The Alphabet of Whisky

        By Arthur Bell

• A is for age. A law passed by the British Parliament in 1915 prohibits the sale of any distillation of less than three years as Scotch whisky. To comply it has to be aged in oak wood, usually previously used for Bourbon, but also for sherry, in a bond warehouse with control by Customs and Excise. Whisky improves as it matures in years, and good malt is best between 10 and 20 years. It often declines as it goes above this age, but I have tasted superb Springbank that has matured in cask since the 1960's.
• B is for Bond. This is the warehouse where the whisky matures, and tax is paid as it leaves the bond. No distiller or broker can take his whisky out of here except with the full knowledge of the Exciseman.
• C is for cask. The oak barrel used to mature the whisky is usually American in origin, or alternately, Spanish. Sherry wood offers a mellowness that is particularly favoured by Macallan who use casks that have previously stored Oloroso. Glenmoragie of Tain in Easter Ross have had some success with using old port casks. A cask (called a butt) holds some 500 litres, but the longer it ages, the more the spirit evaporates, giving the angels their share.
• D is for dram. This is the term indicating a measure of whisky most used in many parts of Scotland. Professor Daiches believes it derived from the Greek drachma indicating one eighth of an ounce in apothecary's measurements. It has been in general use for over 3 centuries, and although it has no clearly defined amount, it is most usually thought to be the traditional quarter of a gill.
• E is for Edradour. Set in the southern Highlands at Pitlochry in Perthshire, is Scotland's smallest distillery, Edradour. Established on a farm in 1825, this tiny producer has only three working staff, and its flavoursome and aromatic product is consequently not widely found. If you discover it, you are in luck as it is of a very high quality.
• F is for fillings. When whisky is newly produced much of it is taken by the blenders and put in their own casks to be stored. Later it used by that blender when he decides it is ready to mix with other malts and grain whisky to give the distinctive characteristics he wants for his blend. This new whisky is known as "fillings".
• G is for Glenlivet. Although only one whisky is allowed to call itself "The Glenlivet", this bleak Banffshire glen stretches for over 14 miles, and in its wide breadth there are many distilleries. Two hundred years ago there were well over 200, producing illegally, and the quality of the water flowing off the granite of the mountains, and through peat, has much to do with its fame.
• H is for Highland. Scotch whisky is defined as being produced in four areas. Lowland, Island, Campbeltown and Highland, of which the latter is by far the biggest. Speyside is part of the Highlands but deserves a category of its own. Highland whiskies vary enormously from Pulteney of Wick to Tullybardine in the South of Perthshire, Glenury Royal in Kincardine on the East Coast to Ben Nevis in the far west. It is impossible to categorise them in flavour bouquet or body as they are so diverse.
• I is for Islay. The island whisky capital of the world. Here, off the west coast, not far from Northern Ireland, there are currently seven working distilleries. Ardbeg, recently re-opened, Bowmore, Bunnahabhain, Bruichladdich, Caol Ila, Lagavulin and Laphroaig. Port Ellen distilled up to 1983, although it still produces malt for the others. Islay malts are distinctively peaty and smoky, but each has its own characteristics.
• J is for Jura. This long island whose name means in Norse "Island of the deer", is home to a distillery which can trace its roots back to the 17th Century. The dark peaty water for the stills falls from a loch for over 1000 feet to the distillery in the island's only village. A surprisingly light colour, it is not as peated as an Islay malt, but you can detects seaside saltiness traces after the initial sweetness.
• K is for Kiln. In the mid 18th century the pagoda shaped distinctive roofs of whisky kilns began to appear. In these buildings the green malted barley is dried, still over peat which adds flavour, and this stops further germination. After 36 - 40 hours or so the dried malt is taken to be ground (grist), before mashing, or mixing with hot water to continue the process.
• L is for Lowland. For over 350 years this has been the defined name for whiskies produced south of the Highland fault line. Few distilleries are active today, but their light soft characteristics are essential in blending. Glenkinchie from the great barley producing area of East Lothian is the most widely available single malt from the Lowlands. You would find this attractively light straw coloured, sweetish, with a fine floral nose.
• M is for MacAllan. Often referred to as "The Rolls Royce of whiskies" this comes from Craigellachie in Speyside. Now owned by Highland Distillers PLC it was until a few years ago owned by a family, and the chairman was a Hollywood Oscar winning screenwriter. Rich and full, it is full of sherry flavours, always being matured in old sherry barrels, and has lots of fruit in the taste. The perfect after dinner dram!
