Transcript Document

Welcome to a Brief Tour to
Scotch Whisky
Skye Gears
January 23, 2008
Whisky (from the Gaelic word uisge
beatha, "water of life") has been
produced for hundreds of year in
Scotland since at least the fifteenth
century.
Whisky is deeply rooted in Scottish
history and an icon product of
Scotland.
It is not only a culture icon, but also an
important part of Scotland’s economy.
Today, more than one billion bottles of
Scotch Whisky are sold worldwide per
year.
Compared with Irish whiskey of about
5% of that number - American, about
8%, Japanese about 3%.
Source [1,16, 18]
It is Scotland’s 3rd largest and UK’s 5th
largest manufactured export.
Its overseas sales amount to a staggering
£2.5 billion per year.
In total, whisky and other spirits is worth
of £3.3 billion per year to the Scottish
economy and provides 41,000 jobs in
Scotland.
Source [14, 15, 16]
Scotch Whisky Sales Distribution
TOP EXPORT MARKETS BY SALES
US: £400m
France: £275m
Spain: £195m
South Korea: £136m
Venezuela: £106m
Source: Scotch Whisky Association: 2006
Source [17]
You may have visited one of the
Whisky shops.
You may have been to one of the
Whisky tasting events.
Image Source [1]
Or, you may have been one of those
lucky persons who have the chance
to taste the finest Whisky straight out
of a barrel.
But do you know
where Scotch Whisky
comes from?
Image Source [1]
In this tutorial, I would like to
briefly introduce you to the regions
where Scotch Whiskies come from
and the making process of Scotch
Whisky.
Whisky is fascinating and important
to Scottish economy, but do you
know that it is made from three
ingredients only. They are:
1. Barley
2. Spring water
3. Yeast
Sometimes peat is also fired to enhance
the flavour, but this is optional.
Here is a Whisky map that shows the
distribution of distilleries in
Scotland.
Image Source [6]
Scotland is divided into five whiskyproducing regions. Each has its own style and
its share of devotees.
They are the Lowlands, Highlands,
Campbeltown, island of Islay and Speyside.
More than half of the distilleries are in
Speyside.
Image Source [6]
Whisky Distilleries are often
resided in scenic countryside
and with interesting architectures.
Image Source [7.2]
In our selected pictures, the
distilleries sport a twin pagoda roof.
Strathisla Scotch Whisky Distillery
Image Source [7.1]
To Make Whisky…
The single most important ingredient
is: Barley.
There are 7
Stages in
making
Whisky.
Image Source [8]
Stage 1: Malting
Barley are soaked in water to allow
germination, so enzymes turn the starch
into sugar.
Grains of barley start to sprout to
become
so-called
“green malts”.
Image Source [10]
Image Source [9]
Stage 2: Kilning
To smoke dry the green malts to stop
germination and prevent sugar being
used for growing.
Sometimes, peat is fired to create
smoke to add flavour to the malt.
Traditionally, malts are spread thinly
on the floor; modern systems make
use of rotary drums to air and heat
the malt.
Floor Kilning
Image Source [4]
Stage 3: Milling
In this stage,
barley malts are
grinded to
produce “grist”
(65% husk, 25%
middle, and 10%
flour).
The Mill
Image Source [3]
Stage 4: Mashing
Mix hot water with grist in a large
vessel called “Mash Tun” to extract
sugars.
The output is hot,
sweet water,
called “wort”
Image Source [3]
Stage 5: Fermenting
Transfer cooled “wort” to “WashBacks”. Yeast is added to turn
wort into weak
alcohol,
called
“wash”.
Image Source [12]
Stage 6: Distilling
The “wash” is transferred to a wash
still that is typically heated to 80
degrees. Its vapour is collected to
become “low wines”.
This is repeated at a second
(low wines) still to produce
70%-79% spirit.
Image Source [5.2]
Scotch Whisky Stills
Image Source [5.1]
It may be worth mentioning that
the shape of the still, the height,
shape and length of its neck, and the
fact that the still is copper rather than
other metals all contribute to the
characteristics of the whisky.
Modern stainless steel stills do not
remove impurities from whiskies.
Stage 7: Maturing
Scotch spirit is stored and matured in oak
casks. The minimum legal requirement is
3 years. The type of wood used and what
was stored in the
barrel previously
give additional
flavour to
the Whisky.
Image Source [12]
References
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Ian Bankier, the Whisky Shop, http://www.whiskyshop.com/
Royal Mile Whiskies.com: http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/viewindex.asp?article_id=wb_making
BruichLaddich: http://www.bruichladdich.com/making_whisky.htm
Floor malting: http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/maltwhisky/maltings.html
Scotch Whisky Stills:
1.
http://www.maltmadness.com/44-0004.jpg
2.
http://www.whiskyacademy.com/images/distillers.jpg
Whisky map: http://www.scotchwhisky.net/distilleries/
Distillery:
1.
http://www.entirescotland.co.uk/scottish_whisky_distilleries.html
2.
http://www.entirescotland.co.uk/scottish_whisky_distillery_tours.html
Barley: http://www.freefoto.com/preview/9907-06-31?ffid=9907-06-31
Green Malt: http://www.schmohz.com/images/beer-malt2.jpeg
Barley grains: http://www.lethamshank.co.uk/crops.htm
Whisky WashBacks: http://www.whisky-distilleries.info/Bowmore2_EN.shtml
Whisky Barrels: http://www.harbour-inn.com/gallery/whisky_barrels.jpg
Strathisla Distillery: http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/keith/keith/
BBC News, DEC 18, 2007: (3.3bn) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7150219.stm
BBC News, Dec 29, 2007 (2.5bn): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7163649.stm
UK Parliament (41K jobs):
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmscotaf/324/1103108.htm
BBC News, April 4, 2007 (sales distribution): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6525279.stm
Scotland the official online Gateway Dec 2002 (1bn bottles) http://www.scotland.org/about/innovation-andcreativity/features/business/whisky.html
End of slides