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63 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Production Methods - Base Materials |
- Any crop can be used. - Some require conversion of starch into fermentable sugar. - Final spirit gains some character from its base material. - High quality material must be used to produce high quality spirit. |
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Fermentation |
Fermented liquid (wash) has a lot of flavours (congeners) which will be found in the final spirit and about 10% alcohol. |
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Distillation |
Separation of different elements of an alcoholic liquid by making use of the different boiling point of the different components. This concentrates the alcohol and certain flavours by reducing the other components. |
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Principles of Distillation |
- Ethanol and water are the two biggest components of the Wash. - Distillation is to separate them from one another. - Pure ethanol boiling point is 73.8C and water boiling point is 100C. Combined boiling point is in the middle somewhere. - Temperature is raised, components with lower boiling point vaporise - ethanol, flavour compounds. - They also carry some of the less volatile congeners with them as they vaporise. - When vapours condense, liquid has higher concentration of flavour and ethanol. - Higher concentration of ethanol has greater degree of rectification. |
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Different Types of Still |
- Pot Still: - Not very efficient. - 2 or 3 distillations needed to produce strong enough spirit. - First distillation will make 10% wash into 25%. - Expensive and time consuming. - Can produce spirit full of congeners.
- Column Still: - Lots of distillations taking place simultaneously on top of one another to produce highly rectified spirit in one stage. - Some stills are very sophisticated and have 40 trays. - Because of multiple layers, distillers are able to separate layers easily. |
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Maturation |
- All spirit is clear and colourless when is comes of the still. - Oak is main choice for ageing. - Allows spirit to take on flavour of wood and oxidise. - Not all spirits undergo maturation. Some white spirit undergo ageing and any colour is filtered out. - Maturation is expensive to maintain oak and fluid is also lost through evaporation which can be quite a significant amount if spirit has been aged for a long time. - Quality of oak is of high importance. |
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Blending and Finishing |
- Once blend is complete, most spirits are reduced to about 40% abv by adding de-mineralised water to the bottle. - Most distillers have the option to add caramel to adjust the colour. - Some spirits are filtered to get rid of any unwanted colour. - Some spirits that are unfiltered turn cloudy or hazy when chilled. |
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Brandy |
- Spirit that is made from grapes. - Usually relatively low abv. - Made in most wine producing countries. - Two most prestigious brandies are Armagnac and Cognac. |
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Cognac |
Double distilled in a small pot still and must be made in Cognac area which borders north of Bordeaux vineyards. |
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Cognac - Grapes |
- Ugni Blanc (main grape also known as Trebbiano) - Colombard - Folle Blanche |
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Cognac - 6 crus of Cognac |
- Grande Champagne - Petite Champagne - Borderies - Fins Bois - Bons Bois - Bois Ordinaires
- Best sites usually have high chalk content. |
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Cognac - Distillation |
- Wine is distilled as quickly as possible to avoid oxidation (immediately after harvest at end of March). - Result of first distillation is brouillis. - Second distillation produces spirit of no more than 72% abv. - Heads (tetes) and tails (secondes) are separated and re distilled. - If these are distilled with the base wine, it is more neutral than if it distilled with the broullis. - If producer uses lees for the wine they distill, they are said to be more ageworthy and have richer flavour. - Chauffe vin is sometimes used to heat the pipes during first distillation on the way to the condenser to prepare the wine for second distillation. |
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Cognac - Maturation and Blending |
- French oak barrels are used to age the spirit for a minimum of 2 years but generally longer. - Start in new oak barrels to take on flavour but usually decanted into older older barrels.
- Vintage Cognac is permitted but rarely used. Blending is more common. - Once the blend is made up, spirit is reduced down to about 40% abv. - Colour can be adjusted by using caramel.
- Congac cannot be sold until it is 2 years old. - Producers guarantee age of Cognac up to first 6 years of its life. |
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Cognac - Labelling |
*** or VS - Youngest spirit in blend is 2 years old.
VSOP - Youngest spirit in blend is 4 years old.
XO, Hors d'Age or Napoleon - Youngest spirit in blend is 6 years old.
