The production of alcoholic beverages goes back thousands of years to the first wines and beers.  Distillation is first mentioned only in the last 800 years or so.  Whether the process was introduced into Europe by the Moors of Africa or learned from the ancient Chinese is not as important as what has been accomplished from that knowledge.  As might be expected, the early distillers used whatever material was at hand for them.  No need to import sugar cane if you have fields of barley or wheat out in the backyard.  Let’s review what has been done in various parts of the world.

We will begin, not at the beginning, but rather at home.  Bourbon is a distinctly American spirit.

• To be labeled as Bourbon, the distilled spirit must be produced from a mash containing at least 51% corn.  Most Bourbons exceed that level considerably.
• The remainder of the mash may consist of rye, wheat, or barley, the most common grains used today.  The grain used in the balance of the blend has a great effect on the character of the resulting Bourbon, as pure corn whiskey is rather light in flavor and aroma.
• The distillate must be aged in new, charred barrels made from white oak.
• The distillate may not be over 80% ABV (160 proof).
• When placed in the barrel to age, it must not exceed 125 proof.
• Bourbon may only be cut with water to achieve the desired barrel or bottle proof.
• Bourbon may be produced using these methods anywhere in the United States .

Good whiskey is also produced in Tennessee from similar ingredients, but it is not labeled as Bourbon.  Tennessee Whiskey is filtered through charcoal before aging.  Since this process is not included in the legal description for the production of Bourbon, it cannot be labeled Bourbon.

The mixture of straight whiskey with grain neutral spirits produces Blended Whiskey.  The neutral spirits are just as they are described: colorless and tasteless with no distinctive odor.  The grain spirits dilute the flavors of the straight whiskies to produce a lighter, easy drinking product.  This process is used in many different whiskey-producing countries.  Fine Blended Whiskey is found in Scotland and Canada , as well as the United States .

Rum

How did we get to Rum so soon?  Well, I said I would begin at home, and Rum is the first spirit produced in commercial quantities in the United States .  In 1640, a fellow named William Keith established a still on Staten Island in New York City for the production of Rum from sugar cane molasses.  Sugar cane is crushed to produce a juice, which is then boiled to evaporate the water out of the mixture to create cane syrup.  The syrup is placed in a drum that is spun at high speeds to separate sugar crystals from the cane syrup, leaving behind molasses.  The molasses is fermented and then placed in a still to increase the alcohol content.  After two distillations, the Rum is now ready to be cut for bottling or aged in used oak barrels.  Today, Rum production can be found on the islands of the Caribbean, as well as Central and South America .

Vodka

There is a real temptation to refer you back to the descriptions of distillation…say add water and the story of Vodka has been told.  The legal depiction of Vodka in the US doesn’t help.  “A neutral spirit, so distilled, or so treated after distillation with charcoal and other materials, as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color.”  While certainly colorless (what about Blavod?), today’s Vodkas run the gamut of flavors and aromas that are determined by the base grain (rye, wheat, corn or potato), number and type of distillations, not to mention the array of flavor infusions popular today.  Modern marketers crow about their water source (glacial springs, limestone filtered springs, Siberian lakes), multiple distillations, magical special procedures (freezing, unique filtrations), high tech packages, and anything else they can conger up to separate us from our money.  The bottom line is that Vodka is the number one spirits category in the U.S. , and the choices for the consumer are mind-boggling.

Gin

Gin also starts with a base of neutral spirits and adds flavor and character depending on local preferences.  The first Gins were produced in Holland by the addition of juniper to neutral spirits in order to mask the terrible quality of what was being produced back then.  The spirits produced were not neutral by today’s standards.  Distillation and filtration methods left a lot to be desired and adding juniper and other flavoring agents (citrus, angelica, anise and coriander to name a few) made the alcohol a lot easier to drink.  The most common type of Gin is London Dry, which is typically highly infused with juniper and has a crisp, dry finish regardless of where it is made.  The Dutch style Gins are sweeter and less aromatic.

Arriba!  Arriba!  Many of us have Tequila nightmare stories to tell.  My first encounter with the Tequila Sunrise over thirty years ago is an ugly tale.  Where does this magical elixir spring from and what makes it different from other spirit drinks? 

The base for Tequila is a large, dangerous looking plant called agave, the Weber Blue agave or agave tequilana Weber, to be scientifically exact.  It is an important distinction, for Tequila may only be produced from this plant grown in the Mexican state of Jalisco near the town of Tequila .  Five bordering states are also legal for plant cultivation.

The plant takes 8 to 12 years to grow to maturity and sends sharp spikes skyward six feet or more.  A hard working Jimador chops this relative of the lily plant from the soil, harvests it and field trims the sharp leaves.  The trimmed plant is called a pina and resembles a pineapple…a 100-pound pineapple!  The pinas are transported to the distillera where they are cooked to convert starch to sugar within the plant.  After about three days of baking in the ovens, the pinas are ready to be crushed for their sugar-laden juice, which is fermented and then distilled twice to raise the alcohol content.  The result is an aromatic, flavorful blanco or silver Tequila that is ready for bottling.  Tequila coloring is derived mostly from adding caramel.

Decisions must now be made at the distillery to determine the Tequila’s ultimate fate. 

• Mixto is produced from a blending of at least 51% agave spirit.  The remaining spirits can be produced from non-agave sources.  Mixto can be made in Reposado or Anejo style and is the only Tequila product that may be shipped in bulk to be bottled outside Mexico .
• Reposado is aged for two to eleven months in wood.
• Anejo is aged in smaller wood barrels for at least a year.

