What Is Scotch?
Scotch whisky is malt whisky or grain whisky, made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky is aged for at least three years in one of five areas in Scotland including; Highland, Lowland, Speyside, Campbelltown and Islay.
How Is Scotch Made?
Scotch creation is a 6 step process that is universally used.
Step 1 - Malting
Malting is the process whereby barley is soaked in a tank of water for 2 to 3 days. After this, the water is drained and the barley is set down on the malting floor, allowing it to germinate. This starts the conversion of the starch within the barley into sugars, which is mixed with yeast to create the alcohol. This process can take 8 to 12 days depending on the time of year.
Step 2 - Mashing/Maceration
During this stage, the malted barley sprouts are taken to an oven, and heated with peat. Peat, when burning, produces little heat but a lot of smoke, hence the Scotch then being provided with that unique smoky taste. After drying, the barley is ground into a powder called grist, which is mixed with hot spring water in a large vessel called a ‘mash tun’. The resulting sweet liquid created by this process is called ‘wort’. The waste is then used as animal feed as a form of waste reduction.
Step 3 - Fermentation
Once the cooling is complete, the ‘wort’ is fermented by adding yeast in large vessels. This yeast attacks the sugar in the wort and creates an unrefined alcohol. This process takes approximately 48 hours and produces a liquid known as ‘wash’.
Step 4 - Distilling
Upon extracting the impurities resulting from fermentation, this liquid is put in the alembic, which will be distilled twice. This is a lengthy process that requires lots of experience.
Step 5 - Maturation
This now distilled liquid is then put into oak barrels to mature. This is where the magic happens. The flavours and the colours of each scotch you see come from this process. This must be done for at least three years, but the longer it is left to age/mature, the more enhanced these flavours can become.
Step 6 - Blending
This part of the process is optional. Although single malt whiskies produced by distilleries are becoming more and more popular, around 90% of the market for scotch is made up of blended whiskies. Blending is the process in which distilleries will blend scotches from numerous casks/distilleries to create a unique flavour profile and ultimately, a very distinct scotch. After this step, the scotch is then bottled.