- Sometimes sub-region appears on label in which case only grapes from that area were used in the blend. - Fine Champagne term is used for a blend from the 2 best areas. |
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Armagnac |
Grape brandy made only from the Armagnac area. |
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Armagnac - Grape Varieties |
- Ugni Blanc (50% of grapes used) - Baco 22A (40% of grapes used) - More full bodied spirit than Ugni Blanc |
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Armagnac - Distillation |
- Most undergoes one distillation in single column still called alambic Armagnacais. - Some are double distilled in Cognac style pot still. - Distillates are collected between 52%-72% abv and contain high level of congeners. - Most Armagnac is collected at lower end of this range. |
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Armagnac - Maturation |
- Majority of Armagnac is aged in French oak. - Unaged, clear Armagnac called Blanche is permitted. - Young Armagnac is fuller bodied than mature Cognac with earth and prune aromas. - Some Armagnacs (rancioed) that started as a relatively low strength alcohol are released at cask strength but rarely no more than 48% abv. - Can be released as a 3 star spirit a year younger than Cognac. - More vintage spirits than Cognac as blending is less important. |
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Armagnac - Labelling |
*** or VS - 1-3 years old VSOP - 4-9 years old Napoleon - 6-9 years old Hors d'Age or XO - 10-19 years old XO premium - 20+ years Age indicated - Youngest spirit in blend is of age stated on label. Vintage - All spirit comes from this year and must be at least 10 years old. |
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Spanish Brandy |
- Spirits are aged in the Jerez or Penedes region. - Blend of pot and column still spirits. - In Jerez, ageing is done through the Solera System. - Base wines come from Airen grape from La Mancha. - In Jerez, Reserva brandy is aged for a year and Gran Reserva brandy is aged for minimum of 3 years. |
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Pomace, Marc and Grappa Brandy |
- Pomace is residue of skins, pips and pulp left from pressing - which a second type or grape spirit is distilled.
- In Italy these Brandy's are known as Grappa. - In France the are known as Marc. |
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Whisky |
- Whiskey is made from a mix of cereal grains that must include Barley.
- Grains contain insoluble starch. Before fermentation, starch must be converted to fermentable sugar: - Germination: - This in encouraged by malting which starts by steeping the grain in water then into a warm and humid environment. - As grains grow, enzymes are released that modify the starch. - Once this happens, grain is kilned by heating grain to a temperature that halts germination and preserves the enzymes.
- Mashing: - The grain is crushed then then mashed with hot water. - Enzymes then convert the dissolved starch into sugar. - Sugar solution (wort) can then be fermented. - Barley is the best grain because it creates more enzymes. - If other unmalted grains are used, the starch is modified by subjecting it to intense heat then crushing the grain and mashed in hot water with malted barley in which there are enough enzymes to convert all starch.
- Fermentation
- Distillation
- Maturation
- Blending & Finishing |
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Scotch Whisky |
- Must be distilled in Scotland to strength of less than 98.8% abv. - Must spend 3 years in oak barrels. |
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Scotch Whisky - Malt Whisky |
- Must be made from malted barley and distilled in a pot still.
- Factors influencing flavour: - If peat is used during kilning process, final flavour is smoky. - Most are double distilled and some are triple distilled which makes them lighter in body. - Barrels used during ageing contribute 70% of flavour. Good quality wood must be used. - Young whiskeys are very fiery and mellow during maturation. - Scottish producers don't use new wood because flavour is too intense. Most buy ex-bourbon barrels. - Often spend most maturation time in ex-bourbon barrel then short time in a more intensely flavoured barrel (known as finishing). - Cool, humid climate means whiskies age evenly and slowly. |
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Scotch Whisky - Grain Whisky |
- Can be made from malted barley and other grains and is distilled in continuous still. - Never peated. - Distilled to higher degree of rectification. - Consequently, lighter, smoother but still contains a lot of flavour. - capable of extended ageing and generally matured in American oak. |
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Scotch Whisky - Single Whisky |
- Single grain very rare but single malt very common. - Single malts are made from blending whiskies of different ages from one distillery. - Age on label indicates the youngest whisky in the blend. - Caramel can be used to adjust the colour.
