Whisky a very peculiar history

The long and storied history of distilled spirits.

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Whisky a very peculiar history

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Whisky A Very Peculiar History
Each week I will try and post quotes or a bit of history from the book "Whisky A Very Peculiar History" that I bought at the gift shop of the oldest distillery in Scotland.

PERFUME AND PAINT
Distillation has a very ancient history. It was probably invented in the Middle East and used for making perfumes. Pottery jars with rims designed to catch drops of cooled vapor have survived from around 3500 BC. Much later, around 400 BC, Ancient Greek scientists distilled metallic salts, hoping to create longer lasting pigments for artists. By around 1150, in Muslim Spain and multicultural Sicily, experimenters had perfected techniques for distilling alcohol make to preserve medicine.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

Post by Tokoroa_Shiner »

Good idea. Subd to this thread. Look forward to leaning more.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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I said I would do one a week but if the comments end I will add a new one:

WHISKY OR WHISKEY
Both spellings are correct, although 'whisky' is normally used by distillers in Scotland, Canada, Japan, Australia, India, Brazil, Wales, and elsewhere in Europe (except Ireland)

Scottish whisky is often also called 'Scotch' but never in Scotland! There, it is called whisky, or, more hospitably, 'a dram'. Although a dram was originally a very small liquid measure used by pharmacists (one eighth of a fluid ounce or about 3.7 ml - but definitions vary), today it refers to any quantity of whisky offered by a host to a quest, from a thimbleful to an overflowing tumbler.

And remember-in Scotland and Ireland, whisky is always 'taken' not drunk. As in: 'You'll take a wee dram, Hamish?'

The spelling 'whiskey' is said to have been invented by distillers in 19th century Ireland, to distinguish their high quality, traditionally made whisky from cheap, bland, 'industrial' whisky mass produced in the lowlands of Scotland. Today, 'whiskey' is commonly used by distillers in Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. However, a few American companies, mostly those founded by Scottish emigrants, prefer Scottish-style 'whisky'.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

Post by S-Cackalacky »

Bushman, I'm enjoying reading these posts. Please keep them coming.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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Nice. Thanks for the history. Keep them coming.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

Post by hamshine »

I just got back from Scottland..... Took many a wee dram
ETOH.... yes plz
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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WHISKY'S WORLDWIDE WINNERS
The name of 'Scotch', together with its composition, packaging, and promotion, is strictly protected and controlled - and yet local 'whiskies' are made and sold around the world, from Argentina to New Zealand. In 2010, a whisky made in India was chosen as third finest in the world, out of almost 4000 different bottles! An American whiskey came first, and a Scotch whisky second. Indians now drink more whisky than any other nationality. They consumed 1,179 million liters in 2009 - and two thirds of this was produced in India.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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The skalk refers to the Scottish Hebridean tradition of drinking a dram of whisky as an aperitif before breakfast. The word is an anglicization of the Scots Gaelic word scailg meaning literally "a sharp blow to the head."
In modern usage, the term skalk is used in Scotch whisky drinking culture to refer to a casual glass of whisky in the morning.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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SECRET STILLS
How whisky was made in 1600 Scotland when it was illegal:

1. Choose a secluded spot for your still up in the mountains and near a stream. (sound familiar?) Sometimes built near a cattle-shieling to give you a good reason to be there incase people asked awkward questions.

2. Soak a hemp cloth sack of barley in the stream or a near by bog for a couple of days.

3. Spread the barley in a warm, sheltered place and leave for a couple weeks to germinate.

4. Dry the sprouted barley over a smokey peat fire.

5. Get the biggest container you can conveniently handle-maybe a wooden barrel.

6. Put a thick layer of heather at the bottom to act as a sieve and add a little extra flavor.

7. Add the dried barley and pour on lots of boiling water. This was hard work getting this ready with only a cauldron and an open fire. Stir very well for at least a couple hours, and strain the mash into another barrel.

8. Add yeast and leave for 48 hours and stand well back while the mixture heaves and bubbles.

9. Now pour it into your still. Place the still over a brisk fire and stand the worm in a tub of cold water.

10. While the still boils collect the cooled alcoholic vapors as they trickle out of the worm. Then scrub out the still and run it all over again.
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Ole boys found their way to Appalachia. Only thing changed in the process was the grain.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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Bushman, this is GREAT, please keep up the posts. Really enjoyable reading.

