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Council Of Whisky Masters > Practice Oral Questions > Flashcards

Practice Oral Questions Flashcards

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1
Q

Name 3 legislative changes that have affected the popularity of Scotch Whisky

A

1823 - Aging in casks (taxed at bottling, can store duty free

1860 - Grove Act, Grocers License, Recognition of grain whisky, blending allowed, meeting demand of larger market

1915 - immature spirits act - required that whisky be aged at least 2 years in wood

2009 - defines Scotch, quality and transparency

Which act requires 3 years aging in cask?

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2
Q

What does STR stand for?

A

Shave, Toast, Rechar

When a wine barrel is rejuevenated.

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3
Q

Where is water used in the production process

A

Steeping
Germinating
Brewing
Mashing
Sparging
Propagating Yeast
Fermenting
Condensing
Proofing

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4
Q

What is a shaker box?

A

A sieve style box that is used to check the ratio of the milled barley - to ensure it is about 10% flour, 20% husk and 70% grits

Different distilleries may use slightly different ratios, but within a small range. Example, Glenfarcals uses 8% flour,

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5
Q

What are the species of oak used for aging whisky? Where do they grow? And what flavors do they impart?

A
  1. Q. Alba (American Oak) - North America, Missouri - coconut, vanilla
  2. Q. Robur (European Oak) - more tannic than Petraea, spicy, dark fruit, dark color
  3. Q. Petraea (European Oak, Hungarian Oak) - less tannic than Robur
  4. Q. Mongolica (Mizunara) - Japan - sandalwood, incense, spice
  5. Q. Garryana - North west America - tannic and spicy, must air dry for months
  6. Q. Meuhlenburgie (Chinkapin) - similar to Q. Alba, sweet toffee and ginger
  7. Q. Humbolti (Colombian Oak) - Colombia - creme brulee
  8. Q. Rubra (Red Canadian Oak) - Canada - smells and tastes wet, raw, and prone to leakage
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6
Q

Which Distilleries have a sight glass on their spirit still? Why would they do this?

A

Raasay
Tormore

For the gin making process.

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7
Q

Name a distillery that has a spirit still that is larger than their wash still, and why would they do this?

A

Clynelish
Linkwood
Lagavulin?

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8
Q

Which distilleries have a Lomond Still?

A

The Dalmore
Scapa

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9
Q

Which distilleries still have and use a Saladin Box?

A

Benrinnes??
antoher speysider

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10
Q

Describe Springbanks 2.5x distillation.

A

The Wash Still is run.

20% of that Wash Still run, low wines, goes into the Spirit Charger.

80% of that Wash Still run goes into an intermediate still for distillation. That intermediate distillation produces feints. The feints charger collects the heads and tails from previous spirit runs. All of this moves onto the Spirit Charger.

The Spirit run has 20% low wines, the product of the 80% that went into the intermediate still (which turns into about 30-35% volume), and the heads and tails from previous spirit runs. All of this gets distilled and cut to become the final spirit.

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11
Q

Describe Mortlach’s 2.81x distillation.

A
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12
Q

What goes into Johnny Walker Green Label?

A

Lagavulin
Cragganmore
Linkwood
Talisker

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13
Q

What goes into Johnny Walker Black Label?

A

Caol Ila
Glenkinchie
Cardhu
Clynelish

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14
Q

What are the Johnny Walker lines?

A
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15
Q

What are the classic Malts of Scotland? When were they introduced and why?

A

Glenkinchie (Lowland)
Dalwhinnie (Highland)
Cragganmore (Speyside)
Oban (Highland)
Talisker (Highland, Island)
Lagavulin (Islay)

1988

DCL. Marketing. To showcase regions and the differentiation of single malts.

Each of these distilleries was also equipped with a visitor center to host customers for an experience.

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16
Q

Name two distilleries that have horizontal shell and tube condensers

A

GlenAllachie
Dalmore
Macduff

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17
Q

Name Speyside distilleries that also have peated expressions.

A

Cragganmore
BenRiach
Balvenie
Tomintoul
Benromach (always peated)

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18
Q

Name two distilleries with sight glass on their spirit stills. Why might they have that?

A

Tormore
Raasay

Gin production.

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19
Q

Name two distilleries that have spirit stills that are larger than the wash stills.

A

Lagavulin
Clynelish?
Tamdhu?

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20
Q

Who created the pagoda roof commonly associated with distilleries?

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A

Charles Doig. He was an architect. In 1899, he designed the ventilator (Doig Ventilator) to use reduced pressure to draw smoke up and out of the kiln, thus reducing the impact of peat smoke. First distillery was Dailuaine. Became the ‘architectural style’ of kilns around Scotland.

21
Q

Name 3 legislative changes that have affected the popularity of scotch.

Study These Flashcards
A

1794 - highlands was able to continue traditional techniques, keeping Scotch flavors alive
1823 - aging in cask
1960 - blending with grain whisky allowed

22
Q

What are some of the ways a distillery can manipulate the body of a spirit produced? Cite distillery and method.

23
Q

Which distilleries could legally sell their whisky in America during prohibition?

24
Q

Which distilleries stayed open during World War 2?

