Getting Started | Knowing these whisky knowledge is more important than drinking

Whiskey is an experiential drink, and drinking whisky can more intuitively understand its flavor and personality. As a beginner, some necessary whisky knowledge can make you improve yourself faster in whisky tasting. So, what are the essential knowledge in whisky?

01

Classification of whisky

A glass of golden whiskey is placed in front of an ordinary drinker, and he may only say that this whisky has a charming aroma and a mellow taste. While these whiskies are not very different in appearance, they come in several categories.

In the whisky industry, people divide whisky into single malt whisky, blended whisky, grain whisky, and bourbon whisky according to different brewing materials and different blending methods.

Single malt whisky (Single Malt), in Scotland, single malt whisky refers to water, barley malt and yeast as raw materials, distilled and brewed in the same distillery, matured in oak barrels for more than three years, and bottled with a degree of not less than 40 degree of whisky.

In the whisky industry, because single malt whisky has a more prominent style and personality, and can better represent the craftsmanship of a production area and a distillery, it is loved by many drinkers and has become a major mainstream in the industry.

Blended Whisky (Blended Whisky) is a whisky with a wider audience. It can be blended with malt whisky from different distilleries, or it can be blended with malt whisky and grain whisky made from oats, wheat and rye. to make.

In terms of base wine selection, blended whisky has a relatively low aging age, so the price is often lower than that of single malt whisky. Correspondingly, blended whisky will sacrifice in aroma, taste and aftertaste.

Bourbon Whisky refers to whiskey with a corn content of more than 51%, brewed with corn, water, rye and other raw materials, and matured in new oak barrels. This type of whisky has a sweet taste and is extremely popular in North America.

02

Classification of oak barrels

In single malt whisky, how the flavor of a whisky goes depends largely on the oak casks it was matured in. Generally speaking, oak barrels used to mature whisky can be simply divided into three categories: sherry barrels, bourbon barrels, and flavor barrels.

Sherry Cask refers to an oak barrel that has been matured for Spanish sherry. The oak barrel after the sherry has been moistened is also a kind of sherry barrel. Whisky matured in sherry casks is usually very fruity.

Bourbon Cask, as the name suggests, is the oak barrel in which bourbon has been matured. The whisky matured in this oak barrel is refreshing and has the aroma of tropical fruits such as coconut, and has become an important choice for many wineries to mature whisky.

In the whisky industry, trying different oak barrels to mature whisky is something that many distilleries have always insisted on. In addition to sherry and bourbon casks, they mature their whisky in Burgundy, Sauternes, Barolo, Moscat and other flavored casks.

03

Classification of bottling methods

In order to pursue a more extreme whisky personality, the distillery will classify whisky into single-cask whisky, barrel-strength whisky, and constant whisky. Different types of whisky have different prices.

Single Cask is a more common type of whisky. This type of whisky is only bottled with whisky from the same oak barrel, so that the whisky can show more of the personality of the oak barrels.

However, not all oak cask whiskies can be bottled in single cask, only those with outstanding body can be bottled in single cask.

Cask Strength refers to whisky that is directly taken out of oak barrels and bottled without being diluted with water. This whisky has a higher alcohol content and a stronger body.

Likewise, only oak whiskies with outstanding body can be bottled in cask-strength form. The great thing about cask-strength whiskies is that they can combine the best of different oak casks for a more balanced flavour profile.

In addition to the above two whiskies, the more common are the core series of whiskies from different distilleries, such as the 10-year-old and 15-year-old of the Bennormanke distillery. The whisky of the core series is also blended together in different proportions, and then diluted with water before being bottled for sale.

The above is only a very small part. If you want to learn professional whisky knowledge more systematically, in addition to drinking more different types of whisky, you also need to read more professional whisky books, or participate in professional whisky course training.