In the past Scotch grain whisky was
often thought of as being a neutral
spirit which is mixed with malt whiskies
to make blended whisky. Today with the
increasing popularity of whisky, whisky
drinkers have become aware that grain
whisky is not the neutral spirit it was
once thought to be and we are even seeing
original distillery bottlings as well as bottlings from independent bottlers
such as Cadenheads, Signatory and
Douglas Laing.
Grain whisky distillation begins when
the grain, usually wheat, maize (called
"corn" in North America) or unmalted
barley, is mashed with water. An enzyme,
needed to break down starches in the
grain to sugars, is added, followed by
yeast to begin fermentation.
Grain whisky is distilled in a
continuous operation in a Patent still,
also known as a Coffey still. The Coffey
Still was invented by Robert Stein, a
Clackmananshire distiller. However, the
design was patented in 1831 by a Dublin
excise man named Aeneas Coffey, hence
the name.
Once distilled, the grain whisky is
matured just like malt whisky in oak
barrels and must age for a minimum of 3
years to be called Scotch whisky.
Only seven grain distilleries are
currently in operation, most located in
the Lowlands (central Scotland). They
produce the majority of spirit (whisky
before it has been aged) used in blended
whisky.
Current operational Scotch Grain Whisky
distilleries:
Cameron Bridge in Fife
North British Distillery in
Gorgie, Edinburgh
Invergordon
Strathclyde in the Gorbals,
Glasgow
Girvan
Loch Lomond Distillery in
Alexandria
Starlaw Distillery in Livingston
(opened 2011)
Closed Scotch Grain Whisky distilleries:
Dumbarton (1938–2002)
Carsebridge in Alloa (1925–1983)
Caledonian in Haymarket,
Edinburgh (1855–1988)
Cambus in Tullibody (1806–1993)
Port Dundas (1813–2009) in
Glasgow
With the increase in popularity in
Scotch whisky in recent years we are now
seeing the release of Single Grain
Scotch Whisky, which as its name
suggests, is unblended grain whisky from
a single grain distillery. These single
grain whiskies tend to be well aged,
often over 30 years old. It is still
rare to find a distillery bottling but
there are some excellent independent
bottlings available from whisky
specialist shops such as
The Whisky Exchange
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Grain whisky distillation begins when
the grain, usually wheat, maize (called
"corn" in North America) or unmalted
barley, is mashed with water. An enzyme,
needed to break down starches in the
grain to sugars, is added, followed by
yeast to begin fermentation.
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