- Permitted regional indications don't represent a particular style but can act as a guide. - 5 permitted regional indications: - Highland - Lowland - Islay - Campbeltown - Speyside |
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Scotch Whisky - Blended Whisky |
- 3 permitted types of blend: - Blended malt scotch whisky - Blended grain scotch whisky - Blended scotch whisky (blend of malt and grain whisky)
- Blended scotch accounts for majority of sales. - Blenders look to combine intensity of Malts with lightness and elegance of Grains. - Aim to produce consistent whisky time after time. - Not viewed as inherently poorer than Malts. |
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Irish Whisky |
- Can use pot and column stills of various sizes.
- 3 distilleries in Ireland. Most important one is Midleton. - Typically undergoes triple distillation, lack of peat. - Use of unmalted barley gives whisky spicy, fruity flavour with oily firmness on palate to balance softness of malted barley.
- Cooley distillery produces soft, smooth styles but also sometimes uses malted barley and uses peat in some blends.
- Bushmills in Northern Ireland makes malt whiskies and blends using grain whisky from Midleton. |
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Bourbon |
- Can be made anywhere in USA. Most common in Kentucky. - 51% of grain used must be corn. Remainder can be Rye, malted Barley and occasionally Wheat. - Maximum strength of distillate must be 80% abv. - Matured in new, charred oak casks. - Must be aged for minimum of 2 years. - Once all this criteria has been fulfilled, it can be called Straight Bourbon. |
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Bourbon - Sour Mashing |
- Once wort has been produced it is mixed with backset of the previous distillation. - Backset is acidic residue left at the base of the still. - The yeast used is important to add flavour in Bourbon and increased acidity in wort ensures that yeast cultures dominate the ferment as well as preventing bacterial infection. |
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Bourbon - Distillation |
- Goes through a single column still known as a beer still. - Because Bourbon style needs to retain a lot of its congeners, the still is not intended to produce a highly rectified spirit. - Wort (beer) is re distilled in a basic pot still called a doubler which preserves congeners but creates ideal alcohol level. |
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Bourbon - Maturation |
- All Bourbon is aged in new, charred American white oak barrels. - All colour and flavour must come from ageing process in Bourbon so maximum extraction is encouraged. This ensures vanilla and coconut flavours. - Wood extracts break down into sugar and add to Bourbon creating naturally off-dry spirit, one of the only ones in the world. - Style is full bodied and off-dry with warming alcohol and pronounced flavours of vanilla and spice. |
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Tennessee Whisky |
Produced in identical way as Bourbon except before maturation, spirit is slowly dripped through maple wood charcoal which softens the character as well as adding a smokey sweetness. As flavour and colour can't be added to Bourbon, this process is known as the Lincoln Country Process which distinguishes Tennessee Whisky from Bourbon Whisky.
Jack Daniels is driving force behind Tennessee Whisky. |
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Other Whisky |
- Canada produces corn based whisky and can add up to 9.09% of other beverages. - Japan produces Malt and Grain Whiskys in a Scottish style. |
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Rum and Sugar Cane Spirit - Factors influencing flavour |
- aged or unaged - Molasses or sugar can juice - Use of caramel - Type and size of still - Length of fermentation |
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Rum and Sugar Cane Spirit - Base Materials |
- Made throughout the globe but Caribbean is the heartland of production. - Made from sugar cane. - Most rum is made from molasses - the by-product of the sugar industry - It can also be made from the sugar can juice - juice that comes directly from crushing freshly harvested sugar cane. |
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Rum and Sugar Cane Spirit - Fermentation |
- Molasses needs to be diluted in water before fermentation. - Sugar cane juice can be fermented directly. - Longer ferments produce more aromatic esters which can lead to a more pungent and weighty rum, regardless of colour. |
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Rum and Sugar Cane Spirit - Distillation |
- Pot and column stills used. - Column stills produce lighter style spirit. Can't be distilled to more than 96% abv otherwise it becomes vodka. - Pot still produces more characterful spirit. - Some rum pot stills use a retort to further concentrate flavours by passing the vapours through a liquid made up of the heads, tails or both before they condense. |
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Rum and Sugar Cane Spirit - Maturation |
- White rum's are usually unaged but some spend time in oak to help round out the palate and are then filtered. - Rum's tend to age quickly in the hot environments of the Caribbean taking on an amber colour with sweet spice, tropical fruit and vanilla flavours. - Most producers use ex-bourbon casks but most French speaking countries use French oak. |
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Rum and Sugar Cane Spirit - Blending |
- Most rums are made up of blends from different years, countries and production methods. - Distilleries produce a wide range of spirit ensure they have a good stock of ingredients to make a consistent brand. - Blenders can use caramel to adjust the final colour of the spirit. |
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Rum and Sugar Cane Spirit - White Rum |
- White rums are generally light intensity. - Retain characteristics of base material: - Molasses based will have pronounced aromatic qualities dominated by fruity esters. - Sugar cane juice will be more grassy and fragrant.
