K
Keepers of the Quaich
The Keepers of the Quaich is an exclusive Scotch Whisky society and was founded to represent the Scotch Whisky industry worldwide. It promotes the goodwill of the industry and honours those who have made a significant contribution to it.
Kiln
Both the oven and the buildings which house the oven are called the kiln. The process in the kiln is called kilning and the purpose of kilning is to arrest malt growth by drying the malt down to approx. 4.5% moisture. This is achieved by blowing warm air through the malt bed for up to 30hrs. It is important that the temperature of the air is not too high (55 degrees centigrade at the start) to avoid damaging the enzymes. Kilning serves another purpose; it is at this stage that peat smoke is added to impart the distinctive flavour which characterises some of our malt whiskies. The amount of peat smoke added, as well as the time during the kilning when this is done, influences the malt. The actual amount of peating varies depending on the source of the peat and the style of malt required for each individual distillery. In general terms there are four key styles: heavy peated which is characteristic of our Islay malts, medium peated which is used by Talisker distillery and lightly peated used by the other distilleries. The fourth style is non-peated where no peat smoke is passed through the malt in the kiln. Some distilleries use this style of malt (for example, Clynelish and Glen Elgin). After kilning the malt is dressed to remove rootlets, stored (or rested) to improve its handling in the distillery and finally despatched to make some of the finest malt whisky in the world.
N
NAS or NAD
The terminology is referring to No Age Statement or Non Age Declared. This is describing whiskies that show no age statement on the bottle. The whiskies within the Classic Malts Selection that carry no age statement, such as Talisker Skye, Oban Little Bay or Dalwhinnie Winters Gold, have been created by our master blenders using casks from one single distillery but at different ages. Meaning that they are a combination of ages in the final bottle making it impossible to say an age as each time it is bottled the youngest whisky will potentially change as they are all about recreating a flavour profile.
New Make
Spirit freshly distilled and of high strength with around 70% ABV and clean in colour. New make spirit is ready to be filled into casks. Most distilleries dilute the spirit to 63.5% ABV before it is filled into casks to mature.
Nosing
Nosing is the process, usually undertaken at whisky tastings, to judge and identify different aromas by smelling the whisky to categorize it.
Nosing Glass
A tulip-shaped glass used to taste whisky. It has a narrow opening so the whisky can be swirled and the fragrance is concentrated in the nostrils.
O
Oak
The type of wood used to make the casks, principally two varieties of oak. Other wood types have been tried but Oak is ideal due to its strength, and durability and the range of flavours it develops in maturing whisky.
Organic Whisky
Whisky made from grain grown without chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
P
Pagoda
The Pagoda roof is a familiar symmetrical and triangular shaped chimney that sits above the kiln. The first Pagodas were seen in the late 1800s and the shape was designed by the Elgin based architect Charles Doig who also designed several distilleries.
Peat
Peat (turf) is partially carbonised, decayed vegetable soil that has been compressed over hundreds of years. It gives off a distinctive smoke when burnt which is very influential in the aroma of some whiskies. It is particularly notable in the Island malts, especially Talisker, Caol Ila and Lagavulin.
Phenols or PPM
PPM is the abbreviation of Parts Per Million – the scientific measurement for showing the amount of phenols present in the malt used to make whisky, that have been absorbed from the burning of peat. The phenolic content of the malt does not necessarily correlate with the phenolic content of the final matured whisky.
Pot Ale
Pot ale is a residue left in the wash still after the first distillation which is often mixed with draff to produce animal feed. Some distilleries also use it as fertilizer on fields.
Pot Still
A copper distillation vessel, resembling a large kettle and onion or pear shaped. The size and shape of pot stills varies from distillery to distillery, and pot still variables play an important part in determining the character of spirit produced. Traditionally distillers are very reluctant to change the shape or size of their stills for fear of changing the character of their spirit. The pot stills can be categorized into Plain, Ball and Lamp Glass shaped types.
Proof
Proof is a standardised measurement to determine the alcoholic strength. Originally when a mixture of water and alcohol were poured on a small amount of gunpowder it was possible to determine if the mixture was of high or low proof. If the powder did not ignite, the mixture had too much water and the proof was considered as low. Spirit that is 100 degrees proof equals to 57.1% alcohol so 70% proof equal to 40% alcohol according to the British definition. In the United States the proof number is twice the percentage of the alcohol content measured at a temperature of 60°F or 15.5°C.
Purifier
A Purifier is a pipe reversing some distillate from the lyne arm of the spirit still back to the swan neck. This produces more reflux which results in a lighter spirit.
W
Warehouse
The building where the spirit slowly matures in oak casks until it can be called Scotch whisky (a minimum of three years maturing in Scotland).
Wash
A liquid normally containing 7-8% ABV produced during the fermentation process. Wash is similar to beer and is pumped to the wash still for the first distillation.
Washback
Fermentation takes place in a “washback”, a large vat made of larch or pine, or more commonly these days, stainless steel. The type of material has no influence on the fermentation process.
Wash Still
The stills are critical for determining the character and the flavour of the whisky. They normally operate in pairs and the wash still is the first and usually largest of the two. The wash is heated and the alcohol vapours evaporate and are then cooled and reformed in to a liquid by a condenser. The resulting liquid has an alcohol level of 20-23% ABV.
Water
The importance of water in the production of malt whisky has been known for a long time. Water is used at various stages throughout the process: malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation. The water used in the process is required to be of potable quality, which is free from contaminants, high levels of minerals and organic matter. The source used by the distillery is important to ensure this quality. In addition to the quality, the other key point in relation to water is that to help in operating distilleries consistently a constant high volume at a regular temperature is required. However water is insignificant when it comes to developing flavours.
Worm Condensers
See also “Worm tub”
Worm Tub
The worm tub is normally a large tank or vessel containing the worm, a coiled copper pipe immersed in cold running water. They’re usually seen in large wooden or cast iron vats for example at Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie and Talisker. The worms are used to slowly condense spirit vapours with minimum copper contact producing a rich spirit character.
Wort
A liquid that is drained off the Mash Tun, contains high amounts of soluble sugars from the grist dissolved in hot water. Wort is the liquid that gets cooled down and pumped into the washback where yeast is added for the fermentation process, where the sugars are changed to alcohol.
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