Whisky Glossary
Here you will find, in alphabetical order, terms related to Whisky and their respective short definitions. Clicking on the term will take you to a more detailed description of the term.
- A
- ABV
- Alcohol by volume â Proportion of alcohol by volume (not weight).
- additive maturation
- Aromas in a Whisky,that are absorbed from the cask.
- Age
- The time a Whisky matured in an oak cask.
- Alligator char
- A thick,cracked layer of charcoal on the inside of an oak cask.
- American Whiskey
- Whiskey produced in the USA.
- American White Oak
- Type of oak (Quercus alba) predominantly used in Northern America.
- Angel's Share
- As it matures,Whisky evaporates through the porous oak wood and rises to the angels in heaven.
- Barley
- Grain (Hordeum vulgare) from the genus of sweet grass.
- barrique
- Barrique is French for cask.
- beer well
- Large,mostly open storage tank for Whiskey beer,from which the distillation is constantly supplied.
- beginner
- Person who has not tasted many Whiskies yet.
- Blended Whisky
- Whisky mixture from different Whisky types and distilleries.
- Blood Tub
- The smallest of the Whisky casks contains a mere 30-50 litres.
- body
- Haptic Whisky feeling in the mouth.
- bottling
- Whisky used to be poured from a cask or jug. The bottle has dominated for 150 years.
- Bourbon
- US Whiskey produced according to the rules of the Bourbon Act.
- Bourbon Barrel
- Casks made of American white oak, which previously contained Bourbon.
- Butt
- Large oak cask from Spain, usually holding 500 litres.
- Campbeltown
- City in Scotland. Town on the Kintyre Peninsula.
- carbon dioxide
- Colourless fermentation gas.
- cask
- Cylindrical wooden container holding liquids without contact to metal.
- cask strength
- Whisky that is bottled from a cask without dilution.
- Charcoal Mellowing
- Whiskey filtered through meter-thick layers of charcoal.
- charring
- Firing and extinguishing of casks with a bright flame and water to produce a layer of charcoal.
- Chillfiltering
- Whisky filtration at temperatures between -2 and +4°C.
- Collector
- Person who adds unopened Whiskies to a collection.
- colour
- Comes from a cask or is added.
- Column Stills
- Industrial distillation column.
- continuous distillation
- Uninterrupted distillation in column stills, with continuous addition and removal of products.
- cooper
- Manufacturer and repairer of barrels.
- cooperage
- Factory where casks are produced.
- cork
- Bottle stopper made from the bark of the cork oak.
- Corn Whiskey
- Whiskey made from corn.
- dilution
- Reduction of the alcohol content of a Whisky with water.
- distillation
- Separation of liquids with different boiling points by heating.
- Distillery
- Factory that produces a spirit - in this case Whisky - from an alcoholic liquid.
- Distillery Character
- Flavour components of a Whisky that are created during production (not maturation).
- distillery map
- Map showing the location of distilleries.
- Doubler
- Copper kettle downstream of a column distillation.
- Draff
- Mineral- and protein-rich spent grains which are used as animal feed.
- Dram
- Typical quantity of a poured Whisky: 28 to 35ml.
- drinking temperature
- Mostly room temperature.
- dunnage warehouse
- Low Whisky warehouse in Scotland with tamped, moisture permeable soil.
- european oak
- Particularly intense oak variety in taste.
- Excise Act
- Alcohol Tax Act.
- faints
- Longer chain oils,most of which are separated during distillation.
- Fermentation
- Transformation of sugar into alcohol with yeast.
- Finish
- Additional improvement (maturing) of a Whisky in another wooden cask.
- First Fill
- Casks used for the first time in Scotland after their original use (Bourbon, Sherry, …).
- foreshots
- Undrinkable first part of a distillation.
- German Whisky
- Whisky produced in Germany.
- germination
- Conversion of the starch in the grain to malt sugar, breaking the husk and development of the first roots.