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Rum and Sugar Cane Spirit - Golden Rum |
- Vary depending on time in oak, type of still used and influence of caramel. - Best ones have vanilla and cinnamon flavours from the oak. |
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Rum and Sugar Cane Spirit - Dark Rum |
- Typically blends from different islands. - Dark treacle flavours from amount of caramel added. - Many dark rums are aged with caramel added but only to achieve consistent colour. - Premium rums - Best have intense aromatic character from well aged estery pot still rums. |
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Tequila and Mezcal |
- Must be made in delineated area in Mexico which is 1 of the 5 states authorised to produce it. - Mezcal is generic title for agave based distillates throughout Mexico. - At least 51% of the sugar source must be from Blue Agave. The rest can be from another source. - If 100% is Blue Agave, it can be labelled Tequila 100% Agave. Others can be referred to as mixto or regular. |
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Tequila and Mezcal - Factors influencing flavour |
- Pina steamed or roasted - Relatively low rectification of distillate. - Maturation |
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Tequila and Mezcal - Base Materials |
- Blue agave is a type of Lily. - Made up of very starchy heart called the pina which is surrounded by spiky leaves. - The Pina is retained after harvest and cooked in a steam oven to convert the starch into sugar. - Different species of agave are used to produce Mezcal which the pina is reserved and roasted in underground pits rather than steamed which gives Mezcal a smokey flavour. |
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Tequila and Mezcal - Fermentation and Distillation |
- The cooked pina is shredded and crushed to extract the sugar. - Any non-agave sugars will be added before fermentation. - The best producers have a long fermentation with uncultured yeast which gives Tequila the best agave aromas. - Tequila must be double distilled in either a pot or column still. - End spirit is never highly rectified which gives a pronounced earthy, vegetable character from base agave. |
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Tequila and Mezcal - Maturation |
- Most tequilas are unaged and colourless. - The few that are aged are usually less than 3 years because of the hot climate. This reduced the uptake of oak flavours and maintains the base material characteristics. - The ones that are aged for short amount of time are done in large barrels, the ones done for longer amount of time are done in small barrels. - Oak is usually American. - Once blend is made up, spirit is diluted between 35%-55% abv before bottling. |
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Tequila and Mezcal - Classification |
- Blanco (white/silver) - - Unaged - Sometimes left to settle for up to 2 months. - Purest expression of agave. - vegetable, pepper, spicy notes. - Makes up vast majority of production
- Joven/Oro (Gold) - - Unaged - Caramel and additives used to alter colour and soften flavour. - Biggest export market.
- Reposado (Rested) - - Aged for minimum of 2 months, no more than one year. - Both size vessels are used. - Spirit is noticeably mellowed during maturation. - Becomes pale golden but retains agave pungency.
- Anejo (Aged) - - Oak barrels for at least a year no bigger than 600 litres. - Typically ex-bourbon barrels. - Agave characted much less pronounced but well balanced with vanilla, spicy character from the wood. Sometimes, completely overwhelmed.
