History
By Catherine Rose
The Angels’ Share A History of Whisky Whisky (or whiskey) is the tipple of connoisseurs. It is made from fermented grain mash distilled in either copper or Coffey (patent) stills, depending on the type of whisky being produced. Barley is normally used, although rye, wheat, and corn (the base of American bourbon) are also suitable. The grains can be malted for flavour by steeping them until they start to germinate and then drying them. This not only locks in enzymes helpful to the fermentation process but also brings out the grain sugar known as maltose, which gives malt whisky its characteristic caramel taste. After distilling, whisky is then traditionally aged in oak casks for a minimum of three years. The word whisky comes from the Gaelic for ‘water’ – uisce (Irish) or uisge (Scottish) (pronounced oosh keh). Short for ‘water of life’, this term originated from the Latin for alcohol – aqua vitae. But is it whisky or whiskey? Technically, both are correct. Whiskey is the spelling used by the Irish whereas in Scotland it is Scotch whisky, or simply Scotch – a term popular in the United States. There are three different types of whisky: malt whisky (which can be single or blended), grain
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whisky and blended whisky. The champagne of whiskies – single malt – comes from one distillery, while a blended malt will be the product of more than one. Grain whiskies are made using grains that have not been malted, while blended whiskies can be a mix of grain whiskies or of grain and malt. Blended whiskies tend to be the least expensive (and the brands you would probably use for a whisky mac). The earliest evidence of whisky distillation can be found in ancient Mesopotamia, where it was used not as a drink but as a base for making perfumes. There is subsequent evidence that the ancient Celts distilled whisky as a beverage. Northern Europe did not have the climate to grow grapes, so people who lived in these colder areas had to use more readily available sources to make alcohol. By the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Christian monks in Ireland and Scotland were distilling whisky, which they used as a health tonic. The first written record of whisky making was in 1494 when Friar John Cor “received eight bolls of malt to make aqua vitae”. This would have been enough to make around 1,500 bottles. During this time, whisky was not being left to age in casks as its primary use was as medicine, so it had not yet been discovered that ageing improved the flavour.
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