Hollywood Vine in Hollywood, FL
by Angela Indovina

 

There was an eclectic group of people quietly gathered around equally eclectic assorted tables and chairs.  As 2:00 came and went there was a tangible anticipation in the air.  Everyone received a small paper cup   (to drink or rinse out the tasting glass, with water purchased from the counter if was so chosen) and a basin was placed on each table.  There were 2 pages front and back with a brief description and the flavors and tastes of each region and type of scotch.  We were given the friendly “request” not to read through them until we had tasted each rather generous sample to form our own conclusions without bias.  The paper with the samples for tasting had been arranged in the order that we were tasting so we could follow along and make notes with the pens provided.  We noticed that the first and last samples were of the more expensive variety and both were quite good.  The several in the middle had very different tastes, most with a rather peaty flavor, which may be an acquired taste.  To cleanse the palate as we went along crackers as well as fruit and chocolate- both light and dark- was passed around after each sample.   “Whisky” as it known is indeed actually what we call Scotch, and is the same thing in Scotland.  The “e” in whiskey is actually a Scottish convention. 

Scotch whisky is divided into four distinct categories: single malt, vatted malt (also called “pure malt”), blended and single grain.

 1. Types of Scotch Whisky
There are two major categories, single and blended. Single means that the entire product is from a single distillery, while Blended means that the product is composed of whiskies from two or more distilleries. Traditional practices define five types:
•    Single malt whisky is a 100% malted barley whisky from one distillery, distilled in batches in pot stills
•    Single grain whisky is distilled at a single distillery from water and malted barley, with or without whole grains of other cereals; it must not meet the requirements of a single malt whisky
•    Vatted malt whisky that is a blend of single malt whiskies, from more than one distillery
•    Blended grain whisky is a whisky created by mixing grain whiskies from more than one distillery
    Blended Scotch whisky is a mixture of single malt whisky and grain whisky, distilled at more than one distillery.

 Single grain
The majority of grain whisky produced in Scotland goes to make blended Scotch whisky. The average blended whisky is 60%–85% grain whisky. Some higher quality grain whisky from a single distillery is bottled as single grain whisky. As of 2006, there are only seven grain whisky distilleries in Scotland.

Vatted / Blended malt
Blended Scotch whisky constitutes over 90% of the whisky produced in Scotland. Blended Scotch whiskies contain both malt whisky and grain whisky. They were initially created as an alternative to single malt whiskies which were considered by some to be too harsh. Master blenders combine the various malts and grain whiskies to produce a consistent “brand style”. Notable blended Scotch whisky brands include Dewar’s, Johnnie Walker, Cutty Sark, J&B, The Famous Grouse, and Chivas Regal.

Independent bottlers
To avoid potentially sticky legal issues, some independent bottlings do not reveal the distillery of the whisky, using a manufactured brand name or a geographical name instead, such as Old St Andrews.

Color can give a clue to the type of cask (sherry or bourbon) used to age the whisky, although the addition of legal “spirit caramel” is sometimes used to darken an otherwise lightly colored whisky. Sherried whisky is usually darker or more amber in color, while whisky aged in ex-bourbon casks is usually a golden-yellow/honey color.

The late 1990s saw a trend towards “wood finishes” in which fully matured whisky is moved from one barrel into another one that had previously aged a different type of alcohol (e.g., port, Madeira, rum, wine, etc.) to add the “finish”.
The regions of Scotch whisky.
Scotland was traditionally divided into four regions: The Highlands, Lowland, Islay and Campbeltown.

o        Lowland — only three distilleries remain in operation: Auchentoshan, Bladnoch, and Glenkinchie.— Legal definition
To be called Scotch whisky the spirit must conform to the standards of the Scotch Whisky Order of 1990 (UK), which clarified the Scotch Whisky Act 1988, and mandates that the spirit:
1.    Must be distilled at a Scottish distillery from water and malted barley, to which only other whole grains may be added, have been processed at that distillery into a mash, converted to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems, and fermented only by the addition of yeast,
2.    Must be distilled to an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume so that it retains the flavor of the raw materials used in its production,
3.    Must be matured in Scotland in oak casks for no less than three years and a day.
4.    Must not contain any added substance other than water and caramel coloring, and
5.    May not be bottled at less than 40% alcohol by volume.
This definition is currently under review and new legislation was expected in the spring of 2008.

http://www.hvine.com

 

 

 

 

o