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Whisky Glen Keith, il distillato scozzese per eccellenza

Whiskey Glen Keith: the distillate born in the Scottish lands. It evokes colorful moorlands of heather plants and vast expanses of green.

Whiskey Glen Keith, its land of origin and its characteristics:
Also known as the noblest of cereal distillates, varied and multiform, the Whiskey was born in Scotland or Ireland.
Connoisseurs love to enjoy it straight, or with a few drops of water it is a never banal explosion of olfactory and tasting notes. Every sip is a journey, so make yourself comfortable: ours is about to begin.

Already in the fifteenth century the monks were dedicated to its realization: the Gaelic expression uisge beatha,
translation of the Latin acqua vitae, in the 18th century it became usky and then whiskey.

The main raw materials are spring water, yeast and cereals such as barley, corn, rye, oats and wheat.

Furthermore, other factors, such as water, fermentation and distillation techniques, can also play a role in the production and maturation process.
Even the wood of the barrels, the time and places of aging and the refinement choices of the distillate are fundamental for the success of an excellent distillate.

Malt, grain and blended whiskeys are the most significant types, from which there are further variants.

The classic malt whiskey produced in Scotland is called Single Malt, made from only malted barley and from a single distillery.
When instead the whiskeys of pure golden malt, coming from different distilleries, are blended together, a Vatted is obtained, indicated as Pure Malt.

Malt whiskey
Whiskey Glen is made only with malted barley, together with elements such as pure water low in minerals, yeast and generally peat.
Also known as Malt Whiskey, it is a version with a strong and more particular character than the blended and has its own typicality, which derives from the distillery of origin and from the properties of human and climatic factors.

The grains of ripe and dry barley are immersed in maceration tanks for 2-3 days,
so that they absorb the water necessary for germination.
Once the excess water is removed, the wet barley is spread on the floor of well-ventilated buildings, the malting houses,
in layers of 40-50 cm, turning it over with mechanical systems or, very rarely, by hand, with shovels.

The grains sprout and the starch is transformed into maltose thanks to the action of enzymes.
After about 7-8 days, the germination of the malt is stopped by adding hot air, which can be obtained with or without the use of peat, a conglomerate of shrubs, branches, heather and leaves, which will give the barley its typical aroma. and smoky taste.

We then proceed with the grinding and production of a flour, which, when added to water at about 65-70 ° C, is placed in the infusion vats; in these the mixture is mixed for a few hours, in order to extract the soluble sugars.
The boiling must not yet fermented is filtered and cooled to 20 ° C, transferred to large tanks, in which selected yeasts are added and fermentation begins.

In 48-112 hours the fermentation produces foam and heat, to form a liquid with 7-9% alcohol.

We proceed with the distillation phase in the typical copper stills, whose shape influences the very character of the Whiskey.

The first distillation produces a liquid that contains about 20-24% alcohol, called low wine. From the second distillation, in a second still, whiskey is obtained with an initial alcohol content between 65-72 degrees.

It then goes on to aging in oak barrels, it will be cured ex bourbon or ex sherry and where it will also mature for decades.

Glen Keith Whiskey
We at Cupid Selections select only the best distilleries, who know the raw material and know how to work it.
We want you to live a unique experience, an unforgettable distillate tasting, whose memory lasts over time, to be shared and savored to extract all the pleasure.

The Glen Keith Whiskey comes from the Glen Keith distillery and has a delicate and fruity character.

A 24 year old Glen Keith Single Malt distilled in 1995 and aged in a single ex-bourbon hogshead cask for more than two decades, before being bottled in September 2020. A great example of elegance, clarity and freshness in pure Speyside style.

Its appearance is a characteristic gold color and in the glass it reveals the aroma of vanilla, lemon grass, lemon cake and white flowers.

On the palate it is delicate and creamy: the initial minerality and freshness opens enriching itself with a harmonious aftertaste of custard, almond milk and shotbread

The tasting ends with a herbaceous character and hints of white flowers: you just have to taste it!

Barbados Rum Barbados Rum

Rum Barbados: one of the finest spirits in the world

Rum Barbados: a soft, light and fresh spirit, a unique and precious spirit to be tasted by closing your eyes.
A rum aged for 20 years in bourbon barrels and takes its name from the small church that stands next to the distillery. This is how one of the most refined spirits in the world is born.
Rum: the distillate of sugar cane
Rum Barbados is a distillate produced throughout the equatorial belt where sugar cane is grown, from which it derives. It is called Rum in English-speaking countries, Ron in Spanish-speaking countries and Rhum in French-speaking countries.

Sugar cane, Saccharum officinarum, is a herbaceous plant that has its natural habitat in subtropical countries, characterized by temperate climatic conditions and an absence of strong temperature changes. It is a plant native to tropical Asia, known since 200 BC. and introduced in Europe by the Arabs, first in Spain (700 AD) and then in Sicily (900 AD).

