Single malt whiskey
As a single-malt whiskey or shorter single malt are whiskeys referred that meet two special conditions: They come first from a single distillery , so are not a waste of several whiskeys (hence single , single ' ). The second is used as cereals exclusively malted barley (therefore used paints , malt ' ). The addition of single malt is understood as a predicate , the so awarded whiskeys are usually of particularly high quality. In addition, they are stored for a particularly long time, and the ripening period is often a decade or more.
General
A single malt whiskey can be a mixture of several barrels from a distillery, for example to achieve a taste and smell that is as consistent as possible. In such cases, the year or age refers to the most recent barrel used.
In contrast to a blend , which can be reproduced in smell and taste for years, single malts have their own individual character, which is determined by the production and storage. The color of the whiskey is often by the addition of caramel equalized; only in a few countries, including Germany and Denmark, does this have to be stated on the label.
The barley used has little influence on the character of a whiskey, so it does not have to come from the area around the still. Some Scottish distilleries advertise that they only use Scottish barley. As with other whiskeys, the brewing water used for production mostly comes from the immediate vicinity of the distillery.
Before bottling, the alcohol content of the single malt is usually reduced to drinking strength with brewing water. According to the Scotch Whiskey Act of 1988 and EU Regulation No. 1576/89, whiskey must have an alcohol content of at least 40 percent by volume.
Single malt is enjoyed pure or with soft spring water and at room temperature in order to be able to perceive the usually very complex taste nuances.
Countries of origin
Scotland
In the early years, scotch was usually consumed as a “single malt”, as both legal and illegal distilleries had local buyers or produced for their own use. The first blend was made in 1853 by Andrew Usher Sr. created. In 1870 at the latest, traders who purchased barrels from the various distilleries began to distribute their own, self-created blends first throughout Great Britain and then worldwide - which is why the single malt was almost completely displaced from the market. They were helped by the phylloxera plague , which was particularly rampant in France and immensely limited the supply of cognac and brandy .
It was not until 1963 that the Glenfiddich company from Dufftown dared to market its whiskey as a single malt again, was successful with it and paved the way for a trend. Single malt whiskeys now have a market share of 10 percent of total Scottish whiskey production, while blends hold 90 percent.
Ireland
Single malt is also produced in Ireland . For a long time, the Northern Irish distillery Old Bushmills produced the only real Irish single malt. There are now Connemara , Tyrconnell , Knappogue Castle and Locke's from the Cooley Distillery in Dundalk , Northeast Ireland .
The basic production process and names are like Scottish single malt. Traditionally, however, Irish whiskey is distilled three times in column stills , while Scottish whiskey is usually distilled twice in pot stills . In Scotland, the malted barley was traditionally dried over a peat fire (which many malt houses still partially maintain to this day). In Ireland only hot air is passed through the malt so that Irish whiskey lacks the typical smokiness of its Scottish relatives. The malt taste is much more pronounced than with scotch.
The Connemara whiskey is an exception, as it is made with peated barley malt and only distilled twice.
Japan
Since the mid-1920s, whiskey has also been produced in Japan - especially in the cooler north of the country, where rice cultivation is not possible and therefore agriculture has been dominated by European grains since the 19th century - whiskey, today also as single malt. The Scottish malt whiskey serves as a model. Japanese whiskey is quite popular in Japan itself due to its good quality, but these whiskeys have also been increasingly offered abroad recently. The interest of the Japanese in the Scottish national drink went so far that they bought into some Scottish distilleries. The largest whiskey distillery in the world is located in Osaka, Japan . Masataka Taketsuru is considered the founding father of Japanese whiskey.
Continental Europe
Outside the British Isles , whiskey production in Europe has so far been a marginal phenomenon. A few small stills have been founded in Germany over the past three decades. In France there is hardly any single malt produced, just as little in Austria, there has only been a still in Stanz since 2003. The same applies to Switzerland, there are only a few small distilleries. There has been a Spanish distillery near Granada since 2004 , and some whiskey has also been produced in Gävle , Sweden , since 1999.
Production steps
Malt
Single malt whiskey got its name from the fact that it is made only from barley malt . Scottish whiskey distilleries still produce a small amount of their malt themselves, but they mostly get it from large, industrial malting houses, who also add peat smoke to varying degrees on their behalf (as described below).
For malting , the barley is soaked in spring water for a few days . The swollen barley is now spread out on a flat surface. The barley is turned regularly over the next eight to ten days. It begins to germinate and enzymes naturally present in the grain are activated, which partially convert the starch into various double and single sugars , especially malt sugar and dextrose .
