The historical origin of whisky

As of 20 14, the origin of whisky has not been verified, but it is certain that Scotland has been producing whisky for more than 500 years, so it is generally believed that it is the birthplace of all whiskies.

According to the Scotch Whisky Association, Scotch whisky is developed from a drink called "Uisge Beatha" (meaning "water of life").

/kloc-in the 0/5th century, Scotch whisky was more used as a cold medicine.

1 1 century, Irish monks arrived in Scotland to spread the gospel and brought the distillation technology of scotch whisky.

1780, there are only 8 legal wineries, but there are more than 400 illegal wineries, large and small. They can only cut corners to produce whisky, and the reputation of scotch whisky is getting "corrupted" day by day.

1823, the British parliament promulgated the consumption tax bill, which created a relatively relaxed tax environment for legal wineries and vigorously "encircled" illegal wineries, thus greatly promoting the development of the scotch whisky industry.

183 1 year, Scotland introduced a column distiller, which can be used for continuous distillation, greatly improving the distillation efficiency, thus reducing the price of whisky and making it more popular. Irish historians believe that the oldest Scottish brewery (Iszlai on Ella Island) is located opposite Ireland, while the oldest whisky brewery Irish Bushmills was formally established in 1608.

They also proved that the brewery had been in production for some time before it was formally established. They used the words in 1602 Description of Pembrokeshire published in Britain to prove their conclusion: "Most immigrants from Ireland used to be craftsmen, who produced a lot of' distilled liquor' and then sold it in Britain on horses and mules". Scottish historians defend their views by showing the earliest written records about brewing distilled liquor from barley.

These records were found in the Scottish document 1494. In the chronicle of the British Treasury at that time, it was recorded that "Brother John Cortland was paid 8 barrels of wheat for brewing distilled liquor." (Eight-ball malt is given to monk Jhon Keely to make wine) This wheat is enough to produce more than 65,438+0,000 liters of wine. * * * Regarding the origin of whisky, both Irish whisky and Scotch whisky admit that they have a common ancestor, that is, "water of life (distilled liquor)" (called aqua vitae in Latin and uisge beatha in Welsh). Later, it gradually became scotch whisky and Irish whisky. The classification of whisky is mainly based on raw materials, storage time, alcohol content and origin.

According to different raw materials, whisky can be divided into single malt whisky, grain whisky and rye whisky.

According to the storage time of whisky in oak barrels, it can be divided into varieties of different years, such as several years to decades. All Scotch whiskies are required to be aged in oak barrels for at least 3 years.

According to the alcohol content, whisky can be divided into whiskies with different alcohol contents such as 40-60 degrees. The typical classification method of whisky is that according to the different places of origin and countries, whisky can be divided into four categories: Scotch whisky, Irish whisky, American whisky and Canadian whisky, Japanese whisky and whisky from other countries. Scotch whisky, originated in Scotland, is made from dried barley malt with unique flavor produced by peat fumigation. The brewing process includes six steps: soaking barley in water for germination, drying, crushing malt, adding water into a tank for saccharification, adding yeast into a barrel for fermentation, twice distilling, aging and mixing.

Scotch whisky can be divided into four categories: single malt, pure malt, mixed whisky and grain whisky.

It must be stored in Scotland for at least 3 years, 15 ~ 20 years is the best quality finished wine. After more than 20 years, the quality will decline, and the color will be brownish yellow and reddish, clear and translucent, with a burnt smell and a strong smoke smell. American Whiskey The main classification methods of American whiskey are: according to the basic production process (pure whiskey, mixed whiskey and light whiskey), according to the grain used (bourbon, rye whiskey, corn whiskey, wheat whiskey and malt whiskey), according to the fermentation process (sour malt whiskey and sweet malt whiskey), according to the filtration process (Tennessee whiskey) and according to the national regulatory system (bonded)

Corn and other grains are used as raw materials and are native to the southern United States. Corn with wheat as brewing material is fermented and distilled, and stored in oak barrels with charred inside for 2-3 years.

When bottling, add a certain amount of distilled water to dilute. American whisky is not as strong as scotch whisky, but it has a unique oak flavor. Irish whiskey Irish whiskey can be divided into four categories: canned whiskey, grain whiskey, whiskey single malt whiskey and mixed whiskey.

Features: soft, as if burning in the mouth.

Originated in Ireland, it is brewed from wheat, barley, rye and other malt. After three times of distillation. Then it is aged in a barrel, which usually takes 8- 15 years.

Mix and dilute with water when bottling. Because the raw materials have not been smoked and baked with peat, they have no burnt taste, and the taste is soft and long, which is suitable for making mixed wine and other drinks. Canadian Whiskey The history of Canadian Whiskey began on the shores of Lake Ontario./kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, British immigrants built the first brewery here. Canadian whisky was influenced by the French, who produced rum in Quebec in the18th century. Under the influence of winemaker HiramWalker, Canadian whisky developed rapidly in the 1950s.

It is mainly brewed by mixing rye, corn and barley, and stored in wooden barrels for 4 years, 6 years, 7 years and 10 years after secondary distillation. Blending should be carried out before sale. Canadian whisky smells fresh and tastes light and comfortable. Many North Americans like this wine. Japanese Whiskey The first truly original Japanese whisky was born in 1929, but for a long time, Japan imported germinated barley from highland to produce distilled liquor, and the Japanese only blended it and aged it, and kept the Scottish name.

There is a city in Japan called Ashinomachi, just to be able to call local whisky in Scottish.

Whisky produced in Japan is mainly made of barley (corn), distilled by copper pot still or continuous still, and aged in barrels filled with sherry or port wine. Whiskey legends in other countries say that as long as the British have been to places, they can find imitations of whisky, most of which are distributed in India, while Oceania people produce whisky according to the traditional Scottish way.