Know what you drink

SINGLE MALT

Malt whisky is made from malted barley, water, and yeast. The liquid is then distilled in enormous copper pot stills and subsequently refined in whisky barrels for at least three years. Single malt whisky is produced in only one distillery in the Scottish region. All Cuspid whisky is strictly single malt.

GRAIN WHISKY

In this case malted barley is blended with ordinary barley with the addition of other grains such as corn and wheat. Water and yeast are added to the mixture and then it is distilled in a high still (Coffey still) which is very different to traditional stills. It produces a larger amount of alcohol at a superior gradation.

BLENDED WHISKY

The production of blended whisky requires mixing different single malt with grain whisky which is a complex procedure. Blended whisky came about in the XIX century, when a choice was made to export a milder whisky compared to the traditional single malt. The mixing phase is a very delicate one, because each individual whisky coming from different distilleries has different characteristics which aren’t easy to combine together in one product.

1. MALTED BARLEY

The barley is immersed into tanks of water which are sitting on the malting processor, so as to aid germination and after that it is left to dry out in an oven before being grinded. Towards the end of the malting process, other than the hot air used to dry it out, the barley then undergoes the smoking process, by means of combustion of the peat. The smokegives the malted barley aroma and a strong peaty flavour which is typical of certain whisky. Since the 1970’s the malting process is not carried out within a distillery, but it is processed in mecchanical malthouses.

2. MIXING THE GROUND BARLEY AND ADDING THE YEAST

Ground barley which is called ’Grist’ is mixed with warm water in a container which is called a ‘mash tun’.The result is a sugary liquid, malted must, which is called ‘Wort’. It is then transferred into enormous tanks which are called washback, that’s when the yeast is added. At this point the liquid is left to ferment, and the sugar converts to alcoholic gradation – approximately at 8% proof. This liquid is called wash.

3. DISTILLATION

The wash is then heated in two copper stills, which are respectively called wash, still, and spirit still. Only the very best part of the alcoholic liquid produced is then poured into oak barrels and left to age. The distillate is then diluted (using the same water with which it was distilled) reaching a 64,5 gradation.

4. AGEING PROCESS

Which barrels are used for the ageing process? Normally they are oak, because it’s a porous type of wood – which means that it maintains all the previous components of the distillate or wine it contained before. Normally American (ex-bourbon) barrels are used, which give the distillate a golden colour and a sweet aroma; spanish barrels are also used (ex sherry, or in rarer cases, ex port or madeira), which acquirestronger colours and a long-lasting caramel flavour. Whilst ageing, the size of the barrel, and the climate in which it is preserved, makes a difference. Once the ageing process is over, the whisky can be diluted to a 40% alcoholic gradationthat’s the minimal legal requirement for it to be considered whisky). When whisky is not diluted, it is usually at approx 60%, it is called Cask Strength.

SPONTANEOUS/NATURAL
FERMENTATION

Natural fermentation depends on the micro-organisms which are naturally present in the enviroment or in the sugar-cane juice. It is produced in tuns, in the open-air, and it may take from one to two weeks. Small distilleries, in particular in the area of Haiti, are still using this type of fermentation to produce rum today.

CONTROLLED FERMENTATION
(IN BATCH)

In this case, yeast that is grown in laboratories is used, and thereafter it is mixed with the must. This type of fermentation lasts two or three days and allows a certain amount of alcohol to riproduce constantly and it acquires a specific range of aromas. Many distilleries have been cultivating their own blocks of yeast for years, which in turn becomes their trademark for the rum that is subsequently produced.

CONTROLLED FERMENTATION
(CONTINUOUS PROCESS)

In continuous fermentation process, typical in the rum industry, the fermentation vat is always full and is continuously fed with molasses. This allows the yeast to remain active and toaccelerate thetime taken to produce it, and the quantity produced.

PASSED DISTILLATION (BATCH)

This technique requires continuous interruptions of the still, to clean it, and leave it to rest, before beginning a new distillation. I’s the most traditional method of distillation: it gives rum a superior quality, at the expense of the speed with which it is produced, typical of industrial time lengths.

COLUMN DISTILLATION (CONTINUOUS PROCESSING)

There is no need to pause when using two or three self-powered columns, once they have been filled. They are made upof different plates of concentration through which vapours circulate. Column distillation allows to accurately control the aromatic level of the rum. The lighter vapours reach up to the top plate of the column, whereas the heavier ones remain at the bottom plates.