The sprouted barley is dried sharply, which also stops the germination process before the germ can use up the sugar again. At the same time, the high temperatures accelerate the effect of the enzymes in the still moist grain, so that most of the starch is converted into sugar by the time it is completely dry. The barley is to on the floor of a kiln ( kiln spread) and dried with the smoke and the heat of a fire beneath the kiln. In earlier times the barley was turned with shovels, today appropriate machines are used for this. If peat is used for firing, this gives the barley malt a peat-like taste ( peat reek , phenol aroma), which can then also be tasted in the end product. The aroma varies depending on the strength and duration of the peat fire from a slightly smoky to a very strong, almost lignite-like peat smoke taste ( heavily peated ).
The malt grains produced in this way can be stored for a limited time (this time, however, is very limited due to the remaining residual moisture). Distilleries are now supplied with the malt in this form, provided they purchase it from outside the company. The work steps explained next definitely take place in the distillery.
Brew
The malted barley is then cleaned and ground in a mill to groats ( grist ground). The malt grist is poured into mash tuns and poured over several times with heated spring or moor water from the area around the distillery. The sugar and some other components of the malt dissolve in the water, while the proteins, fats and fiber of the malt, which are undesirable for the brewing process, as well as the remaining unchanged starch, do not dissolve and are strained. While the resulting sweet solution ( English word 'wort' ) is processed further, the insoluble parts of the malt meal are used as fodder. The wort is first boiled to kill unwanted microorganisms. It is filled into large fermentation vats ( wash backs ) and, after cooling, fermented by adding special yeasts . The sugar is partially fermented to alcohol. The resulting fermentation broth ( wash ) has an alcohol content of six to ten percent. Up to this point in production, the process of making whiskey is very similar to that of making beer. The only thing missing is the addition of hops to the wort before fermentation. The flavor of a future strong beer is therefore comparable to a whiskey flavor - only without the bitter hops. The whiskey wort is collected in tanks and stored for a short time.
Burn
The main difference to beer production in whiskey production is evaporation after yeast fermentation of the wort. This distillation is in stills ( pot stills ) of copper instead, which are fired with coal or gas. The wash (the liquid wort) is pumped into the first still ( wash still ), slowly heated and brought to the boil. The vapors rising in the “gooseneck” of the still are passed through the condenser , a spiral (in the gooseneck) made of water-cooled copper snakes ( worm ), where they condense to form low wines with around 18–24% alcohol content. This is collected and then temporarily stored in tanks. The distillation is stopped when the still content has reached 1% alcohol content.
The still rather impure raw spirit ( low wines or low wine ) is pumped into a second, smaller still ( low wines still or spirit still ) and heated and condensed again. The first part of the condensate, the flow ( foreshot or head , German head ), is separated by the master distiller ( stillman ) because it contains too much methanol , esters , aldehydes and other inedible substances, which are unavoidable by-products of natural yeast metabolism arise during fermentation. The middle cut, called the heart of the run, with an alcohol content of 65 to 70% is collected and used to make whiskey (depending on the distillery, the middle cut makes up between 18 and 60 percent of the total condensate). Also, the caster ( feints , German tail ) is separated because in it too many long-chain alcohols ( " fusel oils are included"). However, since the first and last parts still contain enough edible ethanol , they are partly added to the next distillation.
Which is used to assess the distillate quality and the tax and registration of the alcohol produced spirit safe (fire-safe), an any sealed, with measuring devices ( hydrometer , English hydrometer for determining the specific gravity of the fluid), taps and measuring cylinders and funnels equipped, messinggerahmter Glaskasten . From there, the master distiller, after checking, either directs the distillate to the storage tanks for bottling or for reuse in the next distillation. Any laboratory samples are only taken and examined under the supervision of a customs officer, so that no untaxed alcohol can be diverted for drinking purposes.
Maturation and finish
The distillate collected from the middle reaches is poured into wooden barrels and stored under customs seal for at least three years. In Scotland and America the use of oak is mandatory, in other European countries other types of wood are occasionally used, e.g. B. Chestnut. Storage in wooden barrels is necessary because the wood gradually binds certain undesirable substances in the fresh distillate (so-called "subtractive maturation"). In addition, aromatic substances from the wood pass into the whiskey ("additive maturation"). About two percent of the content evaporates through the wooden pores of the oak barrels each year. This loss is called "angels 'share" ( angels' share ) . The spirit may only be called whiskey after it has been stored for at least three years - at least in the European Union and Switzerland. However, such young whiskey is only used for the production of blended Scotch whiskey; For bottling as a single malt, it is usually matured much longer. A common standard for single malt whiskey is bottling with an age of 10 to 12 years, but particularly high-quality products can also have maturing times of 20 years and more. However, the quality of a whiskey cannot be increased indefinitely through longer and longer storage. After about 30 years a barrel is usually exhausted and there is no significant further maturation. If stored for an extremely long time, a woody, bitter taste can develop; For the producer there is also the risk that the alcohol content falls below 40% due to evaporation, so that the content can no longer be sold as whiskey.