For many centuries, cane sugar remained a rare product, initially used only for medicinal purposes. In fact, it only spread towards the end of the fifteenth century, when Christopher Columbus took some plants in the Azores and transported them to the western colonies to obtain sugar and rum. Today that area is the most important for the cultivation of sugar cane.

Extraction of cane sugar
This plant reaches a height of 2.5-3 meters and its harvest takes place in the period between February and July: once by hand, with the use of large machetes, nowadays modern agricultural machines are exploited to help in the topping of the cane and the elimination of the leaves, leaving only the stem, which represents the richest part of sugar (up to 15-20%).

We then move on to the pressing and defibration phase of the stems, extracting a high-density sugary juice, called vesou. The latter is filtered, decanted and fermented with yeasts called caipiria. Following the fermentation, the distillation takes place inside discontinuous stills to give the agricultural Rum, obtained from the juice of the sugar cane. This brandy represents only 10% of the Rums on the market and its complexity makes it predisposed to aging.

Inside the sugar refineries most of the vesou is processed to extract the cane sugar. Rum is obtained from a by-product of sugar processing: molasses. This contains residual sugars and is the result of the fermentation of water added to selected yeasts.

The distillation
The distillation phase takes place in continuous column apparatus, from which industrial Rum is obtained, which is neutral and very prone to aging and possible mixing.

The forms of distillation vary according to the area, but the most used is the column still. In the production of smooth Rums, the most important phase of distillation is aging, carried out in oak barrels from various areas of the world.

The types of Rum
There are different types of Rum, from the Blanco or White, the unaged Rum up to the Gold Label, the Rum with a short aging in wood.

Then there are the Dark or Black Label, or dark Rums that are characterized by the addition of caramel.

When we find bottles with labels showing the age, they are products that have had a short period of rest in wooden barrels.

The areas of origin
Many Rums are flavored with cactus juice, raisins, vanilla, caramel or orange peel, which add color and complexity.

The area of ​​origin also affects the final quality of the Rum and the most famous is the Caribbean Sea area.

Cuba produces large quantities of sugar cane, from which sugar exported all over the world is obtained, but also excellent Spanish Ron, lighter, obtained from molasses and distilled in continuous plants.

In Jamaica Rum is obtained from molasses with a distillation in column plants. Then we have Puerto Rico, the smallest of the Greater Antilles, and the largest rum producer in the world. This industrial rum is obtained from molasses and distilled in column plants and exported throughout the United States.

Rum is also the national drink par excellence of the Dominican Republic, where sugar cane plantations extend all over the southern coast. To the east we find the Republic of Haiti, which produces very delicate, gentle and soft Rums, ideal to be enjoyed with a good cigar.

Barbados is the easternmost island of the Lesser Antilles, whose economy is based on the cultivation of sugar cane.

Rum Brbados is rated as one of the best ever, intense and complex in aromas, with a very silky and delicate taste.

Rum Barbados Saint Lucy 20 years
Cuspid Selections has selected this Barbados Rum, bottled at barrel strength and aged for 20 years in bourb barrels

CUSPID SELECTION, SPIRIT, WOOD AND TIME: RAW MATERIALS OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY AND RESEARCH TO CREATE THE BEST DISTILLATES FROM THE WORLD WITH THE UNMISTAKABLE ITALIAN STYLE.

Parma, 31 August 2021 – Cuspid Spirit, the all-Italian brand was born in Parma in 2020 with the aim of bringing the best spirits from the world to the market and giving life to a unique product of excellence, to be savored slowly, rediscovering the flavor of weather.

 

The process that leads to obtaining fine spirits derives from careful research for the selection of the best raw materials, attention to detail and continuous experimentation.
The barrels that are selected are then subjected to the refinement process. Time is the main ingredient that makes the flavor of Cuspid spirits evolve and enhance them to the maximum, which at the appropriate time are bottled and “dressed” to be sold on the market.

Each reference is a unique, limited edition copy. To ensure the highest quality of the product, the bottling takes place without any adulteration of the original distillate to keep its authenticity intact.

Each drink is designed to be savored calmly and unleash an exclusive and unmistakable sensory journey.

If the origin of the raw materials goes from South America to the Scottish Highlands, to the heart of France, the taste and the “dress” of the bottles are all Italian.
The Cuspid Spirt labels follow the theme of travel and history, navigation as a symbol of discovery and experience: the whale, an animal as huge as it is graceful, combines with the elegance and minerality of Whiskey Glen Keith, the pride of the orca stands out on the bottle of peaty and marine Caol Ila; the turtle with its tenacity recalls the flavors of Rum Barbados Saint Lucy and the lion fish with its uniqueness embellishes the Rum Demerara a concert of exotic fruit, enveloping and persistent, with a taste that is difficult to forget.

