In August of 2000 I toured the distillery of Glen Turret just north of Edinburough. A rather wonderful product. Unfortunately I have been unable to purchase any of it on this side of the Atlantic.
Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype DaleLeavens Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lenny McHugh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 11:03 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] How Whiskey Is Made > Hi Ray, > This sure brought back some memories. When I was in the eighth grade we > were > required to make a science project. > I was in the library searching for an idea. I stumbled on a science book > describing the distilling process. Well, I made a glass still. I received > an > "A" on the project and Mr. Willard, I believe kept the liquid output. > I guess if a kid did that in today's society he would be expelled. > I didn't taste it but left my dad. > It was probably 180 proof. > Lenny > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ray Boyce" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2007 5:02 AM > Subject: [BlindHandyMan] How Whiskey Is Made > > > Hi Everyone > I am sure there a a few people on this list who have tasted Whiskeyfrom > time > to time so here is how it is made. > How is whiskey made? > > Background > > Whiskey (usually spelled > whisky > in Canada and Scotland) is a spirit produced from > fermented > grain and aged in wood. A spirit is any alcoholic beverage in which the > alcohol content has been increased by > distillation. > Other spirits include > brandy > (distilled from wine), > rum > (distilled from > sugarcane > juice or > molasses), > vodka ( > distilled > from grain but not aged), and > gin > (also distilled from grain and unaged but flavored with > juniper > berries and other ingredients.) > > Undistilled alcoholic beverages such as > mead, > wine, and > beer > have been produced since at least 7000 B.C. The process of distillation > (heating an alcoholic beverage in order to boil off, collect, and > concentrate the > alcohol) was first used in China no later than 800 B.C. to produce rice > spirits. About the same time in other parts of Asia, distillation was used > to produce > arrack, a beverage similar to rum, made from rice and sugarcane juice or > palm juice. The ancient Arabs, Greeks, and Romans all distilled wine to > produce > beverages similar to modern brandy. The practice of distillation spread to > westetn Europe with the Arabs in the eighth century, particularly in Spain > and > France. > > No one knows where or when the first grain spirits were produced, but they > certainly existed in Europe no later than 500 years ago. Some claim that > whiskey > was invented in Ireland as long as 1,000 years ago and carried to Scotland > by monks. In any case, the first written records of Scottish > whiskey-making > date as far back as 1494. (The word whiskey comes from the Irish Gaelic > uisge beatha or the Scottish Gaelic uisge baugh, both meaning "water of > life.") > > Spirits were carried to the New World with the earliest European settlers. > Rum was distilled in New England in the early 17th century, and > distillation > also took place in New York as early as 1640. During the early 18th > century > whiskeymaking became an important industry in the western part of the > American > colonies, particularly in western Pennsylvania. Farmers found it difficult > to store their > perishable > grains and to transport them to distant eastern cities. It was much > simpler > to use them to make whiskey, which could be stored for years and more > easily > transported. > > Whiskey played an important part in the early history of the United > States, > especially during the so-called > Whiskey Rebellion > of 1794. Farmers in western Pennsylvania refused to pay an unpopular tax > on > whiskey and attacked federal officers who tried to collect it. After the > home > of the local tax inspector was burned by a group of 500 armed rebels, > President George Washington sent in 13,000 troops to stop the uprising. > The > rebellion > ended without > bloodshed, > and the power of the federal government was firmly established. Many > whiskeymakers moved farther west, into what was then Indian territory, to > escape federal > authority. They settled in southern Indiana and Kentucky, areas that are > still famous for whiskey. > > American whiskeymaking reached a peak in 1911, when about 400 million > liters > were produced, a figure not exceeded until after Prohibition. On November > 16, > 1920, the > Volstead Act > became the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, > and no American whiskey was legally made until the amendment was repealed > on > December > 5, 1933. Production reached another peak in 1951, when about 800 million > liters were made. Today about 400 million liters are produced each year. > > The earliest devices for distillation consisted of a closed, heated > container, a long tube (known as a > condenser) > through which the alcohol vapor could cool and turn back into a liquid, > and > a > receptacle > to catch the alcohol. These were later refined into pot stills, in which > alcohol vapor from a heated copper pot was condensed in a > helical, > water-cooled copper tube called a worm. Pot stills are still often used to > make whiskey in Scotland and Ireland and brandy in France. In Scotland in > 1826 > Robert Stein invented continuous distillation, in which alcohol could be > distilled continually rather than batch by batch. This process was > improved > by > the Irishman Aeneas Coffey in 1831 and is still used to make most > mass-produced whiskey today. > > Whiskey is popular around the world and is made almost everywhere. The > United States makes and consumes more whiskey than any other nation, but > the > most > celebrated whiskey is still > Scotch whiskey, > often just called Scotch. > > Raw Materials > > Whiskey is made from water, > yeast, > and grain. The water used is often