Uisge beatha...Whiskey

Whiskey is one of the most popular drinks today. The word itself comes from the Celtic word "usque", which means water, and its ancient name was "usque beatha" which means water of life. Whiskey is a category of spirits, which are produced by distilling cereals, and which are stored exclusively in barrels or barrels made exclusively of oak wood. Depending on the type of grain used, the types of whiskey differ. The cereals from which the largest number of whiskeys is made are barley, rye, oats, corn, wheat. The best and most popular whiskey bottles come from the United States, Scotland and Ireland.

Historical data on the origin of whiskey date back to 800 BC. It is believed that the drink that was then called "arak" is the forerunner of today's whiskey, and the origin of that drink was ancient India. We still have unofficial data on whiskey in the 4th century BC in Aristotle's distillery records. St. Patrick's trip to Shkodra is also connected to the creation of this "fire water". It is believed that St. In addition to the story of Christianity, Patrick told about the ways and purposes of distillation. The first significant and written trace of whiskey comes from Skoda, from 1494, when King Jace IV ruled. He ordered that 25 barrels of "water of life" be made. The eternal war about who invented whiskey is still relevant today. The Irish do not accept this historical fact, but refer to the sermons and the diary of an ancient Irishman, in which it is written how the "triple fire water" is prepared. That is why the Irish can rightly say that they invented whiskey.

The way whiskey is prepared and stored is crucial to the aroma that will accompany it. It does not mature in the bottle and the quality expected of it must be achieved in the period between distillation and packaging. This is the main reason that bottled whiskey can have the status of a rarity after many years, but it does not necessarily have to be better than the whiskey that can be bought in the first store.

Phase 1. Preparation of cereals. Barley is picked, dried and germinated for 7-15 days. Then they are dried again (hot smoke). Peat, charcoal and beech chips are burned due to smoke. This treatment additionally gives the alcohol the aroma of "smoked". Peat smells different in each area. It can be the smell of algae and iodine, honey and ester. Therefore, every Scottish scotch is unique.

Phase 2. Preparation of flour. The malt obtained after drying is crushed and, pouring boiling water, insist 12 hours. Next - combine with the yeast and let it ferment.

3 stages. Distillation. Barley porridge is distilled mainly three times, obtaining 20, 70 and 95% alcohol. The product of the last distillation (more precisely, its "heart") is diluted with water to obtain 50-65% alcohol.

4th degree. Excerpt. Scotch gets flavor, color and aroma in oak barrels. They do not seal too much and alcohol has the ability to absorb not only the wood shades, but also the odors that surround the barrel. The time that the distillate will spend in barrels usually made of American or French oak (and not in bottles) determines the age of the whiskey.

A special bottle of Scottish Macallan was sold last year at a price of 628,000 dollars at an auction in Hong Kong, and it will, for sure, hold the record for a long time to come.

In addition to Macallan, it is well known that in cold Scotland, people also warm themselves with the help of Chivas Regal, Ballantines, Johnnie Walker and many others. There are about twenty million barrels of whiskey in this country - about four barrels per person who lives there.