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Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Cocktails & Spirits
Whiskey Glossary
Page 4: Terms Starting With P-S
This glossary is a companion piece to our overview article about whiskey, Whiskey 101. Please contact us if you’d like to suggest additional terms. The Whiskey Glossary is just one of more than 60 NIBBLE Food Glossaries. Take a look at the entire collection.
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Peat: Material formed by decaying matter found in bog land (also known as turf in Ireland). It is used as a fuel (among other purposes), and traditionally used in Scotland as the fuel for drying the malted barley. This gives Scotch whisky its distinctive smoky flavor, often called “peatiness.” The distiller can control the amount of peatiness in the flavor
Poteen: An Irish term for an illicit spirit traditionally previously made from malted barley, occasionally from potatoes. Today it is more commonly made from molasses.
Pot Still: A copper container in which the distillation process takes place. The heating of the contents of the still produces vapors containing the alcohol, which is separated from the water.
Pot Still Whiskey or Pure Pot Still Whiskey: The traditional name for Irish whiskey that is produced from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley and distilled in a pot still.
Run: Clear alcohol-rich liquid produced by the distilling process.
Rye Whiskey: Rye whiskies are produced in both the U.S. and Canada. Ryes such as Jim Beam (U.S.) and Canadian Club are often quite assertive in flavor, with more than 51% rye in the mash. See also Bourbon.
Scotch or Scottish Whiskey: Whiskey from Scotland, informally known as Scotch, has a distinctive flavor attributed to the barley used in the mash. Scotland has  internationally protected the term Scotch; for a whiskey to be labeled as such, it must be produced in Scotland. The process begins with malted barley dried over peat fires, which gives a smoky flavor. The barley is then usually aged for at least three years. There are more than 120 brands of Scotch comprising three main styles: Blended Scotch (normally mixed with soda, e.g. Johnnie Walker Red Label), Premium Scotch (drunk neat, e.g. Jonnie Walker Blue Label, Chivas Regal) and Single Malt Scotch (drunk neat—see more below). Within each style, each maker has a process and “recipe” that accounts for the variation in flavor: the type of water used, the char on the oak cask, how long the product is aged in oak casks before bottling, the temperature of the warehouse during aging, etc. Scotch whiskey types include blends, single grains, single malts and vatted malts. A bottle simply labeled “Scotch Whisky” is likely to be a blend.
Single Cask Scotch: A single malt Scotch that contains whiskey from a single-cask. If it is not designated “single cask,” the bottle it will contain whiskey from many casks, so the blender can achieve a blended taste that fits the flavor profile of the distillery.
Single-Grain Scotch: There are two basic types of Scotch, malt and grain. Malt is made entirely from malted barley; Grain is made from malted and unmalted barley, along with other grains, and used in blends. However, now is some “Single Grain” Scotch is being made from barley only.
Single-Malt Scotch: A malt whiskey made by a single distillery and only from a malt mash, i.e.,  unmixed with either grain or pot still whiskeys. While by law single-malt Scotch must be at least three years old, malt whiskies don’t reach peak drinking until they are 10 years or older. Thus, distillers have to carry the inventory and don’t see their money for a decade or longer. Single malt Scotch grew to prominence after World War II. Each area produces a very discernable flavor profile, from highland mountain heather to peat and seaweed from the islands to earthiness in-between. Single malts from the Scottish Lowland are relatively muted in flavor (e.g. Glenkinchie, MacLeods), the Highland malts are at the other end of the spectrum, assertive (Dalmore, Dalwhinnie), while Speyside is known for the most complex flavors—floral, fruity, grassy (e.g. Balvenie, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet). The island of Islay produces peaty whiskies (e.g. Bruichladdich, Laphroaig), and the smaller islands their own distinctive products (e.g. the island of Skye has only one single-malt distillery, Talisker, whose style is a bit peaty but largely peppery). However, because the flavor so closely mirrors the distillery in which it was produced, there is great variation in taste from brand to brand.
Straight Whiskey: A whiskey aged in newly-charred oak barrels for a minimum of two years. Only water is added to dilute the alcohol, which can only be reduced to 80 proof. Examples include Bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and Rye.
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