- Grain Whisky
- Whisky, produced from unmalted barley.
- Grist
- Coarse ground material from a malt mill.
- Hammer Mill
- Mill that crushes grains instead of grinding them.
- heat exchanger
- Apparatus that takes the heat from one liquid and transfers it to another without mixing the two.
- Hogshead
- Larger new casks (ox head) assembled from dismantled Ex-Borbon barrels.
- hoops
- Metal bands that hold the staves of casks together.
- independent bottler
- Company which,as a non-owner of a distillery,bottles its Whiskies.
- indian Whisky
- Whisky produced in India.
- interactive maturation
- Combination of distillery character with barrel maturation.
- Irish Whiskey
- Whiskey produced in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
- Keeper of the Quaich
- Honorary title awarded to a deserving person for the promotion of Scotch Whisky.
- Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- US Whiskey produced in the State of Kentucky according to the regulations of the Bourbon Act.
- Kiln
- Furnace for the generation of hot air for malt drying.
- label knowledge
- Teaching about the details with which whiskey bottles are labeled.
- Lauter Tun
- Large tank for separating solid and liquid parts of the mash.
- low wines
- Raw product of the first distillation stage (Pot Still).
- Lyne Arm
- Copper tube leading from the upper end of a pot still to the condenser.
- malt
- Mostly malted barley. However, malt can be made from any grain.
- malt mill
- Grain mill that processes germinated grain into coarse flour.
- malting
- Controlled germination process for the production of malt sugar from grain.
- Maple Whiskey
- American Whiskey matured in casks that previously held maple syrup.
- Mash Bill
- Grain recipe for the production of American Whiskey.
- Mash Tun
- Large tank for leaching the mash with hot water.
- mashing
- Leaching of malt sugar from malted grain and conversion of residual starch into sugar.
- Master Blender
- Responsible taster for Blended Whiskies.
- Master Distiller
- Person responsible for the distillation process - often also for the whole distillery.
- maturation
- After distillation,Whisky is colourless. Through years of aging in oak casks it takes on its aromas.
- Middle Cut
- Usable middle section during distillation in batches.
- Millet Whisky
- Whisky made from millet.
- Moonshining
- Illegal distillation of raw Whisky.
- NAS Whisky
- No Age Statement Whisky. Whisky without an indication of age.
- Neck
- Long part of the still, which is placed on the copper vessel.
- New Make Spirit
- Raw Whisky, as it comes straight from the last still.
- Nosing glass
- Glass that is particularly suitable for smelling Whisky.
- Nosing Wheel
- Circular arrangement of flavour components for classifying Whisky.
- oak
- Porous,not resinous but firm type of wood.
- Oat Whisky
- Whiskey made from oats.
- Octave Cask
- Small cask with mostly 50 to 80 litres capacity.
- on the rocks
- Whisky on ice.
- pagoda roof
- Cover of the chimney of a kiln to prevent the rain from getting in.
- palletised warehouse
- Warehouse in which Whisky casks are stored upright on pallets.
- peat
- Dead plant remains that have been compressed close to the ground over thousands of years.
- peat smoke
- Whisky gets its smoky aromas from the drying of the malt over peat fires.
- Pedro-Ximenez-Sherry-Casks
- Sweet fruity ex-Sherry casks (fortified wine).
- Port Pipe
- Longish port wine cask with a capacity of around 600 litres.
- Port wine casks
- Fortified wine casks which previously contained port wine.
- Pot Ale
- Residue from distillation.
- Pot Still
- Copper distillation apparatus.
- ppm
- Parts per million: the degree of smokiness is given in this unit.
- preparation of casks
- Renewed thermal activation (toasting,charring) of used casks.
- Production
- Whisky making.
- Prohibitionswhiskey
- Whiskey, which was produced during the US prohibition as medicine.
- proof
- Old alcohol strength instead of Alc. Vol.
- Puncheon
- Cask with about 600 litres capacity.
- Quarter Cask
- Cask with a capacity of around 125 litres.
