The Quest for Local Grains
“We are ready for our first batch of whiskey!” my husband Steve exclaimed. “Where’s the grain?”
For two years we had spent every evening, weekend and holiday building our distillery from the ground up. How could it be that suddenly...
80 Years of Rapid Maturation Studies — Why Are We Not There Yet? Part...
Following on from many questions we receive about testing for “rapidly matured” spirits, and from a visit, in June, to the Worldwide Distilled Spirits Conference held in Glasgow, Scotland, a short review of some factors and variables that play...
Excerpt from Shots of Knowledge: The Science of Whiskey by Rob Arnold & Eric...
THE CEREALS
OUR SUGAR DADDIES
Whiskey makers are thieves, stealing starch from four types of cereals—barley, corn, rye, and wheat. The treasure is locked away in the seed of the grain. The kernel is a war chest of fuel—stored as starch—intended...
Temperature and Maturation
Temperature is a critically important factor at every step of a distiller’s craft. Its affect on grains begins with the sun’s energy shining on the growing crops, and continues through the mash temperature of the malt. In fermentation, temperature...
A Return to Grace
The forested valleys of the Heavenly Mountains of Tien Shan are among the most isolated areas on Earth. Yet the apple, which is thought to have originated there, has followed nearly everywhere that humanity has tread. The apple’s ability...
An excerpt from the book— The Maturation of Distilled Spirits: Vision and Patience
The reduction of alcohol from cask to bottling strength should always be done slowly, with the water and the spirit at the same temperature. Because of the hundreds of components in the alcohol, the assemblage—or blend—needs time to absorb...
Ten Ways I Freed my Distillery from Environmental Irresponsibility
Does your distillery have a “deathprint”?
Every kilowatt-hour of coal-generated electricity is 670 times more likely to kill someone than wind power. Every plastic cup used at tasting events will hang around for 450 years or more in piles of...
The Ins & Outs of Distilling from Beer
Whiskey is famously made by distilling beer, but any distiller will tell you that the “beer” that goes into the still bears little resemblance to the commercial stuff you sip on game day. While it won’t kill ya, those...