- Extra Anejo (Extra Aged) - - Super-premium Tequilas. - Aged in barrels no bigger than 600 litres for at least 3 years. |
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Gin - Base Material |
- Made from spirit of minimum strength of 96% abv. - Range of botanicals used for flavouring but by law, Juniper must be the dominant flavour. - Origin of base material can vary: Molasses, Grain spirit or sugar beet. - Grain spirit is the preferred choice as it gives a crisp texture. Molasses give impression of soft, sweet flavour. - Lots of botinicals are used e.g. coriander, citrus peel, orris root. The exact recipe is kept secret by the distillers. |
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Gin - London Gin |
- London Gin must made by redistilling the neutral spirit in the presence of juniper and the other botanicals. - No flavours can be added after distillation. - Sometimes, the neutral spirit is watered down and the botanicals are macerated in the alcohol. Alcohol liberates the botanicals which are carried across the swans neck. - The longer the botanicals are macerated, the more intense the flavour is. - Some delicately flavoured gins are produced by placing botanicals in a basket at the head of the pot still so that the pass through extracting the flavour. This is called a Caterhead still. - The greater the reflux and lower the temperature, the more elegant the spirit will be. |
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Gin - Distilled Gins |
- Made in the same style as London Gin, however, flavours can be added after distillation. - Highly sought after by bartenders and command premium prices. - Added flavours include rose petal and cucumber. |
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Gin - Cold-Compounded Gins |
- Cheapest way to flavour a gin. - required flavours are added to the base spirit before distillation as artificial flavours and oils. - Pronounced intensity when first poured but flavours can taste artificial and rapidly fade. |
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Anise Flavoured Spirit |
- Must be made using star anise, fennel seed or green anise. - These flavours must dominate but botanicals can be obtained by maceration or distillation. - Base spirit before added flavours is very neutral. - Examples: - Pastis - Absinthe - Raki - Ouzo |
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Vodka - Base Materials |
- The alcoholic wash for vodka can be make from any agricultural crop. - Molasses and grains are the most common. - Potato and grapes are sometimes used to make premium vodkas. |
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Vodka - Fermentation and Distillation |
- Grain and molasses are converted in the same way as whisky and rum. - However, distillers rarely use malted grains; they use added enzymes. - Starch in potatoes is converted to sugar by cooking. - Vodka distillers aim to produce a spirit that is as close to pure ethanol as possible, therefore, they avoid a ferment that will create a lot of congeners.
- Most vodkas by law must be distilled to at least 96% abv and 95% abv in USA - highly rectified. - Standard Coffey still (column still) cannot produce desired level of rectification, therefore, most distillers will use several rectifying columns.
- Once final spirit has been distilled, some producers use charcoal filtration to remove any extra impurities. - The unaged spirit is reduced down to bottling strength. - Some producers add glycerol for added mouthfeel but is very unusual in premium vodka.
- Flavours can be added by macerating the ingredient in the vodka or blending in distilled fruit spirits. - Less expensive essences can taste and smell artificial. |
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Vodka - Post Distillation |
- Filtration - Glycerol addition - Flavouring - Unaged |
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Vodka - Standard, premium and super-premium vodka |
- Cheaper vodkas use molasses. - Barley produce crisp, light and dry vodka. - Rye can be sweet. - Wheat can be rich. - Potato can be creamy texture. - Difficult to tell apart premium and super-premium. Therefore, marketing is particularly important. |
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Liqueurs |
Blend of distilled alcohol from an agricultural source mixed with flavour ingredients, sugar, water and colourings. |
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Liqueurs - Alcohol |
- Most liqueurs are made from neutral highly rectified spirit. - Some are from more flavoursome spirit with lower rectification. - E.g. Grand Marnier has Cognac base with Drambuie.
- Some fruit liqueurs are labelled with the word brandy after the name of the fruit e.g. "Cherry Brandy". |
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Liqueur - Flavour Extraction |
- Traditional flavouring are botanical in origin. - Number of techniques for extracting the flavours: - Maceration: Ingredients are steeped in alcohol to extract their flavour. Last from a few days to a month. - Infusion: Similar to maceration but the alcohol and flavour ingredients are heated up. - Percolation: Alcohol passed through bed of botanicals as liquid or vapour. - Distillation: Extract flavour in similar way to Gin or flavoured alcohol can be redistilled once it is separated from the ingredients. - Steam distillation: Steam is passed through fresh ingredients extracting the essence as oils. When water vapourises, oils and liquid are separated easily.
- Artificial flavours are used as a cheap option. - Cream is also used as an added ingredient but through a different process to ensure the cream doesn't separate. |
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Liqueur - Blending and Sweetening |
- Most liqueur is redused to lower alcoholic level than most spirits (15% - 30% abv). - Liqueurs have minimum residual sugar level which vary around the world. |
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Liqueur - Colouring |
- Most liqueurs undergo artificial colouring. - Colours are derived from a botanical source. |
