Glossary of WHISKY Terms?

• Angel’s Share - Whisky lost to evaporation, which is about 2% per annum.
• Amylase - Enzyme used to convert starch into maltose.
• Ageing - The maturation of whisky in an oak barrel or cask.
• Aroma - The rich fragrance of the whisky after years of blending.

• Barley - An annual cereal grain used as a key ingredient in the production of whisky.
• Barrel - The oak wood vessel in which whisky is stored over the years to nurture and impart the rich flavor.
• Blending -The act of combining one liquid with another to be used extensively to make all whiskies, except single casks.
• Brewing - The adding of mashed cereal grains in hot water during the early stages of whisky production with yeast to encourage fermentation.

• Charring - Burning the inside of a barrel to ‘activate’ the wood to filter and impart the flavors of the liquid.
• Cooper - A highly skilled person who makes the casks for whisky maturation by perfectly locking staves of wood together to make a watertight container.
• Congeners - Substance produced during fermentation of alcoholic beverages that are said to provide the majority of taste characteristics present in whisky.
• Cheers - A must thing to say while enjoying whisky in good company.

• Distillation - Fermented barley liquid heated in copper stills to allow the alcohol to evaporate and condense.
• Dram - A traditional term for small measures (1 tsp or 5 ml) of any spirit, especially whisky.

• Enzymes - These are large biological molecules responsible for thousands of metabolic processes that sustain life, along with malting to increase the incidence of enzymes to convert starch into fermentable sugars.

• Fermentation -The metabolic process where yeast feeds on sugar creating acids, gases, and alcohol as by products.
• Floor malting - The traditional method used to malt grain on a malt house floor.

• Gorda - Large sherry cask.

• Heart - Highly desirable, middle part of second distillation that contains sweet ethanol, which is perfect for whisky.

• Irish Malt - It is the malt whisky produced the same way as Scotch, but distilled thrice.

• Jigger - A term used to describe an illicit distillery.

• Kiln - Used to dry green malt, thereby halting germination.

• Low Wines - The produce of the first distillation or “wash run”.

• Malting - The process by which barley is first wet and then spread on the floor of the malting house, allowing a chemical change to take place where the starch in the grain turns to sugar to produce alcohol.

• Nosing - The assessment of whisky by sniffing the aromas before tasting it.
• New Oak - The virgin barrels which are freshly prepared to store the whisky.

• Organic Whisky - Whisky made from barley, which is free of inorganic fertilizers.

• Palate - Refers to the tasting of whisky by the help of our senses.
• Pure Malt - A term used to refer to the blended or vatted malt whisky.

• Quaich - It is a traditional Celtic drinking bowl associated with whisky drinking.

• Rye - A unique grain used in whisky production in the northern part of America to bring about added characters in the blend.
• Rare - A limited variety of whisky, which is of a unique distillery and is considered superior for its less availability.

• Snifter - Tulip shaped glasses made specifically for the art of whisky tasting, so that the aroma is assessed by the nasal senses first.
• Skalk - A Scottish tradition of enjoying a dram of whisky first thing in the morning.

• Tails - It is the last running of a still, weak alcohol.

• Uisge Beatha - Traditional Gaelic term which means the water of life.

• Vatting - The blending of malt whisky from different distilleries.
• Vintage - According to the years of distillation, it is considered by an ascending level.

• Whisk(e)y - An alcoholic beverage that is spelled with an ‘e’ in America and Ireland, and without the ‘e’ by the rest of the world.
• Wort - It is derived from the malt in solution, and contains the fermentable sugars.

• X waters - An ancient Irish term for distilled spirits.

• Yeast - On feeding sugar, this living microorganism of the fungi family helps in the fermentation process by producing alcohol.
• Yield - The pure alcohol obtained in the final output by calculating from one tonne per 1000 litre.

• Zest - The outer colored part of the peel of citrus fruit, used as flavoring.