XHLTrading

30/04/2022

What Are The Different Types of Whiskey? The 11 Varieties Explained

What Are The Different Types of Whiskey

1. Straight Whiskey
The Alcohol and To***co Tax Trade Bureau (TTB), indicates that whiskey must be distilled from fermented grain to no more than 95% ABV (190 proof) and bottled with a minimum of 40% ABV (80 proof).

To be called straight whiskey, it also must be aged for at least 2 years in new, charred oak barrels and can’t include any additives (like coloring).

According to Distiller.com, after maturation, the only things distillers are allowed to do is batch it with other barrels of straight whiskey, particulate and/or chill-filtering, and bring down the proof with water.

Whew.

Lots of requirements. But at least you know that straight whiskey has been properly handled.

So, in essence, “straight whiskey” is more of a label than a type of whiskey.

But it’s important to understand what it means because you’ll see it often.

You can have:

Straight bourbon whiskey (51% corn and follows the guidelines above)
Straight rye whiskey (51% rye and follows the guidelines above)
Straight whiskey (not made of 51% of any particular grain and follows the guidelines above)
2. Bourbon Whiskey
What makes bourbon bourbon?

The main thing is having at least 51% corn in the mashbill.

It also must:

Not exceed 80% ABV (160 proof) in the mash
Age in new, charred oak barrels
Enter the barrel for aging above 62.5% (125 proof)
Be made in the U.S. (but not necessarily Kentucky)
Contain no additives
The corn-heavy mashbill and charred oak barrels give bourbon it’s sweetness and depth.

Specifically, bourbon usually has notes of:

Vanilla
Caramel
Oak
Char
(But it can also contain all kinds of crazy flavors depending on several factors.)

Some of our favorite brands:

Four Roses
1792
Buffalo Trace
Chattanooga Whiskey
3. Rye Whiskey
Rye whiskey is called such because the mashbill is at least 51% rye.

It has the same production requirements as bourbon—it must:

Not exceed 80% ABV (160 proof) in the mash
Age in new, charred oak barrels
Enter the barrel for aging above 62.5% (125 proof)
Contain no additives
So, how does the rye-heavy mashbill influence taste?

Rye whiskeys are usually spicer than other whiskeys (depending on how much rye is used).

Expect to taste notes of pepper, rye spice, and baking spices.

Some of our favorite brands:

Wild Turkey 101 Rye
George Dickel Rye
Old Forester Rye
Rittenhouse Rye
4. Wheat Whiskey
You can probably spot the trend with American whiskeys at this point…

Wheat whiskey mashbills contains at least 51% what? … Wheat!

It has the same production requirements as bourbon and rye:

Can’t exceed 80% ABV (160 proof) in the mash
Must age in new, charred oak barrels
Must enter the barrel for aging above 62.5% (125 proof)
Must contain no additives
How does wheat whiskey taste compared to bourbon and rye?

It’s soft, light, and sweet with floral and bread notes.

Some of our favorite brands:

Bernheim Straight Wheat Whiskey
Woodford Reserve Straight Wheat Whiskey
A.D. Laws Triticum Straight Wheat Whiskey
5. Malt Whiskey
The definition of a malt whiskey changes depending on your setting.

In Scotland, it means the whiskey is made using 100% malted barley (often labeled “single malt”) that is usually aged for at least 3 years in an oak cask.

And that is … drumroll … scotch.

In America, a malted whiskey is made from a mashbill containing at least 51% malted barley.

What does malted whiskey taste like?

The malt-heavy mashbill gives whiskey smoky, nutty, and chocolatey flavors that often taste kinda like cereal.

Some of our favorite brands:

High West High Country
Town Branch Malt
Lagavulin 16 Year Old
Aberlour 16
6. Blended Whiskey
Blended whiskey is a mix of different types of whiskeys, made from different grains.

If it’s Scotch or Irish, it also has to be aged for at least 3 years.

American blended whiskey is a whole different thing, according to Distiller.com, because at least 20% of it has to be a straight whiskey (remember, 2 years of aging and other requirements at the start of this article).

Blended whiskeys can have wildly different flavor profiles depending on the makeup.

Some of our favorite brands:

Little Book
Jameson
Johnnie Walker Red
7. Tennessee Whiskey
Tennessee whiskey is an unofficial style of bourbon.

