What is single malt whisky

Wine culture is different in different countries around the world, and whiskey has become more popular in my country in recent years. Although it comes from a foreign country, it is very popular in my country, especially single malt whiskey, which is very popular among young people. But what is single malt whiskey? Whiskey comes from the Irish, and now the main producing country is the United Kingdom. It is actually a kind of grain wine, and a high-proof liquor.

What do single malt and blended whisky mean?

Whiskey is a strong distilled liquor with an alcohol content of about 43% made from grains such as barley, rye, oats, wheat, and corn. After fermentation and distillation, it is placed in oak barrels and aged for many years. The British call it "water of life". Whiskey Whiskey is a blended alcoholic beverage, and its main producing countries are English-speaking countries.

The word whiskey comes from the language of the ancient Celts who lived in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. The ancient Irish called this wine VISAGE-BEATHA and the ancient Scottish called it VISAGE BAUGH. After thousands of years of changes, it gradually evolved into Whiskey.

For the sake of clarity, we use diagrams to explain.

The A in the picture is whiskey made from barley malt brewed in the same distillery and stored in different oak barrels, diluted with water. The alcohol concentration is about 40%~50%, which is the most common Single Malt.

The Glenlivet and Glenmorangie commonly seen on the market are Single Malt whiskies named after the distilleries. In other words, a bottle of Glenlivet 15 years is blended with whiskies brewed by the Glenlivet distillery. Behind every Single Malt product, there is a blender who uses his keen senses and rich experience to make the taste of each batch of products as close as possible.

The B in the picture does not have the process of adding water for dilution. Such wine is also called "Cask Strngth (CS for short)" and it will most likely be noted on the wine label. The alcohol concentration mostly falls between 50% and 65%. Cask

Strength not only shows the most authentic taste of the winery; during the tasting process, slowly adding water in batches to reduce the alcohol concentration and appreciating the changes in the aroma is also the fun of tasting CS.

The whisky C in the picture is bottled directly from a single distillery and a single oak barrel, which is called "Single Cask". This type of wine often has the barrel number and the number XX among hundreds of bottles indicated on the label. Each batch of Single Cask is unique. Even from the same winery, the taste and aroma of the wine from different barrels are often very different. It is also a distressing thing to like a bottle of Sigle Cask, because there are only two or three hundred bottles of the same flavor in the world...so many Sigle

Once Cask is on the market, collectors often rush to collect it in large quantities. After all, it is not easy to find wine from the same barrel again.

The so-called "Single" refers to "single winery"! The above are all considered as "Single Malt".

The D in the picture uses the wine (brewed with barley malt) from more than two distilleries to blend and bottle, which is called "Blended Malt or Vatted Malt (Chinese translation: blended malt whisky)" or "Pure Malt (Chinese translation: pure malt whisky)". For example, Johny Walker Green Label and Grant's green bottle are "Blended

Malt Whisky".

The E in the picture stands for Blended

Whisky (Chinese translation: blended whisky) is a whisky made by mixing wines from two or more distilleries, with both malt and grain as the raw materials. Royal Salute, Johny

Walker Gold Label and Horn Bottle are whiskies of this type. Blended Whisky is the same as Sigle Malt, with the blender unifying the taste of each batch.

The F in the picture is made from grains (mostly wheat, rye or corn), which is called "Single Grain". Grain whisky is usually used for blending, and a few are bottled and sold on the market. Grain whisky has a relatively light taste, with aromas of brown sugar, caramel or vanilla. Sometimes I like to drizzle some Single Grain on chocolate cake to make it more layered.

Knowing these words will make it easier to understand whisky.

whiskey and

Whisky:

The difference between the two is simply a matter of tradition, with Scottish, Japanese, and Canadian producers tending to use "Whisky" and Irish and American producers using "Whiskey" (some American producers, such as Maker's Mark, prefer "Whisky").

Origin

Fortunately, there are several outstanding whiskey-producing regions. The most well-known ones are Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Japan and the United States, with sub-regions often marked on the bottom of the bottle (the specific origin is very important, for example, whiskeys from different origins in Scotland have very different characteristics). Contrary to popular belief, bourbon doesn’t have to be produced in Kentucky, even though it’s a bourbon-producing state.

Alcohol

This is easy. You will see the alcohol content (Alcohol By Volume, which refers to the volume percentage of alcohol content) or alcohol purity (proof value is equal to twice the percentage, such as 80proof=40%Vol) on the label. In the United States, ABV is a legal requirement, but alcohol purity is not.

International alcohol content:

The first type: Alcohol by volume. It refers to the amount of alcohol in 100 ml of wine at 20°C, usually expressed as a percentage.

The second type: Degrees of proof VK. The British alcohol content is a method of calculating alcohol content created by the Englishman Clark in the 18th century;

The third type: Degrees of proof US. The alcohol content in the United States is expressed in terms of alcohol purity (Proof), and one alcohol purity is equivalent to 0.5% alcohol content.

The invention of the British and American alcohol proofs preceded the emergence of standard alcohol proofs, and they are both expressed in terms of alcohol purity, "proof". However, the three alcohol levels can be converted:

·

Standard alcohol content x 1.75 = Imperial alcohol content

·

Standard alcohol content x2 = American alcohol content

·

Imperial alcohol content x 8/7 = US alcohol content

years

Because of differences in climate, the ideal years for wine in different regions are also different. Basically, whiskey lasts longer in cooler climates. Warm weather acts like a fire under the wine, causing the reaction between the wine and the barrel to accelerate.

Many whiskies have a minimum age, which refers to the year when the wine is first placed in the barrel and comes into contact with the wood and begins to accumulate. Many whiskies are well past the minimum age, such as single malt Scotch, but if the age is not listed, you can try the following:

Scotch Whisky: All Scotch Whisky must spend at least 3 years in oak barrels.

Irish Whiskey: Like Scotch Whiskey, all Irish whiskeys must spend at least 3 years in oak barrels.

Bourbon whiskey (produced in the United States, made from corn and rye): No minimum age requirement.

Straight Bourbon Whiskey: This has a basis, and its minimum age is: 2 years aging in toasted new oak barrels. If the vintage is less than 4 years old, it will be marked directly on the bottle.

Japanese whisky: Japanese whisky is a spiritual role model, if not quite as much like Scotch. Also at least 3 years, you might think of Mizuna oak.

Canadian whisky: the 3-year minimum rule remains

Sour mash

Sour Mash: A bourbon term that refers to the "sour mash" used when the whiskey is fermented, with some beer (or mash fermented with active yeast) from which the alcohol has been removed to enhance the flavor and maintain pH balance.

Small batch bottling

Small batch: A vague term with no strict legal definition. Generally refers to whiskey and rye (where you'll usually see it) that were distilled in quantities of around 20 barrels or less. Keep in mind that some "small batch" labels are just slapped on the bottle by the producer for your information; the actual distillation takes place at a large organization like Midwest Grain Products or MPG. There are no small batches at all.

Bonded whiskey

A bit like a single malt, but a little more demanding. The bourbon whiskey produced in a distillery in a season spends at least 4 years in a federally bonded, customs-supervised warehouse and is usually 50% ABV. Of course, even if there is old supervision, it has nothing to do with the year or brewing of the wine itself, so you know.

Single Barrel Whisky

Different from small batch bottling, this whiskey refers to a specific bourbon or scotch whiskey that comes from a specific barrel. It’s not a product, but a whisky with the unique style of a particular barrel.

Of course, there are many other terms, including "non-chill filtered" and "caramel coloring" (which is not required in most countries). With whiskey, it’s best to start simple so you don’t fall headfirst into the barrel.