A tailor-made product of the highest quality, able to satisfy the refined tastes of spirits lovers. The result of the work of wood and time give a product that is intact, pure and at the same time extremely versatile, able to bring even newbies closer thanks to its ability to tailor customer preferences.

 

As in a journey to unexplored territories, even in Cuspid Spirit there are news on the horizon, including the new selection of Cognac Petite Champagne from France, with a limited edition of 125 bottles and with a new label, this time with a heraldic theme which, with the unmistakable style of Cuspid, will carry the coat of arms of the region to which it belongs and will outline the character of the distillate.

 

Wednesday 1st September from 3.00 pm at the Buyers’s Lounge bar, it will be possible to attend the tasting of Cuspid Spirit spirits and receive information on the selections of the Italian brand’s products.

We look forward to seeing you at CIBUS 2021 at the Parma Fairs until 3 September.

Discovering spirits: what they are, how to choose them, which spirits to buy online

Discovering spirits: from origins to tasting and online purchase advice.

Spirits: what they are and their origins
Medieval Galenic science defined them as water of life, but their alcohol content makes them drinks to be savored in small quantities. Vigorous, but also soft and elegant, the distillates or spirits are mixtures of water and alcohol, the result of the distillation of fermented raw materials, almost always of vegetable origin, such as cereals, wine, pomace, sugar cane, potatoes, juniper berries and various fruits.

Distillato derives from the Latin destillatio, where it indicates a downward movement and STILLATIO means to evaporate a liquid.

The spread of spirits begins in the Mediterranean, more precisely from the Salernitana School, to continue towards the great North and the Americas. In both hemispheres there is a strip of land where the climate is temperate and suitable for viticulture: two initially distilled raw materials are obtained from the vine: wine and pomace.

From the Mediterranean to Northern Europe
Between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Arabs perfected the still which later allowed the monks to begin the first distillations of essential oils and alcoholic liquids, mainly used for curative purposes. During the preparations it was discovered that some distillates were pleasant on the palate.

Subsequently began the production of wine spirits such as Cognac and Armagnac in France, Brandy in Italy and Spain, but also Grappa in Italy. It was discovered that aging in wood improved the quality of the distillate and since then many are left to rest in small barrels, to refine it and enrich it with pleasant fragrances.

In the Nordic countries the climate was not favorable for viticulture and the raw materials were different; Thus was born the Calvados deriving from apples, the Slivovitz from plums and plums. The agriculture of those countries provided starchy cereals and potatoes, which could be fermented and subsequently distilled, giving rise to Whiskey, Gin and Vodka.

Thanks to the first explorations, with the discovery of the tropical regions of the new world, sugar cane was discovered, with which rum was produced. In the United States, bourbon, corn and rye whiskey are produced using maize and rye.

The American proof
On the labels of the bottles of overseas distillates, the percentage by volume of ethyl alcohol and the indication in proof must be reported, i.e. the empirical test for the evaluation of the alcohol content of a drink. This procedure was already performed at the time of the conquest of the West and consisted in wetting a little gunpowder with the liquid to be tested and then setting it on fire: if the powder burned completely then the greater presence of ethyl alcohol could be confirmed. From this derives the American proof measure which is equivalent to 0.5% ethyl alcohol, therefore a 90 proof distillate contains 45% alcohol.

Main categories
The Whiskey
Vodka
Gin
Brandy: Grappa, Cognac, Armagnac and Brandy
Fruit distillates: Calvados, Tequila, Absinthe
Sugar cane: Rum, Cachaça
Rice: Samu, Arrak, Ruang-koa and Loa-tuan
Distillate production: from must to aging
Starting from the raw materials, which must be of high quality, an initial must is prepared. The following phases are: fermentation of the yeasts, distillation and final stabilization, with a possible aging in barrels.

If the raw materials are fruits that contain simple sugars, just crush them to get the juice. As for cereals and potatoes, which contain complex sugars, the procedure is different. Enzymes are introduced that break down the glucose chains that form starch, under particular conditions of temperature and pressure, to then allow the yeasts to carry out their task.

The fermentation
With the must thus obtained, specific yeast cultures are added, which produce a quantity of ethyl alcohol between 5-12%, together with secondary substances, essential for the quality of the distillate. This process takes about 3-4 days at a temperature between 18 and 25 ° C.

The distillation
During this phase the volatile components, which give the herbaceous component, separate according to the different boiling point. The fermented product heats up to a state of vapor, followed by recondensation to liquid and cooling. The master distiller collects the first fraction of the distillate while the second fraction containing substances with a fruity aroma constitutes the heart of the distillate.

The production continues with the use of distillation columns and stills until stabilization, when the alcoholic degrees are reduced. After refrigeration at -10 / -20 ° C, the final touch-up phase is carried out, in which it is possible to add a maximum of 2% of sugar, to give more softness.