The copper pot stills in which the wash is distilled have become the ultimate symbol of whisky distilleries. The
stills are made from copper since it is a material that is easy to work with, it does not rust and it is an efficient
heat conductor. The copper is worn down slightly during each distillation however and the thickness must be
controlled regularly. The minute copper particles that are released from the still during each run add up over
time and a still seldom lasts for more than 25 years. The shape of the stills is very important to the characteristics of the final spirit since it determines how much of the various substances that are allowed to pass through during distillation. Therefore great care is taken to make an exact copy any time a replacement is made.

In general malt whisky is distilled twice although some distilleries practice triple distillation, for example Irish
distilleries and a few Scottish distilleries. The stills used for the first distillation is called ‘wash stills’. The resulting ‘low wines’ spirit has an alcohol content of 20-26 percent. The low wines spirit is distilled a second time in ‘spirit stills’.

The ‘stillman’ has the critical task to collect only the desired spirits from the second distillation (the ‘spirit run’). A mistake will likely not be discovered until after the whisky has been stored for several years. At his assistance is the ‘spirit safe’ which was developed in the 1820s to allow the government to control the amount of whisky produced at each distillery. The spirit safe is fitted with hydrometers and thermometers which the stillman uses to determine when the alcohol that exits in the still is the correct one for making whisky. Before the desired spirit starts to come through however, the stillman has to avoid the first light alcohols that are called the ‘foreshots’. These are allowed to flow into a separate tank and will later be re-distilled together with the next batch of low wines.

The desired spirit is called ‘the middle cut’ or ‘the heart of the run’ and starts to come through as the alcohol content reaches about 75 percent. The heart of the run is the only part of the distillate that will become whisky.
The stillman now diverts the spirit into a separate container. This is called ‘cutting on spirit’. How long the heart of the run continues to flow varies from distillery to distillery but on average the stillman cuts off spirit when the alcohol content of the distillate is down to a little more than 60 percent. The following, more heavy, alcohols are called the ‘feints’ ore the ‘tail’ and are diverted to the same container as the foreshots.

When the spirit is cut on and off varies between distilleries, for example Glengoyne and Aberlour cuts on spirit early at 73 and 71 percent respectively. Some of the heavier more medicinal whiskies such as Laphroaig, Ardbeg and Caol Ila cut off spirit as late as at about 60 percent. Together with the shape of the stills, these differences are among the most important reason behind the different characteristics of these whiskies.

After the distillation the spirit is cut to the strength it will have when it is filled into the casks. Most distilleries cut their spirit to 63.5 percent as it is commonly believed that whisky matures best at this specific alcohol content.

All casks used to store whisky are made from oak. Most distilleries use oak casks that have contained sherry or bourbon (Macallan is the only distillery to exclusively use sherry casks). Whisky receives its natural amber colour from interacting with the wood, although it has become increasingly common to artificially add colour by using the E150 additive.

The spirit is not legally considered to be whisky until it has been stored in wood for at least three years. Some of the whisky evaporates through the wood during storage. About 1-2 percent of the whisky evaporates each year in a natural process which is called the ‘angel’s share’. Since the alcohol content must be at least 40 percent in order for whisky to be called whisky, this means that there is a theoretical limit to how many years a whisky can be stored before it has to be bottled. For example, if a whisky looses 1.5 percent of its alcohol content each year it may only be stored for 32 years before the alcohol content drops below 40 percent. Because of this it is unusual for whisky to be stored much longer than 30 years. Yet another reason for the limited maturation period is that whisky constantly picks up tannin from the wood, and too much tannin ruins the whisky. The greater part of all single malt whisky is stored between 8 and 12 years.

Before the whisky is bottled it is usually filled into large tanks to be cut with de-mineralised water to 40, 43 or 46 percent. Some bottlings are filled straight from the cask however, and are thus called ‘cask. strength’ or ‘raw cask’. This whisky is best enjoyed with some water although most whisky will in fact benefit from a slight measure of water since it enhances both the flavour and the aroma of the whisky.

So there you have it, a short history of Scotlands finest and how it’s made. It only now remains for you to pop
down your local pub, impress the landlord with you new found knowledge and sample some of best of Scotland.

The Malt Appreciation Society of Uganda meets once a month in Kampala.
For more details contact Nari on 0772 777727 or nari@cell2cell.co.ug