The A to Z of Irish Whiskey
- ABV
- age statement
A declaration that the whiskey in the bottle has been aged in a wooden cask for a certain length of time.
Some whiskey declares an age on its label. This refers to the minimum length of time it spent in an oak barrel before bottling. Subsequent time spent in the bottle doesn't count (nor does it alter the whiskey).
The age statement refers to the youngest whiskey used when making that batch of whiskey. So, for example, if a 12 year old cask is combined with a 21 year old cask before bottling it will be labelled as a 12 year old whiskey.
- alcohol by volume (ABV)
The alcohol content of a liquid expressed as a percentage of the total volume.
In Ireland, whiskey must be at least 40% ABV to be sold as whiskey. Most is bottled at this strength to keep the price down (duty is payable on alcohol content). You will sometimes see higher ABV values, eg 43% (legal minimum in South Africa), 46% (avoids the need for chill filtering) or anything up to about 64% if it has been bottled at cask strength.
- blend
A whiskey that contains both grain whiskey and either malt or pure pot still whiskey.
Before the Coffey still was invented there were no blended whiskeys. Once the more economic grain spirit became available it was combined with malt or pure pot still whiskey to produce a cheaper, milder drink that found great favour with the consumer.
Most whiskey sold today is blended. Jameson, Powers, Black Bush and Kilbeggan are all examples of Irish blends.
- cask strength
A whiskey bottled without further dilution after maturation.
When newly made spirit is filled into casks it typically has an alcoholic strength of over 60% ABV. During maturation the water and alcohol will evaporate at different rates so the strength will change somewhat. When bottling, the whiskey is diluted to the desired level for sale, say 40% ABV.
A cask strength whiskey is one that has been bottled without the final dilution stage. So if it was 57.1% in the cask after 10 years maturation, it will be 57.1% in the bottle too.
Note that cask strength does not imply single cask. It's also possible that a very small amount of water is added to reduce strength slightly to a consistent and repeatable level.
- chill filtration
A stage just before bottling that removes components in the whiskey that might cause a hazy appearance in the whiskey.
Chill filtration has the undesired side effect of also removing some of the flavour so finer whiskeys will make a point of noting in the marketing that the product has not been so treated.
Whiskeys above 46% ABV do not need to be chill filtered so, again, many of the best whiskeys choose to bottle at or above this mark to guarantee a naturally clear product.
- Coffey still
- also column still
- also continuous still
- also patent still
A kind of distillation apparatus that emerged in the 19th Century to challenge the traditional pot still method of manufacture.
A Coffey still consists of one or more stainless steel columns with perforated copper plates within. Steam is pumped in at the bottom of the first column while the fermented mash is piped in at the top. The alcohols vaporise and are separated out as they pass through the copper plates. This process can continue through subsequent columns until a spirit up to 94.8% pure is obtained at the end.
The great advantage of the Coffey still is that it can be operated continuously and thus more cheaply than the batch pot still process. It also produces a much lighter spirit, far purer than the 70% or so spirit that pot stills produce. This means that cheaper grain can be used, typically maize, since most of the taste of the input material will be eliminated.
The product of a Coffey still, once matured, is called grain whiskey.
Both Cooley and Midleton operate Coffey stills. Cooley's has two columns while Midleton's has three.
- column still
see Coffey still
- continuous still
see Coffey still
- grain whiskey
Whiskey made in a Coffey still. Malt content is insignificant.
Grain whiskey is made using a continuous process (see Coffey still) that produces something close to pure alcohol. When newly made, therefore, it has a much lighter taste than pure pot still or malt whiskey. This also means that cheaper grains can be used, usually maize. A little malted barley supplies the enzyme action necessary for converting starch to sugar.
It is aged in oak casks just like the whiskey made in pot stills.
Grain whiskey is not usually bottled on its own but is instead blended with malt or pure pot still whiskey. There is one Irish pure grain whiskey, however - Greenore, made by Cooley.
Grain whiskey is made at both Cooley and Midleton distilleries. Bushmills doesn't have its own Coffey still so the grain whiskey it uses in its blended whiskeys comes from Midleton.
- Irish whiskey
Whiskey made in Ireland!
The exact legal definition of whiskey varies from country to country. In Ireland, Irish whiskey must be distilled on the island of Ireland from a mash of cereals fermented by yeast and matured in wooden barrels on the island of Ireland for at least three years. There are a couple of other technicalities but that's the gist.
Only water and caramel (for colouring) may be added when bottling and the final product must have an alcoholic strength of no less than 40% ABV.
