Making of whisky

Barley is the only cereal used to make malt whisky and no other cereal can impart such flavour. Blended whisky uses percentages of malt whisky for character and flavour, but the bulk for consistency and volume is made up from grain, which has much less flavour.

Malted barley is barley that has been tricked into thinking its springtime and time to start germinating. This activity coverts enzymes into starch to provide energy for the growing season. This starch is later converted into sugars which when added to yeast in the right environment ferments and start producing alcohol (beer). Distilling this ‘beer’ produces a more refined and stronger alcohol, which becomes a spirit.

There are six defined procedures involved in producing a malt whisky, these are listed in order on the right.

Inside the barley grain