considered the most important factor in > making good whiskey. It should be clean, clear, and free from bad-tasting > impurities > such as iron. Water that contains carbonates, found in areas that are rich > in limestone, is often used in the United States, particularly in > Maryland, > Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky. Scottish water is famous for being > suited to making fine whiskey, for reasons that are still somewhat > mysterious. > > Every whiskeymaker keeps a supply of yeast available, grown on > barley > malt and kept free from > bacterial > contamination. Some whiskeymakers use several kinds of yeast to control > the > fermentation > process precisely. > > The type of grain used varies with the kind of whiskey being made, but all > whiskeys contain at least a small amount of malted barley, which is needed > to > start the fermentation process. Scotch malt whiskey contains only barley. > Other whiskeys contain barley in combination with corn, wheat, oats, > and/or > rye. > Corn whiskey must contain at least 80% corn, while Bourbon whiskey and > Tennessee whiskey > must contain at least 51% corn. Rye whiskey must contain at least 51% rye, > and wheat whiskey must contain at least 51% wheat. > > Straight whiskeys contain no other ingredients, but blended whiskeys may > contain a small amount of additives such as > caramel > color and sherry. > > The Manufacturing > Process > > Preparing the grain > . Truckloads of grain are shipped directly from farms to the whiskey > manufacturer to be stored in silos until needed. The grain is inspected > and > cleaned > to remove all dust and other foreign particles. > . All grains except barley are first ground into meal in a > gristmill. > The meal is then mixed with water and cooked to break down the > cellulose > walls that contain > starch > granules. This can be done in a closed > pressure cooker > at temperatures of up to 311°F (155°C) or more slowly in an open cooker at > 212°F (100°C). > . Instead of being cooked, barley is malted. The first step in > malting > barley consists of > soaking > it in water until it is thoroughly saturated. It is then spread out and > sprinkled with water for about three weeks, at which time it begins to > sprout. > > During this > germination > the enzyme > amylase > is produced, which converts the starch in the barley into sugars. The > sprouting is halted by drying the barley and heating it with hot air from > a > kiln. > For Scotch whiskey, the fuel used in the kiln includes > peat, > a soft, carbon-rich substance formed when plant matter decomposes in > water. > The peat gives Scotch whiskey a characteristic smoky taste. The malted > barley > is then ground like other grains. > > Mashing > . Mashing consists of mixing cooked grain with malted barley and warm > water. > The amylase in the malted barley converts the starch in the other grains > into > sugars. After several hours the mixture is converted into a > turbid, > sugar-rich liquid known as > mash. > (In making Scotch malt whiskey the mixture consists only of malted barley > and water. After mashing the mixture is filtered to produce a sugar-rich > liquid > known as > wort.) > > Fermenting > . The mash or wort is transferred to a fermentation vessel, usually closed > in Scotland and open in the United States. These vessels may be made of > wood > or stainless steel. Yeast is added to begin fermentation, in which the > single-celled yeast organisms convert the sugars in the mash or wort to > alcohol. > The yeast may be added in the form of new, never-used yeast cells (the > sweet > mash process) or in the form of a portion of a previous batch of > fermentation > (the > sour mash > process.) The sour mash method is more often used because it is effective > at > room temperature and its low pH (high acidity) promotes yeast growth and > inhibits > the growth of bacteria. The sweet mash method is more difficult to > control, > and it must be used at temperatures above 80°F (27°C) to speed up the > fermentation > and to avoid bacterial > contamination. > After three or four days, the end product of fermentation is a liquid > containing about 10% alcohol known as distiller's beer in the United > States > or wash > in Scotland. > > Distilling > . Scottish whiskeymakers often distill their wash in traditional copper > pot > stills. The wash is heated so that most of the alcohol (which boils at > 172°F > [78°C]) is transformed into vapor but most of the water (which boils at > 212°F [100°C]) is not. This vapor is transferred back into liquid alcohol > in > a > water-cooled condenser and collected. Most modern distilleries use a > continuous still. This consists of a tall cylindrical column filled with a > series > of perforated plates. Steam enters the still from the bottom, and > distiller's beer enters from the top. The beer is distilled as it slowly > drips > through the plates, and the alcohol is condensed back into a liquid. With > either method, the product of the initial distillation-known as low > wine-is > distilled > a second time to produce a product known as high wine or new whiskey, > which > contains about 70% alcohol. > . The temperature of distillation and other factors determine the > proportions of water, alcohol, and other substances (called congeners) in > the final product. > If it contains more than 95% alcohol it will have no flavor because it has > no congeners. This product is known as grain neutral spirit and is often > used > to add alcohol without adding taste during blending. If the final product > has too many congeners of the wrong kind it will taste bad. Distillers > remove > bad-tasting congeners (usually aldehydes, acids, > esters, > and higher alcohols) in various ways. Some congeners boil at a lower > temperature than alcohol and can be boiled off. Some are lighter than > alcohol and will > float on top, where they can be poured off. > . Tennessee whiskey is unique in that the high wine is filtered through > charcoal > before