Whisky Com Where Fine Spirits Meet

Bowmore is only mildly peated compared to some other Islay bottlings—but the smoke character is nevertheless distinctly present. That said, the peatiness is balanced out in this 12-year-old whisky by a rich array of fruit and spice flavors, complimented by notes of honey and vanilla. The distillery is the first recorded to be in operation on Islay, and this long, storied history is present in this approachable yet pleasantly smoky single malt. Depending on the local regulations, additional flavourings and colouring compounds may be added to the whisky. Canadian whisky may contain caramel and flavouring in addition to the distilled mash spirits. Scotch whisky may contain added caramel colouring, but no other additives.

By the late 19th century sherry casks were used extensively in Scotland and the first attempts to rejuvenate or season used casks were made in the 1890s. After the sherry casks were used for Scotch twomoreglasses maturation, they were seasoned with sweet sherry or paxarette, sometimes using pressure to soak the wood with the wine. By the early 20th century the use of sherry casks was quite wide spread, for example in the late 1920s a big whisky blender Johnnie Walker matured all of their whiskies in sherry casks or sherry-treated casks. Scottish whiskies have some sugars dissolved from the oak cask and often some from optional caramel colouring . Total amount of sugars is quite low, usually well below 1 g/l, but in certain cases it is quite possible to reach a few grams per liter. The sweet aromas of whisky matured in refill bourbon or new oak casks mostly come from sweet aromatic vanillin and fruity esters, not from the sugars.

Whats The Difference Between Whiskey And Whisky? What About Scotch, Bourbon, And Rye?

The art of distillation spread to Ireland and Scotland no later than the 15th century, as did the common European practice of distilling "aqua vitae", spirit alcohol, primarily for medicinal purposes. The practice of medicinal distillation eventually passed from a monastic setting to the secular via professional medical practitioners of the time, The Guild of Barber Surgeons. The earliest mention of whisky in Ireland comes from the seventeenth-century Annals of Clonmacnoise, which attributes the death of a chieftain in 1405 to "taking a surfeit of aqua vitae" at Christmas. In Scotland, the first evidence of whisky production comes from an entry in the Exchequer Rolls for 1495 where malt is sent "To Friar John Cor, by order of the king, to make aquavitae", enough to make about 500 bottles. We curate Prologue from vibrant Speyside and Highland single malts aged in bourbon wood.

The New Taste Of Irish Whiskey

Maize from the USA dominated the Scotch grain whisky mash bill from 1860s until early 1980s, excluding the war years. Since then, wheat has surpassed it, mainly because the trade regulations and taxes, not so much because of the actual cost of raw materials. North British is the last Scottish distillery to use predominantly maize, as the other "maize distillery" Dumbarton was closed in 2002. Some maize is still used at least occasionally in most grain distilleries, most likely to minimize viscosity problems. Maize has lower viscosity of mash compared to wheat and malted barley, because of lower amounts of betaglucan and pentoses.

Live Generously Andlife Will Treat You Royally

Whisky Advocate also sponsors WhiskyFest™, the country’s largest and most respected whisky tasting event. There are more options for whisky lovers than ever, many of them truly excellent. Whisky Advocate’s Buying Guide features over 5,000 whisky reviews—it's the go-to source for the latest reviews from our expert panel of veteran tasters. Using a 100-point scale, we bring you ratings and tasting impressions on thousands of whiskies from across the whisky world. Scoring between 95 and 92 points, these whiskies represent a wide array of styles from straight bourbon to single pot still Irish whiskey. Plus, a 32 year old whiskey from Teeling, another limited-edition cask strength rye from Alberta Premium, and more.