Although Scots tend to drink Scotch, many whiskies from other countries are bought in Scotland and some Scots are open in their enthusiasm for the likes of Irish, bourbons and Jack Daniels. And much as I like single malts, I’m quite partial to a good bourbon myself.
Whereas Scotch malts are distilled solely from malted barley, and Scotch grains from wheat and barley (one exception: North British in Edinburgh uses French maize and barley), most bourbons are distilled from maize (corn-on-the-cob) and occasionally rye, with high-diastase malted barley mashed in to spark the starch-to-sugars conversion. Maize tends to give the spirit a strong vanilla taste, to which come the flavours from the new oak barrels in which bourbon must — by US law — be casked.
That new-oak law has been a boon to the Scotch industry as any bourbon barrel, once emptied, cannot be reused for bourbon and is sold to non-bourbon producers. Over the years Scotland has imported zillions of them, although the era of getting them at knockdown prices has virtually gone.
Irish, Japanese, Indian and Canadian whiskies make up most other imports into Scotland. Best-known brands from the Emerald Isle are John Jameson, Tullamore Dew and Bushmills, plus the whiskies from Cooley at Dundalk, briefly in the Jim Beam stable before Beam was swallowed by Japan’s Suntory. Several new small distilleries have recently opened, both in the republic and Nothern Ireland, although it may take time for their whiskies to become available here.
India is a big whisky producer with a host of brands—most with Scottish-sounding names — although only one, Amrut, has penetrated the UK market, with others following. However, as many Indian whiskies are based on a mix of grain and molasses, many drinkers do not see them as “true” whiskies.
Experts regard Japan’s whiskies, especially their single malts, as the nearest to Scotch and the Japanese seek to emulate every aspect of Scotch production to get good results. That has paid off — over the years many Japanese whiskies (too many to list here) have netted top awards worldwide.
I’ll cover them in greater detail soon.