Together with the distillation process and the storage time, the quality of the barrels used has a decisive influence on the taste of a whiskey. Whiskey can mature with very different results depending on the individual barrel; the typical distillery character results from the averaging of the contents of many barrels. The barrel management is therefore an essential quality feature of a distillery. Single malt whiskeys are often stored in American oak barrels in which Bourbon whiskey was previously matured. According to American law, bourbon is only allowed to mature in barrels made from new American oak (white oak, Quercus alba), so that these barrels cannot be used again in America and are therefore available at low cost. The strong vanilla aroma that fresh American oak gives off and that characterizes the bourbon is, in turn, undesirable in Scottish whiskey, and so a successful cooperation between American and Scottish whiskey producers has established itself. To save freight space costs, American barrels are dismantled for transport and new barrels are assembled from the wood in Scotland. There is also a tradition of aging whiskey in former sherry barrels from Spain, which then strongly shapes the character of the whiskey. Sherry barrels (500-600 l) are usually greater than Bourbon barrels (200 l) and in part also European oak ( English oak and Traubeneiche prepared), significantly higher flavor and Tanninwerte has. Whiskeys matured in sherry casks can therefore have a stronger oak note in their taste. In addition to the use of used barrels, the process of burning out fresh oak barrels before filling them for the first time (toasting) is also used.
In order to achieve certain flavors, the distillates are often transferred to other barrels even after a few years of storage, a technique known as finishing or post-maturation. More recently, they have been experimenting with a variety of barrel types: not only the traditional sherry barrels, but also those that were previously used to store port wine , rum , Madeira , white or red wine or very smoky whiskeys .
In the meantime, the bottle label often states in detail what type of cask has been stored in ( e.g. sherry barrel , bourbon barrel , sherry or portwood finish ) and whether this is a first or multiple refill of a barrel. The term Refill Sherry Cask means, for example, that it is a former sherry barrel that has already been used once for the maturation of whiskey.
Bottling
When filling, the contents of several barrels are usually blended together. This is done in order to achieve as constant a quality as possible and to compensate for differences in the individual barrels. Cold filtration is often carried out to remove turbidity from the whiskey. To do this, the whiskey is cooled to below 10 ° C, which causes the turbid substances to precipitate and are filtered off. However, this also means that flavor carriers ( fats ) are lost, which is why many bottlings today do not use this type of filtration ( unchillfiltered ). Then it is usually diluted with water to a drinking strength of 40 to 46 percent by volume and finally bottled.
If whiskey is not diluted to drinking strength, it is given the name Cask Strength (cask strength), sometimes also Natural Strength (natural strength). Whiskey with the name Cask Strength can come from several barrels, which are emptied together into a so-called vat , in order to then be bottled. A Cask Strength is either not diluted at all or only a small amount of water is added in order to achieve a uniform alcohol content for labeling.
As a result of increasing demand, products are now increasingly being offered that further enhance the unique character of the single malt. Single malts are also bottled as a single cask . The whiskey comes from a single barrel, and the bottles are often numbered. The taste and quality of such individual barrels can vary greatly even at the same distillery.
Some manufacturers also use sugar couleur (E 150) to color the whiskey when it is bottled . Addition of coloring agents must be stated on the bottle for import into Germany; some bottlers now also expressly note the absence of colorings on the label.
Age information
Since the maturation time of a whiskey is an important quality feature, single malt whiskeys are often sold with an indication of the age. If several vintages are combined in a bottling, it is a requirement that the age of the end product must be the age of the youngest whiskey contained. Age information on bottles is therefore a minimum age, and a distillery can even use older whiskey throughout to keep an established brand even if certain vintages are missing from the warehouse (which is not uncommon because malt distilleries keep going through periods of closure, be it due to the economic situation or in the wake of the train a change of ownership).