All producers with the “Tennessee Whiskey” label must produce their whiskey in Tennessee and use the Lincoln County Process (the use of sugar maple charcoal in the filtering process) before aging.

This process makes the whiskey much more mellow.

Some of our favorite brands:

Jack Daniels
George Dickel
8. Irish Whiskey
Irish whiskey is light and easy to drink. It’s usually malt-heavy and contains little to no peat. That means it’s less smoky than scotch and less sweet than bourbon.

Ireland requires that all Irish whiskeys:

Contain malted barley in the mashbill
Are distilled to no more than 94.8% ABV (189.6 Proof) before aging in matured oak casks (usually for at least 3 years)
Are bottled above 40% ABV (80 Proof)
Most Irish whiskeys are triple distilled, meaning the spirit is distilled three times in a pot still, but this is not a requirement.

Some of our favorite brands:

Jameson
Redbreast 15 year
Knappogue Castle 12 Year Single Malt
9. Scotch Whiskey
Scotch usually has strong smoky peat flavors (peat means partially decayed vegetation or organic matter).

It’s far less sweet and much smokier than other whiskeys on this list (especially bourbon).

Many even say it takes 3 or more tries to begin liking it.

But when you’re hooked, you’re hooked.

And once you further develop your palate, you’ll begin to detect notes of dark fruit, vanilla, honey, nuts, and more.

Different scotches can have wildly different flavors due to how long it’s aged, the type of barrel it’s aged in, the grains it’s made from, and the region of Scotland it’s from.

Regardless of these differences, all Scotch must be:

Made in Scotland
Made of only water, malted barley, and other cereal grains
Distilled to no more than 94.8% ABV
Aged in oak casks for at least 3 years
Some of our favorite brands:

Aberfeldy 12 Year Old
Lagavulin Distillers Edition
Laphroaig 10 Year Old
Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve
10. Japanese Whiskey
Modeled after scotch, Japanese whiskey is made with similar distillation and production processes.

The main difference between them stems from rules and regulations.

Japan allows for much more creativity through their relaxed rules—which has led to the use of different grains in the mash and casks for aging.

And this means drastically different flavor profiles.

The only real requirements for Japanese whiskey are:

It must be made in Japan (as of April 2021)
It must include malted grain in the mash
Any water used in production must be from Japan
It must be aged in wooden casks for at least 3 years
What do they taste like?

Kinda like scotch with a spin.

Some of our favorite brands:

Yamazaki 12 Year
Suntory Toki
Nikka Coffey Grain
11. Canadian Whiskey
Canadian whiskeys are known for their light and sweet flavor profiles. Like Irish whiskey, they’re usually considered “easy to drink”.

They get their flavor from a few specific things that make them unique from others on this list:

Canada allows added coloring and flavors up to 9.09% of the total volume
Most Canadian whiskey is blended (a common technique is blending a high alcohol content whiskey with a low one for flavoring)
This allows distillers freedom to experiment (it’s like the wild west up there).

The only real requirements for Canadian whiskey are:

They must be produced in Canada
They must age in small wood (less than 700 liters) for at least 3 years
They must smell and taste like Canadian whiskey (crazy rule, but true)
What does Canadian whiskey taste like?

Generally, a bit like bourbon but a tad spicier and lighter.

Some of our favorite brands:

Forty Creek Confederation Oak
Candian Club 100% Rye
Crown Royal Deluxe
Caribou Crossing Single Barrel

30/04/2022

29/04/2022

How Gin Is Made

Steeped Botanical Distillation. The first and most traditional method for producing gin is achieved by steeping the botanicals in a pot still with the base spirit.
Vapour Infusion Distillation. A more modern approach to producing gin is the technique whereby the botanicals never come into direct contact with spirit in its liquid form.
Typical Alcohol Volume Percentage. Interestingly, different varieties of gin have their own legal requirements. ...

29/04/2022

How Whisky Is Made

Malting. All whisky starts as raw grain—in the case of malt whisky, barley, which has to be specially treated to access its sugars.
Mashing. The sugars contained in the grain must be extracted before fermentation, and this is done through mashing.
Fermentation. Fermentation occurs when the mash/wort meets yeast, which gobbles up all the sugars in the liquid and converts them to alcohol.
Distillation. The process of distilling increases the alcohol content of the liquid and brings out volatile components, both good and bad.
Pot Still Distillation. Pot stills are used in the production of whiskies—usually, though not always, malt whiskies—from Scotland, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Japan, and elsewhere.

