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How Whiskey is Made?

Table of Contents

Stages of Whisky Production

Welcome to a captivating journey through the world of whisky production! Behind every glass of this exquisite spirit lies a meticulous and intricate process that transforms simple ingredients into a liquid gold that has enchanted palates for centuries.

As we embark on this exploration, we'll unveil the carefully orchestrated stages that bring whisky to life – from the selection of grains to the art of maturation. Whether you're a seasoned whisky enthusiast or just beginning to uncover the wonders of this timeless elixir, join us as we delve into the fascinating stages that culminate in the creation of one of the world's most cherished and complex beverages.

Grab your nosing glass and let's venture into the captivating realm of whisky production. 

Here is a brief history of Whisky with a global view.

1. The Malting

malting of whisky

  • Dry the Grains Content of water must be maximum 14%
  • Store the Grains, after drying store it for minimum 6 Weeks
  • Flipping the Grain, when humidity reaches to 45%, the grain should be flipped over for at least 5 days.

Fact about Whisky: Scotch whisky has to be bottled at a minimum strength of 40% ABV, meaning life really does begin at 40. Some whiskies can reach strengths of over 60% ABV…always read the label.

Top Local Selling Whisky: Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky

2. The Grinding

  • Grinding with a mill, To get access to the sugars within the malted barley, you start grinding it with a mill
  • Achieving, try to achieve a quantity of flour (10%), husk (20%) and middles (70%)
  • Washing the malted barley while increasing the temperature until you get most sugar out of it

Whisky = England and Scotland | Whiskey = Everyone else. Scottish spell it without the 'e' because they believe more vowels waste good drinking time. :-)

3. The Brewing or Mashing

  • Mix with hot Water, The mill charge will be mixed with hot water. The ratio from mill charge to water is 1 : 4
  • Changing the Starch, after about one hour, the mill charge will change the search in fermenting sugars. After finishing that process the mix looks like porridge.
  • Repeat above mention stages for 3 times to brew your whisky properly

The cooked grain and malted barley are added to warm water, which converts liquid known as Mash.

Current best selling Whisky: Whyte & Mackay Blended Scotch Whisky

4. The Fermentation

fermentation process

  • Filling into Special Tanks, these special tanks are called wash backs. These are usually made of wood or stainless steel.
  • Adding Yeast, after 1st step in fermentation process, the yeast will be added. It will turn the sugar into alcohol
  • The fermentation process will take about two-three days. After that time period product will go into the distillation process

After 2-3 days, the resulting liquid is about 10% alcoholic and is known as distiller's beer, or wash.

Top Global Whisky: Johnnie Walker Red Label Blended Scotch Whisky

5. The Distillation

whiskey distilling process

  • First Distillation, the wash still used to produce first distillation
  • Second Distillation, after that it will go through the second distillation and walk through the spirit still
  • Dividing the spirit, the next part is to divide the spirit that came out of this process into 'Fore shots', 'heart' and 'feints'

The export of whisky generates a healthy £135 a second for the Scottish government with just under 2,500 bottles of whisky being exported from Scotland every minute.

6. The Ageing

aging

  • Filling in a Barrel, the product will be filled in Wooden barrel (usually made from charred white Oak),
  • Stored for 3-4 years, It will be stored for at least 3 years before it can be called a Whisky/Whiskey.
  • Bottling, After that the bottling process will begin.

To be classified as 'Straight Bourbon;, whisky must be aged for a minimum of 2 years. On the side note: on the first Friday of every month, employees at Jack Daniels get a Free Whisky Bottle, NICE ha!!

A Question: Tell me about world’s oldest whisky!

Rumoured to have been bottled between 1851 and 1858, a 400ml bottle of Glenavon Special Liqueur Whisky holds the Guinness World Record for ‘World’s Oldest Whisky’. Owned by an Irish family for generations, the bottle was auctioned at Bonhams in London and fetched a staggering £14,850.

7. The Bottling

whisky bottling process

The resulting whisky is stored in Glass bottles, which do not react with the whisky's flavour.

Bottling is the process where the final product will be extracted from the barrel into the bottle. there are 2 possible ways to do it.
I. Bottling from a single barrel: The whisk/Whiskey will be extracted from a single barrel to the bottle. This is called a 'Single Barrel Whisky'
II. Bottling from Various number of Barrels: The Whisky/ Whiskey will be extracted from more than one barrel to the bottle. This is called a 'Blended Whisky'.

So, that is a standard whisky making process. We have explained in briefly how whiskey is mad. If you want to know more about it, you can visit any distilleries in England or Scotland and find out more about these processes in detail. LiquorOnline.co.uk is one of the largest online affiliated liquor stores of UK. huge variety of whiskies and Whiskey brands available throughout the world. It is an ideal place to buy whisky online in UK. Checkout our Whisky collection, and see if you like anything!

Canadian Whiskey is usualy lighter and softer than others. It is aged in Oak barrels after being dilluted in water to reduce the alcoholic strenght for at least 3 years.

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Brodey is an enthusiastic marketing and advertising strategest out of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Brodey has always been passionate about liquor and alcohol in general. You will find Brodey on the weekends either out on the football pitch kicking goals or down the lake with a glass of wine.

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