Whiskey is a strong alcoholic beverage with a characteristic taste and aroma. There are many varieties of whiskey, as well as several manufacturing techniques.
For the production of whiskey in different countries are taken as a basis for different types of grain. In Scotland, whiskey is made on the basis of barley; in Ireland, rye is also added to barley. In the USA and Canada, whiskey is made from corn, wheat.
Whiskey production takes place in several stages. At the first stage, the malt is obtained from the grain. This stage is absent in the preparation of American whiskey.
The peeled barley is dried, then soaked for 10 days. As a result of soaking, the grain germinates, the germinated grain is called malt. The malt is dried again using hot smoke in Scotland.
The smoke is obtained from the combustion of peat or charcoal. In other countries, smoke is not used as a method of drying malt. Therefore, the smoky peaty aroma is a characteristic feature of the Scottish drink.
Dried malt is crushed and poured with hot water, left for 8-12 hours. The result is a wort, into which yeast is added after cooling. After that, the fermentation process takes place for two days, for which the air temperature is maintained at about 35 degrees.
After fermentation, the drink acquires a strength of about 5%, then it goes through the distillation process. Braga is distilled 2-3 times. For the first time, a liquid is obtained with an alcohol content of up to 30%, in the second - about 70%.
The result of the second distillation is diluted with water to achieve optimal strength. The taste of the product strongly depends on the shape of the particular distillation apparatus. Therefore, when the device is replaced, its exact copy with all defects is reproduced.
The last and most important step in whiskey making is aging. It takes place in oak barrels, where the whiskey darkens and gets additional flavoring properties. The minimum aging period for whiskey is two to three years.
There are whiskey varieties that require aging for 10 or more years, these are exclusive and collection varieties. If you do not carry out the exposure, you get just barley alcohol. The more time a drink spends in an oak barrel, the more fusel oils the wood will absorb.
Before bottling, the whiskey is filtered through paper membranes, after which it is diluted with spring water and bottled.
Distinguish between single malt whiskey, malt and blended. Single malt whiskey is considered the most elite; it is made exclusively from sprouted barley. Blended whiskey is a mixture of alcohols based on different grains.
