Scotch Series 37: Germination Steeping of barley is very important in the germination process. If the endosperm tissue is not properly hydrated it won’t modify well. Various parts of the grain uptake moisure at different rates. The barley grain is made up of...
Scotch Series 36: Peating Hand cutting peats is the most environmentally friendly way for us to use this precious land to flavour our whiskies. You slice off the top layer of grasses, heather, bog cotton and other plants, with a sharp flat spade, and place this layer...
Scotch Series 35: Purifiers Ardbeg Distillery has a purifier on their spirit still. Not many stills have such a thing. What is this? Basically it is a small copper pot on the underside of the lyne arm between the still and the condenser. Some of the heavier vapours...
Scotch Series 34: Kilning The chemistry of the formation of flavour compounds is complex, and becomes increasingly so as kilning temperatures are raised. “Linoleic acid (18:2) is the most abundant fatty acid present in the barley grain, and malt contains two...
Scotch Series 33: Draff Draff is the state that barely ends up in during the whisky making process. It all starts with barley, we focus on it during germination, kilning and milling. Then, comes mashing – and our focus shifts to the water filtering through the...
Scotch Series 32: Fusel Oils Fusel Oils are a group of alcohols produced mainly from amino acids during fermentation. These alcohols are constructed with more than 2 carbon atoms per molecule. We call them fusel OILS because their liquid has an oily consistency ...
