Scotch whisky stills distillation distillery

Within every distillation, the distillate is divided into three CUTS of which only the second cut, the HEART OF THE RUN , will be used;

• Heads (the first liquid that trickles from the swan neck)
• Heart of the Run (the spirit that will evolve into whisky)
• Tails (the last liquid with an ever decreasing proof)

The first (HEADS) and the last fraction (TAILS) are sub-standard material, to be re-distilled together with the next batch of low wines. The heart of the run is a clear liquid of up to 70% alcohol/volume. Please note that this liquid isn't 'whisky' quite yet - first it has to mature for at least three years - at least that's the law in Scotland. During my quest for the perfect single malt I've encountered foreign 'whiskies' of less than 40% (a fairly loathsome High Land Park from Thailand springs to mind), but those were exceptions to the rule.

Now it's time for the DISTILLATION of the wash to increase the ABV.
If you paid attention when you read the chapter about vocabulary you'll
know that 'ABV' means the alcohol percentage, measured by volume.
Beer was known to the ancient Egyptians and wine was popular with
the Romans, but those are both the products of natural fermentation.
It's difficult to achieve an alcohol percentage of more than 15% purely
by natural fermentation. The advanced technique of distillation had to
be invented first, before the concept of whisky could be conceived...

The real magic happens in the WASHBACK - a fermentation vessel that allows the yeast strains
to convert the wort into a fermented liquid called WASH (7-10% alcohol). This takes 2 to 4 days.
Now some two weeks have passed since the malting process began - and so far it hasn't been
that different from the production of beer. In fact, beer could very well be considered the oddly
popular forefather of whisky. One would think that after they discovered that you could turn beer
into whisky there wouldn't be much demand for that kid stuff anymore, but it seems there still is.
But then again I'm not a beer drinker - and the novelty value of drinking the warm wash directly
from the washback wears off fairly soon - especially on a hot summer day. Then I DO prefer beer...

After the malt has been dried it goes into the MALT MILL - a device which grinds the dried malt
into GRIST before the next phase of the process begins. During the MASHING stage hot water
is added to the 'grist' in a large vessel called a MASH TUN , where the starch in the barley is
converted further into the fermentable sugars which are needed to produce alcohol later on.
The picture below shows a relatively small mash tun.
It's the one at Blair Athol distillery, made of wood.
(If memory serves, this was made of Oregon Pine.)
Other distilleries use stainless steel washbacks.
and just like almost all things in the whisky world,
opinions vary about what produces better whisky.

Scotland and Ireland may still be fighting over who invented whisky, but the books say that the first experiments with distillation were done by Arabic scholars as early as the 1st millennium. Given their significant role (and that of Irish monks) in the invention and refinement of whisk(e)y, it's interesting to see how the production and consumption of alcohol is frowned upon in many churches these days ;-)
 
All Scotch malt whisky is distilled in POT STILLS - two different types are used at different stages.
During the distillation stage, the wash is boiled in a copper WASH STILL and distilled (sometimes more than once). Alcohol boils more rapidly than water, so the vapors from the boiling wash can be collected at the top of the 'swan's neck' as they cool down again and condense back to alcohol. A very important feature of the stills is that they are made of copper. This metal has some unique properties that make it indispensible for the distillation of whisky. I'll go into more detail on the significant chemical traits of copper (and their effect on whisky) in the Advanced Beginner's Guide.

It is said that the shape and size of the pot stills have a big influence on the malt whisky
produced in them. The picture at the right shows the stills and SPIRIT RECEIVER at the
Glenfarclas distillery. The spirit receiver... erm... receives the spirit from the stills...

During the MALTING process, barley is soaked in water for 2 or 3 days,
then spread out to germinate. During the GERMINATION stage that follows,
(and which lasts around a week) enzymes turn the starch within the barley
into soluble sugars, who will be converted into alcohol later on in the process.
After the 'green malt' has begun to sprout, it is dried in a KILN to stop the
germination process. Drying the sprouting barley can be done in a number
of different ways these days, but in the distant past mostly peat was used.