- racked warehouse
- Whisky warehouse where Whisky casks are stored on shelves and can be retrieved individually.
- red layer
- Separating layer between thermally activated and original oak in a cask stave.
- Refill
- Whisky cask filled for the second time or more often in Scotland.
- Reflux
- Alcohol condensed in a still early on before passing into the condenser.
- reused casks
- Wooden casks can be used several times for the maturation of Whisky.
- roller mill
- Grain mill in which the grain is ground between two rollers.
- Rummager
- Mechanically driven chain inside a directly fired still to prevent burning.
- Saladin Box
- Old form of a concrete tub in which barley was malted.
- Scotch Whisky
- Whiskey distilled in Scotland.
- Sherry Cask
- Oak cask that was previously used for the maturation of Sherry.
- Signatory Vintage
- Independent Scottish bottler who also owns the Edradour distillery.
- single cask
- High-quality Whiskies are bottled from one single cask.
- Single Malt Whisky
- A Whisky made from malted barley produced in a single distillery.
- Single Pot Still Whiskey
- Irish Whiskey produced exclusively in Pot Stills.
- Slàinte mhath
- Scottisch Gaelic: To your health (good health).
- Small Batch
- Number of Whisky bottles that were produced in a limited quantity.
- Sour Mash
- US-American pH value-reducing fermentation process for Whiskey production.
- Spirit Receiver
- Collecting vessel or storage container for the raw Whisky.
- Spirit Safe
- Closed brass case with glass windows for controlling low wines and new make spirit.
- Spirit Still
- Second or last still producing the new make spirit.
- starch
- White,powdery substance obtained from cereals and used in the food industry,among others.
- stave
- Long wooden bars of a cask, which make up the round shell of the cask.
- steeping
- Barley grains are steeped in water basins for 24 to 48 hours before malting.
- stem glass
- Glass with a stem and plate base.
- Stillman
- Employee of a distillery who works in the still house.
- Straight Bourbon
- Bourbon that is produced by a single US-distillery.
- subtractive maturation
- Even without an oak cask,raw Whisky changes its taste over the years for the better.
- sugar
- In connection with barley and Whisky,maltose is usually meant (disaccharide).
- sugar maple
- Special type of maple from which maple syrup is extracted.
- taste
- Properties of a Whisky that are absorbed by the tongue and mouth.
- tasting
- Enjoying a Whisky to determine its taste.
- Tennessee Whiskey
- Whiskey produced in the US state of Tennessee.
- Toasting
- Heating a cask from the inside to at least 150 degrees to split cellulose into wood sugar.
- Tumbler
- Cylindrical glass,usually with a thick bottom and a large rim.
- uisge betha
- Uisge betha = Gaelic for water of life. Whisky was created by sound shifting.
- Vintage Whisky
- Whisky with the year of distillation on the label.
- Virgin Oak
- Whisky cask which did not contain any other liquid before being filled with Whisky.
- warehouse
- Storehouse for Whisky casks.
- wash still
- First still,which is filled with Whisky beer after the completed fermentation.
- washback
- Tank used for fermentation.
- water
- Whiskey
- Irish and US-American spelling of Whisky.
- Whiskey Rebellion
- Uprising of settlers against the first-time levying of alcohol taxes in the USA.
- Whisky
- Scottish,Canadian and international spelling of Whiskey.
- Whisky connoisseur
- Person who consumes Whisky for enjoyment.
- whisky glass
- Glass specially made for enjoying Whisky.
- Whisky history
- History of the origin of Whisky.
- Whisky neat
- Neat means not to dilute Whisky with water or other liquids.
- Whisky shelf
- Storage place for Whisky bottles.
- White Whisky
- American raw Whiskey.
- worm tub
- Large wooden tub filled with water,in which there is a copper spiral as a condenser.
- wort
- Mash with added yeast for fermentation.
- yeast
- A unicellular tubular fungus that can convert sugar into alcohol.
