Beatrix Potter Garden, Mr Fox at Home Perthshire Tourist Board

Whisky and History Tour

Go to the true heart of Scotland with this special tour taking in islands, distilleries, castles and unique East Coast scenery.

-> Explore the full detailed tour.

You can also download the Powerpoint file here.


Scotch Whisky: History and Process

Introduction

Whisky is a distilled spirit drink made in Scotland from cereals, water and yeast. The word ‘whisky’ derives form the Gaelic words uisge beatha meaning ‘water of life’.

The drink has been distilled in Scotland for hundreds of years. Christian missionary monks may have introduced it from Ireland but Highland farmers may have discovered the process without outside help. The earliest recorded history of the drink is 1494 and the first reference to a distillery in 1690.

There are two kinds of whisky:

  • Malt-made from malted barley using the Pot Still process.
  • Grain- usually made from 10-20% malted barley and then other unmalted cereals such as maize or wheat using the Patent Still process.

Malt Whisky Process

  • Barley is soaked for 2-3 days in tanks of water. The grain is then spread out on a concrete floor (the malting room) and allowed to germinate over a period of 8-12 days.
  • At the appropriate moment drying out the grain in a malt kiln stops germination.
  • Dried malt or ‘grist’ is ground in a mill and mixed with hot water in a large circular vessel known as a mash tun. The soluble starch is thus converted into a sugary liquid known as ‘wort’. This liquid is then drawn off from the mash tun and the solids remaining are removed for use as cattle feed.
  • After cooling, the wort is passed into large vessels holding up to 45,000 litres (9000 gallons) where it is fermented by the addition of yeast, which converts the sugar in the wort to crude alcohol.
  • Fermentation takes about 48 hours and produces a liquid known as ‘wash’ containing alcohol of low strength.
  • The wash is distilled twice in large copper Pot Stills. The liquid is heated to a point where the alcohol becomes vapour, which rises up the Still and is passed into the cooling plant where it is condensed into a liquid state. The cooling plant frequently takes the forms of a coiled copper tube or ‘worm’ that is kept in continuously running cold water. The distilled liquor is now 60-70pct alcohol. As the alcohol evaporates it is condensed and sent through the spirit safe for selection by the stillman.
  • The spirit is then filled into oak casks and commences the long process of maturation and in so doing suffers evaporation of around 2pct of its volume each year. The lost liquid is known as the ‘Angels Share’.
  • To qualify as Scotch, the whisky must be matured for a minimum of three years and one day.