Major Scotch whisky capacity increase since 2010

Roseisle is a first large-scale malt distillery that was opened in Scotland in August 2010 by Diageo. Roseisle will distill up to 10 million liters of single-malt whisky a year. The liquor will be used to produce blended whiskies such as Johnnie Walker and J&B. The $60-million distillery has 14 copper whisky stills, and although traditional, is one of the top high tech distilleries.

The above is the Roseisle distillery

Earlier in the year, Pernod Ricard increased The Glenlivet single-malt whisky distillery in Scotland’s production capacity by 75%.

The Glenlivet Distillery has expanded capacity by 75% 

In the past three years, various liquor companies have spent over £600 million to expand whisky production facilities in Scotland, marking an increase in distilling capacity that has not been seen in decades, according to the Scotch Whisky Association.

Jim Murray Tosses A Toffee

I think Mr Jim Murray is being quite rude about the whiskey industry in generalising about Scotch whisky in the manner he has done in his recent whisky bible. 

Mr. Murray wants all distillers to employ a blender who can spot the problem of rotten eggs in their whisky. He goes on to say that distillers have their head in the sand; that increasingly he meets people who are being turned off by this stink bomb nose and bitter finish they cannot tolerate. In one sentence he states: 'We have got to the stage where a significant number of bottles are substandard.' He goes on to state that in the new edition of the Whisky Bible: 'we are facing crisis time. This is no longer an occasional problem, it’s rampant’.

Most distilleries I know of in Scotland employ individuals far more qualified than Mr Murray to do the distilling, blending and maturation job. Rather than seek cheap publicity by being so controversial, name and shame those distillers and give them the opportunity to defend themselves.

To be fair, Mr Murray does name one malt in the 2013 edition of his 'Whisky Bible' - Arran Malt - Devil’s Punch Bowl - the tipples tainted - 'ruinous brimstone'. Not nice sir. Many folk love Arran whiskies but at least they have the opportunity to respond. The rest of the Scotch whisky world wonder what the hell you are talking about.

Picture from the Arran Distillery website picture gallery

By the way - Arran Malt has won many International Spirit Championships including golds and double golds. In 2007 Arran distillery received the "Distiller of the Year" award. So it seems it's a case of one versus many. Or maybe there are rotten eggs somewhere? 

In closing:I purchased the online version of Mr Murray's Whisky Bible and will not do so again. Not because of this but merely because it is not worth it. Michael Jackson's whisky books are still the benchmark but he is no longer around. There are some other awesome whisky writers around that I continue to follow.

Paul Pacult (pictured left) is recognised as America's foremost spirits authority. The F. Paul Pacult's Spirit Journal is considered the premier source of review, evaluation and know how.

Charles MacLean and Dave Broom are also knowledgeable on whiskies and both have written some sterling works.

History - A Short History of Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

The Irish were first in just about everything to do with whiskey and most spirits for that matter. The Irish were 500 years ahead of the Scots when it comes to making whiskey. Later a travelling Irish exciseman, Mr Anneus Coffee, created and patented the column still to make grain spirit. In 1909, this grain spirit is officially recognised as whiskey after being aged in oak casks for 3 years. In 1789 Reverend Elijah Craig is the first to distil American bourbon whiskey.

The Grain still was also known as the Column still, Continues still and Patent still and this invention by our humble Mr Coffee is also father to all modern Vodka. So we need to be more grateful to the Irish than we ever knew.



In this video you will meet Barry Crocket from Middleton distillery and John Ryan a direct descendant of the Powers family, the makers of the famous and superb Powers Irish whiskey.

The video is 10:32 long and very worthwhile watching. Redbreast Pure Potstill Irish whiskey featured in this video is freely available in leading outlets across South Africa.

For those who have not seen Powers Irish whiskey in stores - look again. For my fellow South Africans I assure you it's in almost every bottle store worth its salt.

Is It Sacrilege To Add Water To Whiskey?

Written by Mark Backhouse

The Whiskey Snobs Claim

I love this question but dislike those who think they may dictate how we should drink whiskey. I enjoy whisky with water, without water, with Ice, with Ginger Ale and as a base in many cocktails.

But let’s review what most of us have heard from serious whisky men. Some may be a member or members of our family or an acquaintance of the family. I heard this sentence many times from many people. I used to think they knew their stuff whereas in reality they were simply repeating urban legend and believed this statement to the point of making it their faith. This horrible sentence is:

“Sacrilege, the distiller has spent twelve years perfecting that whiskey and you destroy it by adding water.”

Let’s make it clear that the evidence does not support the whiskey snob’s claim.

The Angel’s Share

After the final distillation and prior to filling the new spirit into casks, we add water to the spirit to bring it down to optimal strength for ageing. Note that we added water! We then move these casks into aromatic warehouses where the angel’s take their share at the approximate rate of 4% in the first year and 2% of the residual amount every year thereafter. Twelve years later we have lost almost 23% of the content of the cask.

The Secret Angel’s Share

But we do not only lose volume to the angels. When we put the spirit into cask it goes in at approximately 63% ABV but when the cask is opened 12 years later the ‘cask strength’ of the alcohol has dropped to approximately 57%. This is the more important loss during ageing. The whiskey does not only lose volume but releases the more volatile alcohol’s first. This is why older whiskies become smoother. A 21-year-old whiskey will definitely be smoother than a 12-year-old whiskey due entirely to this fact.

Urban Legend Exposed

Now is the part of this revelation that exposes the whiskey snob’s belief as an urban legend. If the spirit comes out of cask at 57% ABV, how do we reduce it to bottling strength? In South Africa our standard ABV by law is 43% and most of the rest of the world is 40% ABV. We add water before bottling. Oops, this is distiller sacrilege – NOT.

(In the US and some other countries, whisky may be sold at higher or lower than 40%ABV as long as this is stated on the label. In SA it may be higher than 43% but not lower than 43% ABV).

I repeat, we add water prior to bottling to reduce the strength of the whiskey to the required bottling strength. Then - whiskey is an organic thing and goes to sleep in the bottle. When we open our whiskey, we must add water to bring it back to life and to allow it to blossom and exhibit an incredible array of notes you never get without this splash of water.

But drink your whiskey as you like it. I personally like my whiskey with Ginger Ale if we are entertaining around a barbeque. If I have a single malt whisky I add a splash of water. If I have a blended whiskey I add water first and then Ice. Never ever ice first unless it is an American Bourbon or Jameson Gold that has also used a virgin oak barrel. That’s me. Enjoy your whiskey as you want, knowing that the snobs are wrong.

Closing

Feel free to disagree with me but before you do please note that I drink all whiskies that are older than 18 years old without ice or water. Why? Because the secret Angle's share has increased and the whiskey is smooth enough for me.