If a producer decides to sell his malt whiskey without specifying the age, this can have various reasons. On the one hand, it can be a relatively young whiskey - especially an age under 10 is not popular for marketing reasons. Bottlings without an indication of age can also be relatively high-quality products for which z. B. Barrels of very different ages were put together; the statutory labeling with the age group of the youngest component would then make it difficult for the producer to enforce his price expectations on the market. Whiskeys without an age statement are also called NAS whiskey (NAS stands for no age statement ).
Storage of whiskey bottles
As with wine , for example , whiskey changes slowly during barrel aging. When whiskey go certain chemical substances from the barrel wood slowly in solution and other substances to evaporate through the pores in the barrel . In contrast to wine, however, no substances already present in the whiskey disintegrate, since after the high temperatures of the distillation there are no longer any substances that disintegrate or transform at room temperature .
When the bottle is filled , these ripening processes are prevented, as the bottle glass is impermeable and free of soluble substances. Unlike wine, the whiskey no longer changes its character from now on (if stored properly). A 10-year-old whiskey does not become a 20-year-old whiskey in the sense of the usual age specifications after 10 years of further bottle storage. However, it does not deteriorate during this time, provided the bottle is stored in a cool, dry, upright position and out of direct sunlight, and provided it has not been opened. After opening, the oxygen in the air can lead to an oxidation of aromas , but this has a noticeable effect only after a few months, depending on the remaining level of the bottle (the little oxygen trapped in the bottle neck during filling, however, has practically no effect). Due to the high alcohol content, depending on the type of closure, the contents of an originally closed bottle can evaporate over the course of many years and result in a visibly lower fill level.
Taste classification
In 2007 the “Friends of the CLASSIC MALTS” in Glasgow published a classification for malt whiskeys. Then David Broom, presented as an independent whiskey expert, with the support of Diageo, divided it into two axes: "Light - Substantial" and "Soft - Smoky". The picture Malt flavor map shows the result for selected varieties. The characteristics are described as follows:
- Smoky ( Smoky ): The aroma stirs the peat fire over which the barley was dried mainly from smoke.
- Soft ( Delicate ): The barley was not or hardly dried over smoke.
- Easy ( Light ): The whiskey has a light, fruity, green grass after seeming taste.
- Full content ( Rich ): The aroma plays toward vanilla taste of dried fruit.
Others
A Scottish Gaelic toast that is often used when drinking single malt whiskey is "Slàinte mhath" (pronounced: slaantsche wa). It literally means "good health" and corresponds to the German "Zum Wohle".
See also
literature
- Leif Hahlbohm, Eike Hahlbohm: Malt whiskey. Renaissance of a culture rich in tradition. Media Service, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-939934-07-3 .
- Michael Jackson : Whiskey. The brands and distilleries in the world. Dorling Kindersley, Starnberg 2005, ISBN 3-8310-0764-0 .
- Harald Kirsch, Jens Unterweger: Independent whiskey. Guide to the independent bottlers. Whiskey Fässle, Ingersheim 2010, ISBN 978-3-9813817-0-2 .
- Gilbert Delos: Whiskey from all over the world . Karl Müller, Erlangen 1998, ISBN 3-86070-442-7 (French: Les Whiskies du Monde . Translated by Karin-Jutta Hofmann).
Web links
- Whiskey Guide - Information on single malt, production, history and distilleries
Individual evidence
- ↑ Regulation (EEC) No. 1576/89 of the Council of 29 May 1989 laying down the general rules for the definition, description and presentation of spirits .
- ^ Gilbert Delos: Whiskey from all over the world . Karl Müller, Erlangen 1998, ISBN 3-86070-442-7 , p. 148–152 (French: Les Whiskies du Monde . Translated by Karin-Jutta Hofmann).
- ↑ About the authenticity of time. ( Memento of the original from March 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Genuss-Magazin I / 08
- ↑ http://www.whisky.de/whisky/wissen/produktion00/details/maelzen.html
- ^ Gilbert Delos: Whiskey from all over the world . Karl Müller, Erlangen 1998, ISBN 3-86070-442-7 , p. 157 , The distillation in traditional stills (French: Les Whiskies du Monde . Translated by Karin-Jutta Hofmann).
- ^ Gilbert Delos: Whiskey from all over the world. 1998, p. 157.
- ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 15, 2008 on the definition, description, presentation and labeling of spirits as well as the protection of geographical indications for spirits and the repeal of Regulation (EEC) No. 1576 / 89 . Appendix II, 2. Whiskey or whiskey .
- ^ The federal authorities of the Swiss Confederation: SR 817.022.110 Ordinance of the FDHA on alcoholic beverages - Art. 63 Whiskey. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Completed original (in English) , read on February 22, 2012