• O is for "On The Rocks." - This is a term not much used in its native Scotland, but widely practised in warmer climes. Whisky should be drunk as you like it, and as a purist who only adds a dash of spring water myself, I'm not used to the clunk of ice in my tumbler of malt! But go ahead if you like it, as long as you're a consenting adult.
• P is for Peat. When the water flows off the mountains down to the distilleries it often runs through peat, thus adding character to the whisky. Then peat is cut and burned to help germinate and malt the barley, which is to be fermented. The amount of peat smoke used at this stage affects the flavour. Particularly peaty malts are made on the islands, and Highland Park, Caol Ila, Ardbeg, Talisker, not forgetting Laphroaig above and Lagavulin, are the best examples.
• Q is for Quaich. This ancient whisky-drinking vessel is nowadays usually made in pewter or silver. Originally it was turned out of wood, and as it has two handles, was often passed round for communal drinking. Early in the 17th century craftsmen took the basic vessel and started decorating it with bone and silver. 'The Keepers of the Quaich' is a highly prestigious association of grandees who wish to keep up the lore and traditions of Scotch Whisky.
• R is for Rosebank. A distillery on the less than salubrious Forth & Clyde canal, it is now closed. However the distillation from Falkirk, near to where the Carron cannons used at Waterloo and Trafalgar were cast, is superb. A lowland whisky, it can be very pale indeed, whilst on the nose it has sweet toffee tones. You'll find some honey flavours in it although it finishes with a dry perfume flavour. Whichever accountant decided to close this deserves to be sent to Kosovo or Rwanda!
• S is for Springbank. At the turn of the century there were over thirty distilleries in Campbeltown on the Mull of Kintyre. Today only two, of which this is one, remain. Built by a farmer called Mitchell in 1828, it is still run by his descendants. Their product is supremely smooth and light. You find traces of sea-saltiness combining delicately with sweetness in it. Wherever you find yourself in a bar in the world and you spot this, don't miss it. But don't be like my wife in Waterloo. There she consumed a huge measure in a tall glass, thought it was watered as it went down so gently, had another, and found difficulty with her legs thereafter!
• T is for Teachers. One of the world's most famous blends it was developed by a Glasgow grocer, William Teacher. His blend was one of the reasons his business expanded to 18 shops by the 1850's,while today over 2 million cases a year are shipped bearing his name. Largely Highland and Speyside in character it boasts of its creaminess and its well rounded smoothness.
• U is for Uisge beatha.(pronounced oos-kay-ba). This Gaelic expression means "Water of Life", and the word "whisky" is derived from it. The word can be traced as far back as the mid 13thC in Ireland, and Dr Johnson in his first English Dictionary used it to describe " a compound distilled spirit, being drawn on aromatics.in Scottish they call it whisky."
• V is for Vat. The most famous use of the word for a wooden storage vessel for whisky was when one William Sanderson made up lots of different vats, mixing different whiskies, numbered them, and all his friends agreed the best was Vat 69! Vatting or mixing different malts to develop new flavours, bouquets, and taste sensations can be great fun!
• W has to be for Water. This essential element explains why everyone from Japan to India, from Australia to Oregon tries and fails to reproduce Scotch. Billions of tonnes of the stuff fall on old Caledonia, it then flows through rocks such as granite, picking up mineral traces, over peat and through mossy meadows, till it reaches a distillery dam, or bursts up through a spring or a well. It cannot be reproduced anywhere, by any chemist! I've tried whiskies distilled over the road from each other, with water from different sources, and they've been quite different. You are allowed to dilute your dram a little with this natural product, but make sure it's not fizzy please.
• Y is for Yeast. When the water is mashed with the ground malted barley (grist) and heated, it then goes into a huge wooden container called a washback. Here the natural yeast IS the alchemy, as it ferments what is a basic brew into an alcoholic drink (that sounds better! ed.). When the British Government during World War 1 thought about bringing in Prohibition, it was quickly scuppered by the distillers threatening not to produce yeast, and thus destroying the bread baking production! "Nae Whusky...nae breed!"
• Z.bet you though you had me there. No it's not an honourable Japanese blend called 'Zen', as drunk by all the best Bhuddist monks. Z is for "ZING". That's the wonderful sensation on the sides of your tongue as you start to taste a particularly fine malt whisky. And there's so many of them you'd better start now!