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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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Great stuff, Bushman! Thank you for your effort. Please don't stop, I already need my next fix!
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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Gotta say Bushman I'm looking forward to the next excerpt kinda has the shepherd of the hills feel if anyone's familiar, with that body of work. Keep it coming please.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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THIRSTY WORK BEING HOLY
Wooden casks weren't (and still aren't) completely airtight, so a certain amount of whisky evaporated as it was left in them to mature. Because alcohol vapor is lighter than, air it rose upwards, towards the heavens - so it was nicknamed 'the angels share'.
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I really look forward to these posts :thumbup: :clap:
Keep them coming

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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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Great read! Thank you, bushman! I'm subbing this for sure!
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Thank you, Bushman.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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Bushman wrote:THIRSTY WORK BEING HOLY
Wooden casks weren't (and still aren't) completely airtight, so a certain amount of whisky evaporated as it was left in them to mature. Because alcohol vapor is lighter than, air it rose upwards, towards the heavens - so it was nicknamed 'the angels share'.
Fun reads, thanks Bushman.

About this alcohol vapor being lighter than air thing.... :think: It aint. Which got me thinkin, they got it wrong about the angels share thing. Since vapors sink, that makes it..... the Devils Share :twisted:
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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A cleaver distillery in California has a bottle of whiskey called the Devils Share, thought that was a great name for the people in the know!
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Jim Beam has Devils cut http://www.jimbeam.com/devils-cut/about-devils-cut" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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ImageUploadedByTapatalk1411078157.868451.jpg
I had one the other day. Not too bad.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

Post by moosemilk »

To go off topic for a second, but what they extract from the barrels, wouldn't there be a lot of "crap" coming out? Which is why they blend it with other aged so it's not horrible? Newbie question, but curious.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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6.66% clever touch
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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moose milk I'm not sure if you're talking about water extraction from barrels or not, but a while ago I had about 20 sticks of oak that I pulled out of quart jars I threw them in a stainless pot and covered them with distilled water and in a couple days the water was delicious very delicious I intended to let it go a few more days and then jar it for cutting water but I forgot and it all evaporated. DOH!!
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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Sorry been in the Mountains of Italy without wifi for the past two days:
BETTER BURN THAT BARREL!
As more and more settlers reached the USA, the market for whiskey grew larger. Now it was no longer drunk straight from the still by the distillers family, farmhands, and friends. It needed to be packaged for long distance transport to city shops and country inns, and carefully stored to mature.
There were millions of trees in America, and American oak was excellent for making barrels to store whiskey in. Sometime around 1800 (no one knows exactly when) it became the custom to flame the insides of the barrels before filling them with freshly distilled whiskey. At first this was probably just a way of making sure that they were free from mice and insects, or if the barrel had been used before, for example to store salted meats it was a way of cleaning them thoroughly.
Drinkers soon noticed that the charred particles inside the barrels added color and flavor to the whiskey - so much so that it was labeled 'red liquor'. The charred wood also absorbed sharp, sour, pungent impurities. As a result the whiskey tasted much better.
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No worries, this one was well worth that wait.
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PROOF OF WHAT?
When used to describe whiskey and other high alcoholic drinks 'proof' had nothing to do with criminal and law courts; it dates back to the time when suspicious sailors of the British Royal Navy wanted to make sure that their daily ration of rum was not watered down and weakened. They new that the strong alcoholic drink had the power to ignite gunpowder. So new deliveries of rum to Royal Navy dockyards were 'proved' or tested to make sure that the distillers had supplied it at full strength. If the rum passed the test it was said to be a '100 proof'.
Amazingly the same definition of 'proof spirit' in the use in the UK until 1980. After that, European community law demanded the strength of spirits sold in the UK should be shown on bottle labels as the percentage of alcohol (ethanol) by volume.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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COCKTAILS?
Yes, it's a strange name to give to a drink - and no, no-one knows how it happened. The worlds first known cocktail party was held in 1917, in Missouri, USA. Soon, cocktails were very fashionable. At first, a cocktail contained simple spirit, ice, bitters, and perhaps sugar and water. Later the name was given to any mixed drink based on spirits.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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Go Mo, I bet that was a good party, started a trend that hasn't stopped. Keep giving it to us Bushman, loving this thread. Thank you.
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Re: Whisky a very peculiar history

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SWEET OR SOUR?
Sour mash does not refer to the flavor of the whiskey, as is sometimes thought. The 'sour mash' process was invented around 1823-probably by a Scotsman, Dr. James Crow (at least he is credited for it) in Kentucky, but know one knows for certain. 'Sour mash' sounds kind of nasty but it was just fermented grain, left over from an earlier batch of whiskey, added to fresh batches of grain and water before they were fermented and distilled. Spent mash is also known as spent beer, distillers' spent grain, stillage, and slop or feed mash, so named because it is used as animal feed.

Why would anyone do this? There were two good reasons. The sour mash had acid that controlled the growth of bacteria that could spoil the mash grain as it fermented. It also created ideal situations or pH balance where the yeast could do it's work.

As of 2005 all straight bourbons use a sour mash process.
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