Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky

Scotch Whisky or simply Scotch is one of the most famous traditional whisky, the other being Irish Whiskey, Canadian Whisky, American Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey, Japanese Whisky and Australian Whisky.

Just like in Ireland ( Uisce Beatha ), the Scottish word for Whisky is a derivative of the Scottish Gaelic word Uisge Beatha, meaning the Water of Life.

Scotch Whiskey is a Geographically Identified Product and there are regulations that has to be met for a Whisky to be labeled a Scotch Whisky.

Traditionally Scotch Whisky is made from malted barley, but there had been deviation and variations too. A distinctive characteristic of a Scotch Whisky is drying of the malted barley over a peat fire, that attributes a smoky aroma to the Whisky. post distillation, maturation or aging is done in oak barrels previously used for bourbon whiskey, Sherry, Wine, Fortified Wine, Rum and other Spirits. This Aging process that spans years is the largest contributing factor that impact the flavour of the Whisky.

To be labeled a Scotch, a Whisky has to be pass several guidelines and production standards designed by the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009.

• 1. Comprises a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40% (80 US proof)
• 2. Contains no added substances, other than water and plain (E150A) caramel colouring
• 3. Is produced at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) all of which have been:
  • 3.1 Converted at that distillery to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems
  • 3.2 Distilled at an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 94.8% (190 US proof)
  • 3.3 Fermented at that distillery only by adding yeast
  • 3.4 Processed at that distillery into a mash
• 4. Is wholly matured in an excise warehouse in Scotland in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres (185 US gal; 154 imp gal) for at least three years
• 5. Retains the colour, aroma, and taste of the raw materials used in, and the method of, its production and maturation

Elderflower Cordial

Elderflower Cordial is essentially a sweet syrup soft drink made from European Elderflower ( Sambucus Nigra ), made with sugar and water since Victorian times. When made with alcohol, the cordial is a bright floral addition to mixed drinks, although not just the Elderflower Liqueur, the Cordial is used in flavouring cocktails too.

Dash orange bitters

Orange Bitters are traditionally the zest of Seville Oranges mixed with other spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, anise and burnt sugar in an alcohol base.
Note that Orange Bitters are not to be confused with Angostura Aromatic Bitters, although the House of Angostura produces an Orange Bitters brand too.

Sparkling Wine top up

Wine is an alcoholic drink created by fermenting grapes. Yeast breaks down the sugar in grapes into ethanol and carbon dioxide. Wines and their classes and varieties are mostly based on the variety of grape used and the strains of yeast. Grapes develop specific biochemical characteristics depending on the cultivar, variety, temperature of the place of origin, the terrain and thus a wine's character depend on these and the production process, thus wines are strictly regulated by appellations and geographical indicators.

Although by wine, we mostly refer to Wine fermented from grapes, rice wine and other fruit wines have been in use since time immemorial.

To broadly classify wine, we can classify them into five major categories like Red, White, Rose, Sweet or Dessert and Sparkling.

1. White Wine a wine that is fermented from white wines, or even red or black grapes, it actually doesn't matter what colour the grape is, its the pigment anthocyanin that gives a Red Wine the colour. What wine is a wine that is fermented without the grape skin in contact. The colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes, which may have a skin of any colour.

2. Red Wine is a wine made from dark coloured grape varities, the colour can range from intense violet, typical of young wines, brick red for mature wines and brown for older wines. As mentioned above other than the uncommon teinturier varieties of grape, which produce a red juice, the colour of wine comes from the skin of the grapes.

3. Rose Wine is a Red Wine that is not Red enough, so doesn't qualify as a red wine. It is the oldest known type of wine, and the colour varies from pale onion skin orange to a vivid near purple with a general pink colour in most, depending on the grape varieties and the wine making technique. it is the easiest to produce wine using the skin contact technique. The different techniques of producing rose wine are skin contact, saignée and blending.

Skin Contact or maceration is allowing the crushed grapes to macerate in spirit and release its compounds into the pre-fermentation must. The saignée technique is slightly more involved and it involves bleeding the juice and reducing the juice to fruit skin and pulp concentration in the must so that the wine has a richer texture and colour.

4. Dessert or Sweet Wines are hard to define but are generally sweet and strong and are drunk with a meal or typically served with a dessert, and to be precise, it is wine which has a pronounced sweetness and higher alcohol concentration than average, thus, even a Red Wine that is legally Red but is too sweet and strong, can be a Dessert Wine.

5. Sparkling Wine is a wine with natural carbonation, where carbon dioxide is created using a traditional method of a second fermentation of the wine by adding sugar to the fermented wine and letting it ferment again, either in a bottle or a tank. A Champagne and Blanquette de Limoux are two most important examples of Sparkling Wines.