ABSTRACT
Whiskey (1-5, 8, 12, 16, 19-22) (Gaelic: uisge beatha=water of life) is classified as a spirit made from cereal starch, the manufacture of which involves hydrolytic breakdown of the starch into fermentable sugars, followed by fermentation, distillation, and maturation. Whiskies themselves may be classified on the basis of the cereal used (wheat, barley, corn, rye), on the degree of blending, and on the country of origin: almost all whiskey is produced in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and the United States. Malt (Scotch) whiskey (from barley only) is manufactured in the Scottish highlands and west coast. Grain whiskey is manufactured (for instance, in the Scottish lowlands) essentially from cereals other than barley. In Ireland the manufacture of whiskey is from mixtures of malted and unmalted barley, together with other cereals such as corn, rye, and wheat. Rye whiskey is made in Canada, using rye as the principal cereal, and in the United States, corn (at least 51% of the total cereal grain used) is the principal cereal for the manufacture of Bourbon whiskey. By definition, all whiskey production must include mashing to produce wort, fermentation, distillation, and maturation (Fig. 1 and Table 1). Every whiskey distillery is unique in its own right, yet the respective processing procedures actually have more similarities to each other than differences. As examples of specific differences, the production of specific whiskies may include, for instance, mixtures of cereals for the fermenting mash, three distillation steps rather than two (Irish whiskey), and charcoalmellowing the distillate before maturation (Tennessee whiskey). In contrast, there are other variables in whiskey production, especially in relation to the blending of whiskies, that still remain confidential to a particular manufacturer. In the raw cereals, the essential component for whiskey production is the starch content, which is approximately 70% on a dry weight basis.
