I ask because I like good single malt scotch. A good scotch warms your heart, and is so smooth! Recently, I was given a bottle of “Suntory” 12-year old malt whiskey. I was eager to try it, because I had heard that the man who founded Suntory was obsessed with making scotch whiskey. He built a distiller in Japan, with stills imported from Scotland, and hired master distillers from Scotland as well. He even went as far as importing scottish WATER!-all this to try to duplicate the scots process of making whiskey!
Well, to be very frank, he should have saved his money-this Suntory single malt tastes awful! In fact, it is worse than the cheapest blended scotch I have ever tasted-it is harsh, and burns the throat!
So exactly what are the Scots hiding? How does (or is it even possible) to make good scotch whiskey outside of Scotland?
Perhaps the Suntory distiller didn’t import his peat from Scotland. The smoky (and to some philistines, overbearing) nature of scotch comes from the peat used to malt the barley.
1: Their stated mission is to make whisky that Japanese like the taste of not Anglos.
2: They do not use Scottish water
3: This blender does not look like a Scotsman to me
http://www.suntory.com/esuntory/spirits/establishing/1.html
Suntory whiskey is made using Japanese water; the barley is malted with Scottish peat, though less than in Scotland. The “master distiller” was a Japanese chemist who studied whiskey-making in Scotland.
The original goal of Suntory was to make whiskey that could pass for Scotch, but wouldn’t be subject to import fees; this held an enormous economic advantage, and led the way to a revolution in Japanese bars.
I don’t know if this is still true, but I’ve heard that Suntory used to test their products by chemistry (gas chomatography) instead of tasting.
Well, one secret the Scottish have is using the spelling “whisky” for their product, rather than “whiskey” as the Americans use. Can’t remember offhand how the Irish and Canadians spell their lovely brown beverages, but the Japanese, to go by astro’s quote above seem to have adopted that Scottish trick as well.
Irish and Americans spell it “whiskey”
Canadians and Scots spell it “whisky”
You guys really need to try Irish Whiskey. The two major differences between (good) Irish and Scotch are:
Scotch malted barley is dried using peat fires - including the peat smoke whereas the Irish just use hot air (who would have guessed)
Scotch whisky is distilled twice but Irish whiskey is distilled three times and then watered down to the required strength with demineralised water.
The results of these are:
Scotch has a more peaty flavour eg Talisker
Irish is much more smooth (the third distillation)
Bourbon is only distilled once and makes an excellent paint remover.
*Pergau, there are five generally recognized varieties of Scotch, based on the region in which they are made: Highland, Lowland, Campbeltown, Speyside, and Islay.
Your generalization, above, is incomplete. Islay malts are most noted for a peaty or smokey flavor; Highland malts are least known for such flavor, and the others run in between.
Even within these five areas, there is a huge variant as between labels, and two bottles of Highland malts can be very different.
- Rick
Also, the Scots piss in theirs. Your typical Japanese urine is redolent of sashimi and wasabi and soy, and doesn’t have the strong uric overtones one achieves in an oatmeal and haggis-heavy diet.
– Uke, sticking to Irish and Bourbon, thank you very much
Bricker, Of course you’re right and some single malt scotches are fantastic. I was just trying to give the broad differences between Irish and Scotch.
I personally think that the blended stuff is responsible for any bad impressions that people have of the stuff.
Seriously Uke can you name a Bourbon that you consider nice. All we get over here is Jack Daniels and Southern comfort type syrup.
I am not Uke, but I can tell you that neither Jack Daniel’s nor Southern Comfort are bourbon. Jack is Tennessee whiskey which is made similar to bourbon but charcoal filtered. This is supposed to make it smoother. I think it takes away flavor. Southern comfort is a sweetened drink fit for neither man nor beast.
If you can find any Wild Turkey you will have a real Kentucky bourbon. The standard 8 year old 101 proof is a good drink and as cheap as I am willing to go for my bourbon. They also offer specialty bourbons such as Russel’s Reserve which is supposedly hand picked and aged 10 years. Very nice. The barrel select is also good. Their best is/was the 12 year old variety which is no longer available. Sadly I finished my last bottle some time ago and have nothing but the alcohol dimmed memories. I am wondering if it is no longer available because of the fire at their warehouse where thousands of gallons of bourbon went up in smoke or spilled in the adjacent river.
I have recently tried a brand called Blantons which was also very good. It is however pretty expensive and to my taste not significantly better than the significantly less expensive Wild Turkey.
As far as Scotch goes, I never developed a taste for it and since it can be pretty expensive I am happy to stick with my “paint remover”.
John
So I guess the conclusion is: it is IMPOSSIBLE to make single-malt scotch whisky OUTSIDE of Scotland?
Suppose you used scottish peat, scottish water, scottish grain-would you be able to make it in the USA or japan?
If you made it in the USA it would be an American whisky and if you made it in Japan it would be a Japanese whisky. It would never be a Scotch whisky.
I’m not Uke, but regarding bourbons:
If you can find it, Old Rip Van Winkle kicks ass. Small distillery, award-winning, incredible taste, each bottle hand-numbered, the whole shpiel. It’s probably available to buy online.
I draw your attention to the fact that the Irish invented whiskey. The word is a corruption of the Irish words uisce beatha (roughly pronounced “ishka ba ha”) which means water of life.
We tried to teach the Scots how to do it when we owned part of their west coast (then known as Dal Riada). Unfortunately, they never got the point. They try to cure distilling defects by blending, rather than distilling it properly. They can’t even spell the word properly, in English or in Scots Gaelic.
In blind taste tests, most Americans prefer the taste of good Irish whiskey to “good” scotch or the sad imitations spawned in local US distillerys Unfortunately, most Americans never get the chance to taste good Irish whiskey. Poor sad creatures. It should be a civil right of all Americans
With apologies to Thing 1, good bourbons do exist, but Wild Turkey ain’t one of them. Blanton’s, however, is superb (expensive, but worth every penny). I’ve never tried Old Rip Van Winkle, but I’ll take occ’s word for it. Maker’s Mark is less expensive (not cheap though), and also very good (nowhere near Blanton’s though). Knob Creek is another good one, 100 proof.
No apologies necessary shelbo. Taste is a very personal thing. I did however see Wild Turkey rated in a book as a good bourbon and an excellent value. I will try to put a title and publlisher with that when I get a chance. I have never tried Maker’s Mark or Knob Creek so have no way to compare. Have you tried any of Wild Turkey’s premium offerings? So many Bourbons, so little time. I did recently see a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle recently at a local store. I will have to pony up the cash and give it a shot on occ’s recomendation.
John
An excellent bourbon I have recently made the acquaintance of is Elijah Craig. IMO, it’s better than Maker’s Mark, and about as good as Knob Creek, and it’s cheaper. (About $19/bottle, compared to $22 for MM and $32 for KC, 'round these parts)
Cite or Site, please? 
P.S. My husband is Scottish on his father’s side, and I’ve never seen either of them piss in their whiskey!