25
What distilleries does Edrington Group Own?
Highland Park Macallan Glenrothes
26
What Scotch distilleries does Suntory Own?
Bowmore (beach foam) Laphroaig (JC) Glen Garioch (why the gasoline?) Ardmore Auchentoshan (lowlands, mark)
27
Name 10 Scotch distilleries that Diageo owns.
Name the Classic Malts. Visualize JW walking at distilleries, ALSO what goes into their blends... Think about where their maltings are done. Where there experiments are done. Where they have just a few (Islay and Islands). Islay: Lagavulin Caol Ila Highland Islands: Talisker Highlands: Clynelish/Brora Glen Ord (Malting site) Oban Dalwhinnie Speyside: Cardhu Cragganmore Mortlach Roseisle (experimental, stainless shell and tube condensers) Linkwood Lowland: Glenkinchie
28
What is the first distillery on record?
Ferintosh. On the Black Isle. Owned by Duncan Forbes. For political reasons, his distillery was destroyed in a rebellion, and afterwards, he was granted the right to distill duty free from barley grown on his estate in 1689. He bought more land, and by the time that the right was taken away about 95 years later, in 1784, he was supplying 2/3 legal whisky in Scotland.
29
Oldest Scotch Whisky distlilery still open
The oldest Scottish whisky distillery to this day is Glenturret, established in 1775,
30
First distillery to take advantage of the Strathspey railway in Speyside?
Cragganmore
31
When and why was DCL formed?
1877. It was first an amalgamation of the grain producers to achieve self-regualtion and prevent trade wars at a time when there was overproduction and market instability.
32
Explain Springbanks 2.5x distillation. How were they able to double production in 2018?
All wash is run through the wash still. Direct fire w/ shell and tube condensers. The first 20% is collected straight to Spirit Still Charge as 'low wines'. The remaining 80% is sent to an intermediate still and run to produce 'feints'. This still is steam heated with a worm tub condenser. From here, the low wines, feints, heads and tails from previous spirit runs are all combined to run through the spirit still. Heart cut at 71%. They doubled production by running malting and distilling concurrently. Prior to that, malting would be done at one time and distilling at another, which is historically how whisky was made.
33
Name two distilleries named after men
Old Pulteney Glen Grant
34
Who is doing triple distillation?
Springbank (Hazelburn only) Rosebank Auchentoshan
35
Name the Grain Distilleries in production. Who owns them? What do they go into?
North British - Diageo and Edrington - Famous Grouse and Johnnie Walker Cameronbridge - Diageo - Johnnie Walker, J&B, Chivas Invergordon - Whyte and Mackay (Indian owned by United Spirits). - Whyte and Mackay and the Dalmore Girvan - William Grant and Sons - Grant's and Monkey Shoulder Starlaw - Loch Lomond Group - key component in Loch Lomond Group's blends Loch Lomond - Loch Lomond Group - produce grain and malt for their blends Inchdairnie - Inchdairnie Distillery Ltd. - produces malt and grain for their own releases
36
What does Whyte and Mackay Own?
The Dalmore (cooling jackets on stills) Jura Tamnavulin Fettercairn (cooling jackets on stills)
37
What does Loch Lomond Own?
Loch Lomond Glen Scotia
38
Name the major Maltsters in Scotland?
Bairds Simpsons Crisps Port Ellen (Diageo Islay only)
39
Who produces the stills?
Forsyth in Speyside
40
Where are the cooperages?
Speyside cooperage
41
Which Islay Distillery is allowed to use malt from Port Ellen maltings, but isn't owned by Diageo?
Ardbeg - still 25% diageo owned
42
What is Pure Malt? What was the scandal?
Caused the 2009 Scotch Regulations to be established. Clearly labeling what goes into bottle. Cardhu, which was very popular in Spain, didn't have enough stock. They started blending malts and labeling it under their own name, selling it as Pure Malt. Others took issue. Regulations.
43
Is the sulfur in whisky new make versus cask influence detectable? How does it differentiate?
I am not sure we can totally and perfectly differentiate that. Sulfur is sulfur after all. But, based on the whiskies we have been studying, I think this ides is most detectable in a young whisky. After all, oak casks will filter sulfur over time, and also sulfur in the spirit can be the precursor to other flavors developing - so the longer the spirit is in cask, the more the sulfur disappears. So, based on what we’ve been studying, I’d theorize that if a whisky is young and we detect a struck match or a flintiness, that likely indicates low copper contact and sulfur in the new make. Whereas if a whisky is young and has an overwhelming sulfur note, like we’ve been experiencing GlenDronach 12, that is likely from the cask. In other words, the cask sulfur is stronger and more directly sulfur. I think we also associate it directly with ‘sherry’ cask notes. As whisky gets older, those sulfur notes start to disappear or lessen, and I think there could be some overlap to an older aged sulfur from cask and a younger whisky with sulfur in the new make (both more of a struck match flintiness), but that’s just my theory.
44
Talk to me about Trans Lactones and Cis Lactones in wood
45
46
47
Oxidation vs oxigination
Oxigination happens in winter, when spirit retracts - buildup of oxygen in the spirit Oxidation - happens in spring with warmer weather. Oxygen has heat and shuffles compounds to create new flavors
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Council Of Whisky Masters (11 decks)

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