it is aged. The charcoal is produced by burnning wood from sugar > maples. This filtration removes unwanted congeners and results in a > particularly > smooth whiskey. Premium Tennessee whiskey may be filtered through charcoal > again after it is aged to produce an even smoother product. > > Aging > . Water is added to the high wine to reduce its alcohol content to about > 50% > or 60% for American whiskeys and about 65% or higher for Scotch whiskeys. > Scotch > whiskeys are aged in cool, wet conditions, so they absorb water and become > less alcoholic. American whiskeys are aged in warmer, drier conditions so > they > lose water and become more alcoholic. Whiskey is aged in wooden barrels, > usually made from charred white oak. White oak is used because it is one > of > the > few woods that can hold a liquid without leaking but which also allows the > water in the whiskey to move back and forth within the pores of the wood, > which > helps to add flavor. In the United States these barrels are usually new > and > are only used once. In most other countries it is common to reuse old > barrels. > New barrels add more flavor than used barrels, resulting in differences in > the taste of American and foreign whiskeys. > > The aging process is a complex one, still not fully understood, but at > least > three factors are involved. First, the original mixture of water, alcohol, > and congeners react with each other over time. Second, these ingredients > react with oxygen in the outside air in > oxidation > reactions. Third, the water absorbs substances from the wood as it moves > within it. (Charring the wood makes these substances more > soluble > in water.) All these factors change the flavor of the whiskey. Whiskey > generally takes at least three or four years to mature, and many whiskeys > are aged > for ten or fifteen years. > > Blending > . Straight whiskeys and single malt Scotch whiskeys are not blended; that > is, they are produced from single batches and are ready to be bottled > straight > from the barrel. All other whiskeys are blended. Different batches of > whiskey are mixed together to produce a better flavor. Often neutral grain > spirit > is added to lighten the flavor, caramel is added to standardize the color, > and a small amount of sherry or port wine is added to help the flavors > blend. > Blended Scotch whiskey usually consists of several batches of strongly > flavored malt whiskeys mixed with less strongly flavored grain whiskeys. A > few blends > contain only malt whiskeys. Blending is often considered the most > difficult > and critical process in producing premium Scotch whiskeys. A premium > blended > Scotch whiskey may contain more than 60 individual malt whiskeys which > must > be blended in the proper proportions. > > Bottling > . Glass is always used to store mature whiskey because it does not react > with it to change the flavor. Modern distilleries use automated machinery > to > produce > as many as 400 bottles of whiskey per minute. The glass bottles move down > a > conveyor belt as they are cleaned, filled, capped, sealed, labeled, and > placed > in cardboard boxes. The whiskey is ready to be shipped to liquor stores, > bars, and restaurants. > > Quality Control > > Although the making of good whiskey is still more of an art than an exact > science, there are certain basic precautions that all whiskeymakers take > to > ensure > quality. The water used must be taken from an appropriate natural source. > It > must be filtered so that it is free from organic matter. The grain used > must > be very clean. It is also passed through screens to eliminate grains that > are too small. The yeast is carefully grown to avoid contamination by > other > microorganisms. > The temperature of distillation is monitored with thermometers in the > boiling liquid, which are visible through glass windows in the still. > During > aging, > samples of whiskey are evaluated by experienced tasters to determine if it > is mature. The blending process is supervised by master blenders to > produce > a final product with the proper taste. > > Byproducts/Waste > > Very little of the ingredients used in whiskeymaking are wasted. > > The portion of the fermented mash which remains after the distillation can > be used for animal feed. The charred white oak barrels used only once in > the > United States are often sold overseas to age foreign whiskeys. The > charcoal > used to filter Tennessee whiskey can be pressed into charcoal briquets for > barbecues. > > > > > To listen to the show archives go to link > http://acbradio.org/handyman.html > or > ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ > > The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. > http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday > > The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. > http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml > > Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various > List Members At The Following address: > http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ > > Visit the archives page at the following address > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man > list > just send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > To listen to the show archives go to link > http://acbradio.org/handyman.html > or > ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ > > The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. > http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday > > The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. > http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml > > Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various > List Members At The Following address: > http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ > > Visit the archives page at the following address > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man > list just send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >
