Whisky Terminology

Since I have already written quite a lot about whisky and I intend to write much more, I thought I would write a brief guide to some of the terminology I use. Like almost everything and especially things people get passionate (geeky) about, a set of jargon has evolved around it. Most of it is straight forward enough but very good fun.

Let's start with the most obvious one: whisky. To be called whisky a liquid has to be made using water, malted barley and yeast. Nothing else. It then has to be aged in an oak barrel for at least three years (although in practise, it is usually aged for far longer to give a smoother finish). To be called Scotch whisky this process, unsurprisingly, has to be carried out entirely in Scotland. The term whiskey refers to drinks produced in Ireland and America.

One step further. Single malt whisky is the name given to whisky produced in one single distillery. Just to be confusing, this doesn't mean that only one type of malted barley is used in the production. On that note, the age you see on a bottle of single malt refers to the youngest whisky in the bottle. When bottled, the master blender of the distillery will mix whiskies from various barrels at various ages to achieve the desired flavour. Hey presto, the malt you're used to. Generally (with the exception of the Glenrothes) whisky is identified by age rather than vintage. This is because time spent in the barrel will influence the flavour of the drink however, time in the bottle won't.

Pure malt/vatted malt is created by mixing several single malts from different distilleries. There are relatively few on the market at the moment however, with the growing knowledge and appreciation of whisky, it is a growing market.

Blended whisky is a mixture of single malts and grain whisky which is blended to achieve a specific flavour. Historically, this has been one of the most commonly consumed types of whisky and includes big brands like The Famous Grouse and Bells.

Grain whisky is spirit produced in a continuous flow process not in batches like malts. It is generally cheaper to produce and is, historically not as complex or in demand as malt. Hence it has been used to 'bulk out' blended whisky allowing them to be sold at a lower cost. Recently some whisky producers such as Compass Box have been experimenting with various single grain whiskies to great effect.

One of the most important pieces of apparatus in a distillery is the still. A still is a copper vessel used to boil up the low wines (fermented sugars extracted from malted barley - distilled beer) and cause the alcohol to boil off to be condensed. Stills are key to the whisky making process and it is thought that the shape of the still has a profound impact on the final dram. To that end, distillers will take great care to ensure that any dents, blemishes and imperfections are retained in the stills when parts of them are replaced. Almost all Scottish whisky is distilled twice apart from Auchentoshan which is distilled three times; a trait more common to Irish whiskey.

Next is the barrel that this whisky is aged in. This is known as the cask and must be made of oak. Cask strength whisky is, naturally enough, whisky that is bottled at the strength it comes out of the cask at. This is usually just over 50% A.B.V. Most whisky is bottled at around 40% A.B.V.

Along with percentages and ages, whisky bottles can also have "non chill-filtered" on the side. During the ageing process, fats can leech into the spirit from the wood. If the resulting whisky is chilled, these fat molecules can condense and give a slightly cloudy look to the drink. Some distilleries chill their whiskies causing the fat to condense then filter them off. Others choose not to do this and bottle at a slightly higher percentage to prevent this clouding. Either way, the flavour is largely unaffected!

The next concept is that of the Expression. An expression of single malt is a specific bottling of whisky. It can relate to the age of the malt, the strength or the type of cask the whisky has been aged in. As I said previously, to be called whisky, the spirit has to be aged in an oak barrel for at least three years to be called whisky. That doesn't mean it has to spend it's entire ageing period in oak. At the moment, some distilleries are experimenting with ageing whisky for a short period before bottling in casks that have been used previously for other drinks like port, sherry and Madeira.

The next few terms all relate to volumes of whisky. While Eskimos have hundreds of words from snow, Scots have equally as many descriptions of volumes of whisky (and drunkenness).

First is a nip. This is equivalent, roughly, to a pub measure or 35ml and is just enough to get the flavour in your mouth.

Next is a tot. Larger than a nip, smaller than other measures. Probably enough for a second sip once you've tasted it.

After this is a term of my own coining: a sploosh (roughly a double pub measure). A useful measure especially when cooking (one for the pot, one for the chef as always).

Back on the mainstream we have a dram. This is strictly a measure for private residences and ideally between friends. To measure a dram pour two fingers width into a glass (conventionally your index and middle finger pressed together with your middle finger at the level of the bottom of the fluid in the glass and going up to the top of the index finger). This is of course open to interpretation. One finger is useful if you don't like the person you're pouring for. If you do like them... well it's up to you how tightly you press your fingers together!

Finally is a wee dram. A wee dram perfectly encapsulates the innate Scottish sense of mischievous irony as it is anything but wee (Scottish for small). To measure a wee dram, use the same two finger technique but use the ring and the index finger. For special occasions use the index finger and the pinky and for a VERY special occasion use the pinky and thumb... sod it, if you're at that stage just start swigging from the bottle!

There we go. A rough guide to whisky terminology.

Sliante

TFB