29/04/2022

Winemaking - Transforming Grape Juice into Wine

When it comes to making Cognac, everything starts in vineyards as grape juice is the raw material of the drink, which often is an overlooked fact about Cognac! This inherently places Cognac in the family of Brandies – a spirit obtained by distilling fruit – however it has some distinct characteristics from its close cousins. For instance, the Cognac production zone is geographically delimited to a specific territory and only a selection of white grape varieties – Ugni blanc, Folle-Blanche and Colombard – will make it into the final product. After a carefully monitored maturation process, grapes are harvested, pressed into juice then fermented into wine.

A high level of acidity and a low alcohol volume – typically 9% ABV or less – are the trademark of these wines which are bound to be transformed into spirits through the process of distillation. As part of our commitments towards environmental responsibility we choose to source organic wines only for the preparation of our own spirits.

The Distillation of Wine and Creation of Spirits
To put it in a nutshell, the distillation process aims at extracting the alcohol contained in wines to obtain spirits – practically speaking, this involves heating wine up to 78.3°C which is the boiling temperature of ethanol, to separate it from water which boils-up at 100°C along with other components. Alcohol vapours will evaporate first, then cool down by passing through a condensator to regain a liquid shape. In the case of Cognac, this process is repeated twice to obtain the final product, this is the principle of double-distillation. The distillation process is completed when most of the alcohol contained in the distilled wine has been extracted, leaving nothing but wine residues behind or “vinasses” as is it called in the Cognac region.

Not all spirits obtained through the distillation process will make it into the final product however! Specific portions will be separated by the distiller, to be discarded or distilled yet another time. Simply put, ” the heads” or first liters of alcohol obtained at the early stage of the distillation process and “tails” or last liters obtained will be cut from the spirits “heart”, which is the final product. This process of separating alcohol known as “the cut” varies depending on Distilleries’ tradition or the know-how of a master-distiller and often grants Cognac some very specific characteristics. To dig deeper into this subject, you can read our article about Cognac Distillation.

Ageing and Maturation of Cognac
After much transformation from the vineyards to the wine vats and through the pot-stills, our spirits have yet another key stage to complete to become a full-fledged Cognac, the ageing process. By requirement, the ageing of a spirit has to be completed in French oak barrels, for a minimum period of two years before being able to claim the title of Cognac. During this stage, the spirits will change significantly under the influence of evaporation which will concentrate and reduce the content of the barrel over time, but also due to its exposure both to the ambient air and wood, which will give a Cognac its distinct colour. To learn about the full process, you can check-out our article about cognac ageing. The Cognacs of the distillery are mostly aged in oak barrels originating from Limousin forest. The maturation process starts with fresh casks where the young « eaux-de-vie » will be resting for at least twelve months – these new barrels will give our Cognacs their sophisticated amber color, but also grant characteristic wood tannins and vanilla aromas. Once this first step is completed, the spirits are shifted to old barrels where they will acquire refined flavours in the course of their maturation. As the Distillery is located close by a small river, our ageing process benefits from humid conditions that greatly contribute to improving the quality of our organic Cognacs year after year.

Blending Cognac
Every Cognac has its own unique characteristics granted by a set of factors such as its origin, the harvest year, the quality of the wine, the distillation method used or its ageing conditions. Based on product specifications or his own vision and sensibility, the Master Blender or “Maitre de chai” will however have a decisive impact on the final identity of a Cognac. Depending on blending choices, a final product may incorporate several cognacs different in age and origin, which often is the case for well known labelling standards such as VS, VSOP or XO. On the contrary, it can be drawn from a single barrel or originate from a specific harvest year. Even though Cognac’s ABV has to be at least equal to 40% by requirement, the drink can also be served at higher proof or be reduced using distilled water by the master blender, it can be filtered using different methods or be sweetened, to a certain extent. It is worth mentioning that organic cognacs can also be blended, however all spirits used in the composition must come from organic wines. All these choices during the creation phase of the drink will have an impact on the product’s final identity, which leaves a great deal of room for craftsmanship and creativity! At least up until the Cognac is put in a bottle or a glass container, which puts an end to the Cognac maturation process.