Just like different grape varieties are used in the wine production, there are a number of different barley varieties used for the distillation of single malt whisky.  The Golden Promise variety has been popular for many years, but these days Scottish distillers use alternatives like Optic and Chariot as well. Any variety of barley can be used to produce malt whisky, but if any other type of grain is used (maize, buckwheat, rye, corn, etc.) the result can't be called malt whisky. Well, at least not according to the people of the SWA.
But how do they turn barley into whisky? First, they add water...

The basis of every single malt Scotch whisky is plain old BARLEY.
Well, it used to be 'plain old barley' the distilleries either grew on
their own fields or purchased from nearby farmhouses. These days
production is much more rationalised and barley is often purchased
in bulk and sometimes even shipped in from overseas (France, etc.).

The spirit used to be 'casked' at that strength as well but these days the fresh
spirit is often submitted to casks at around 63%. The casks are then stored in
special WAREHOUSES where they will have the opportunity to mature next to
their siblings for at least three long years before they are released from captivity.
 
But hold on, once again we're getting way ahead of ourselves.
Maturation is the topic of the next chapter of this guide. However, before you click
onwards to greener pastures I should probably mention that the distillation of the
grain whisky I mentioned earlier in chapter two is a completely different story.
These whiskies are produced much faster (and in far larger quantities) than malt
whisky in a way that is fundamentally different. Instead of the traditional pot stills,
'Coffey stills' (a.k.a. column or patent stills) are used. I will go into the 'technical'
differences between these types of stills in the Advanced Beginner's Guide.

These continuous stills were invented in the 1820's and were widely used only a few decades later because these so-called 'Coffey stills' turned out to be much more efficient than pot stills.
 
Unfortunately, the more efficient production process eliminates some of the 'flaws' in pot still distillation that give single malt whisky most of its character. And since most blended whiskies contain mostly grain whisky they really need to mix in some old-fashioned malt whisky into the blend to give it personality. When a grain whisky is bottled all by itself (with major brands like 'Blackbarrel' and 'Invergordon') I usually don't care too much for the contents of the bottle.
The relatively young 'Greenore' (eight years old) from Ireland is a notable exception.

Only a minute percentage of the grain whisky that is distilled is bottled as a single
grain whisky (vatted grain whiskies are rare). The vast majority of the grain whisky
is used for blended whiskies - and the vast majority of those don't need old grain
whisky for that blend. As soon as it has passed the legally required minimum age
of three years most grain whisky is used in a blend. The focus for these 'volume'
whiskies is often a low price, so the casks that are used for these grain whiskies
are usually not the very best of casks. There are, however, plenty of exceptions
to this rule. Sometimes an exceptional cask can push a grain whisky of just ten
or twelve years old to heights beyond the levels of a malt whisky of similar age.
But as I said, those are exceptional exceptions...
 
Which conveniently brings us back to the topic of the next chapter: Maturation...

Many Islay malts derive a distinctly peaty character
from the reek (= peat smoke) from the peat fumes.

The liquid that's drained off as a result of this process is called
the WORT - which will later grow up to become Scotch malt
whisky. During the FERMENTATION the sugars in the wort are
converted into alcohol by the addition of special yeast strains.
Different kinds of yeast (brewers yeast and distillers yeast) are
used in different combinations to try and influence the 'yield'
and quality of the final product. In fact, some of the crustier old
Malt Maniacs are complaining that most of the focus is on yield...

The first distillation run produces the so-called LOW WINES with an alcohol percentage somewhere between 10 and 20%. The second distillation occurs in a special, smaller still called the SPIRIT STILL. Some pot stills also have so-called purifiers at the top, for example the spirit still at Ardbeg. Using a purifier is said to produce a better quality of spirit (mostly by those using a purifier on their stills ;-)

Scotch malt whisky guide

Scotch whisky information