Scotch Tip - How to Make Scotch

Welcome to this weeks edition of Scotch Tips

Show Notes:

How to make Scotch. The process of making Scotch has not changed much in the past 100 years. There are 5 basic steps to producing Scotch. And three basic secrets to making Scotch - water, barley and the still shape.

1. Malting. Barley is spread on the malting floor, moistened and allowed to germinate. Once germinated it is dried with forced air or peat. This affects the final taste of the Scotch.

2. Mashing. Now the dry malt is placed into the mash tun and hot water is added. This produces a mixture called the wort. The wort is transferred to the washback made of pine to begin fermentation.

3. Fermentation. This is a mixed fermentation - yeast and bacteria. This creates a unique flavor. Each distillery will have a different mixture of bacteria and therefore different tastes. This creates the "wash".

4. Distillation. The wash is transferred to the spirit still where it is heated to remove impurities. The clear liquid that remains is transferred to casks for maturation.

5. Maturation. Each spirit must be maturation for at least 3 years. The casks also exert an influence on the final taste of the Scotch.

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Until the next time, this is your host Dr. Scotch saying good bye!