It's time now to consider Scotch Whisky (hey, what happened to “e” in whiskey?).  Okay, let’s do the spelling exercise first.  When reading the labels on whiskey bottles from various countries, you will discover that on bottles of Scotch and Canadian brands, the “e” is not included in whiskey.  You might ask “why”?  I would be forced to respond “because”.  I actually did research on this question in books by F. Paul Picult and Harold Grossman, and the closest thing to an explanation that I could find is that the Scots spelled it without the “e” and the Canadians use that spelling.  The Irish included the “e” and the rest of the world followed their lead.  This is not the first time that there has been a difference of opinion between the Irish and the inhabitants of Great Britain .  The fine spirit produced is more important than the spelling.  Scotch is produced in two distinct styles: single malt and blended.

Single Malt Scotch

Single Malt Scotch must be the product of a malted barley wash, from a single distillery, and not blended with the neutral grain spirits.  The staggering differences among Single Malt Scotches might lead one to believe that they were produced in different countries rather than different areas of a single, small nation.  The unique characteristics of each have to do entirely with the location of the distillery.

We have already covered the process of how we get malted grain.  The drying process in Scotland adds a great deal to the ultimate flavor of the Whisky.  Peat fires are used in malting buildings that allow the smoke from the fires to interact directly with the drying grain. 

Peat is cut from the swampy bogs found throughout Great Britain and Ireland .  The smoke from a peat fire has a distinctive, strong aroma, reminiscent of petroleum, wet wool, hickory, and cedar.  The length of the drying process varies from one distillery to another.  A longer drying period will produce a more flavorful or smoky tasting whisky.  The water used to cut the whisky is also a large influence on the ultimate flavor.  Clear, cold water from streams influenced by the bogs around the distillery give each location a distinguishing flavor.  Seaside distilleries have a briny quality that marks them for the connoisseur.

Blends

Blended Scotch is made by blending scotches from more than one distillery and combining with a neutral spirit.

Brandy

Brandy is the name for a spirit with a broad interpretation.  Always a distillation of fruit must, the fruit used covers a wide range.  In this section, I will concentrate on grape brandy.  The variety is plenty to deal with even after narrowing the field down to only grapes.

The large volume producers throughout the world will produce their brandy in Coffey stills.  The Coffey still is also referred to as a continuous still, column still, or patent still.  For large production, the grapes used need only have a high sugar content to facilitate fermentation and ultimate distillation.  The flavor characteristics of the grape are secondary since most of the flavor elements will be distilled out.

American brandies that are mass-produced will spend a minimum of two years aging in wood before bottling.  To obtain a more flavorful brandy, it can be produced in smaller batches, usually in a pot or alembic still and aged in small barrels for longer periods of time.

In France , as usual, it all hinges on location.  In addition to brandies, the French produce two special products with world renown: Cognac and Armagnac .

Eau de Vie, or water of life, is a class of spirits produced throughout the world.  While the name is French, the idea is universal…distill various fruits to a high level of alcohol and enjoy.  True Eau de Vie is a clear spirit, highly aromatic, and as mentioned before, high proof.  The nose is all fruit, and the palate is usually all fire…definitely for sipping or use in cooking.  There is no aging of Eau de Vie.

In South America, especially Chile , they produce a brandy from sweet Muscat grapes called Pisco.  As a matter of fact, I think I said something like that the first time I tried it.  The style is much like Eau de Vie with a pleasant nose and a jolting taste.

On the Norman Coast of France, they produce a traditional, aged brandy produced from a local apple cider.  Known as Calvados, these brandies are rightly prized for their elegance as a sipping spirit, as well as for use in recipes.

At the end of wine production, when the grapes have been pressed to the limit, you are left with the motley-looking mess of skins, seeds, and stems generally referred to as Pomace.  In most wineries, this is brought back out into the field and spread as a sort of organic fertilizer or groundcover.  But not in Italy !  In Italy , this by-product is hauled off to the distillery.  The product is Italy ’s revenge on the world for the Barbarian attack on the Roman Empire .  Grappa, a spirit to be discussed, deeply contemplated, but rarely consumed.  To be fair, there are some modern Grappas that are less fiery and more palatable than the traditional styles, but consider yourself forewarned.

To get the feel for Irish Whiskey, refer back to the section on Scotch.  A Cliff Notes description would be to add the “e” to whisky and subtract the peat smoke treatment from the malting process.  Irish Whiskey is produced from the same Malted Barley mash as Scotch and is most often sold as a blended spirit.  Single Malt Irish Whiskey is available, but rare.  Take it out of the Irish coffee and sip it on its own some time.  The flavor does not mix well with traditional cocktail mixes, but the taste is warm and welcoming, much like the Irish people.

Regulations as to the content and method of production for Canadian Whisky are few and far between.  The mash may consist of corn, rye, barley, malted barley, or rye and is aged in used oak barrels for at least three years.  All Canadian Whisky is a blend of neutral spirits with flavoring spirits distilled at a lower proof.  This blend of neutral and flavoring spirits produces a light bodied and easy drinking spirit, good for mixing or sipping of the higher quality brands.

Liqueurs are produced in most countries on the face of the earth.  Production usually includes soaking local herbs, flowers, fruits and vegetables in alcohol and cooking to extract flavor, then adding syrup to sweeten the brew.  Rules barely exist except for the purity of the product and most recipes are ancient secrets or patented and copy-protected.

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