke dry the green malts to stopgermination and prevent sugar being

used for growing.

Sometimes, peat is fired to create

smoke to add flavour to the malt.

Traditionally, malts are spread thinlyon the floor; modern systems make

use of rotary drums to air and heat

the malt.



Floor Kilning

Image Source [4]



Stage 3: Milling

In this stage,

barley malts aregrinded to

produce ³grist´

(65% husk, 25%middle, and 10%

flour).The Mill

Image Source [3]



Stage 4: Mashing

Mix hot water with grist in a large

vessel called ³Mash Tun´ to extract

sugars.

The output is hot,

sweet water,

called ³wort´

Image Source [3]



Stage 5: Fermenting

Transfer cooled ³wort´ to ³Wash-

Backs´. Yeast is added to turn

wort into weak alcohol,

called

³wash´.

Image Source [12]



Stage 6: Distilling

The ³wash´ is transferred to a washstill that is typically heated to 80

degrees. Its vapour is collected to

become ³low wines´.

This is repeated at a second(low wines) still to produce

70%-79% spirit.

Image Source [5.2]



Image Source [5.1]Scotch Whisky Stills



It may be worth mentioning that

the shape of the still, the height,shape and length of its neck, and the

fact that the still is copper rather than

other metals all contribute to thecharacteristics of the whisky.

Modern stainless steel stills do not

remove impurities from whiskies.



Stage 7: Maturing

Scotch spirit is stored and matured in oak

casks. The minimum legal requirement is

3 years. The type of wood used and what

was stored in the

barrel previously

give additionalflavour to

the Whisky.

Image Source [12]



R eferences

1. Ian Bankier, the Whisky Shop, http://www.whiskyshop.com/

2. R oyal Mile Whiskies.com: http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/viewindex.asp?article_id=wb_making

3. BruichLaddich: http://www.bruichladdich.com/making_whisky.htm

4. Floor malting: http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/maltwhisky/maltings.html

5. Scotch Whisky Stills:

1. https://reader009.{domain}/reader009/html5/0518/5afef20542c0e/5afef21911675.jpg

2. https://reader009.{domain}/reader009/html5/0518/5afef20542c0e/5afef21b21aba.jpg

6. Whisky map: http://www.scotchwhisky.net/distilleries/

7. Distillery:

1. http://www.entirescotland.co.uk/scottish_whisky_distilleries.html

2. http://www.entirescotland.co.uk/scottish_whisky_distillery_tours.html

8. Barley: http://www.freefoto.com/preview/9907-06-31?ffid=9907-06-31

9. Green Malt: http://www.schmohz.com/images/beer-malt2.jpeg

10. Barley grains: http://www.lethamshank.co.uk/crops.htm

11. Whisky WashBacks: http://www.whisky-distilleries.info/Bowmore2_E N.shtml

12. Whisky Barrels: http://www.harbour-inn.com/gallery/whisky_barrels.jpg

13. Strathisla Distillery: http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/keith/keith/

14. BBC News, DEC 18, 2007: (3.3bn) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7150219.stm

15. BBC News, Dec 29, 2007 (2.5bn): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7163649.stm16. UK Parliament (41K jobs):

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmscotaf/324/1103108.htm

17. BBC News, April 4, 2007 (sales distribution): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6525279.stm

18. Scotland the official online Gateway Dec 2002 (1bn bottles) http://www.scotland.org/about/innovation-and-creativity/features/business/whisky.html

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