Grain whisky normally refers to any

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...

made, at least in part, from

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

s other than

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

. Frequently used grains include

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, and rye. Grain whiskies usually contain some malted barley to provide enzymes needed for

mashing In brewing and distilling, mashing is the process of combining a mix of ground grains – typically malted barley with supplementary grains such as corn, sorghum, rye, or wheat – known as the "grain bill" with water and then heating the mixtu ...

and are required to include it if they are produced in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Whisky made only from malted barley is generally called " malt whisky" rather than grain whisky. Most

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

whiskies are grain whiskies.

Definition

Under the regulations governing the production of both

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distil ...

, malt whisky must be produced from a mash of 100% malted barley and must be distilled in a

pot still A pot still is a type of distillation apparatus or still used to distill liquors such as whisky or brandy. In modern (post-1850s) practice, they are not used to produce rectified spirit, because they do not separate congeners from ethanol as eff ...

. In Scotland, a whisky that uses other malted or unmalted cereals in the mash in addition to malted barley is termed a grain whisky. In Ireland, where regulations define " pot still whiskey" as one distilled from a specific mixed mash of at least 30% malted barley, at least 30% unmalted barley, and other unmalted cereals in a pot still, grain whisky refers to whisky produced from a mixed mash of no more than 30% malted barley in a

column still A column still, also called a continuous still, patent still or Coffey still is a variety of still consisting of two columns. Column stills can produce rectified spirit (95% ABV). Description The first column (called the analyzer) in a column s ...

. In both countries, grain whisky is typically distilled in a continuous column still in a manner that results in a higher percentage of

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

(ABV) but a less flavourful spirit than that derived from a pot still. As a result, grain whisky is seldom bottled by itself in either country but is instead used primarily for blending with malt or pot still whisky to create blended whiskies, which now account for more than 90% of both countries' whisky sales. The comparative lightness of the clearer, more-neutral-flavoured grain whisky is used in blends to smooth out the often harsher characteristics of single malts and single pot still whiskeys. Occasionally well-aged grain whiskies are released as single grain whisky if made at one distillery or blended grain whisky if combining spirits from multiple distilleries. Outside Ireland and Scotland, the use of continuous column stills and the use of a non-barley mash are not so closely associated with the production of "light" whisky (whisky with little flavour due to distillation at a very high ABV). For example, nearly all

American whiskey American whiskey is whiskey (a distilled beverage produced from a fermented mash of cereal grain) produced in the United States. American whiskeys made from mashes with at least 51% of their named grains include bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey, ...

is produced using column stills, and all American whiskey that is labelled as "

straight whiskey Straight whiskey (or straight whisky), as defined in United States law, is whiskey that is distilled from a fermented ( malted or unmalted) cereal grain mash to a concentration not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (abv) and aged in new charred oak ...

" (including straight

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

and straight rye) is required to use a distillation level not exceeding 80% ABV. In the United States, whiskey produced at greater than 80% ABV is formally classified as "light whiskey" and cannot be labelled with the name of a grain or called malt, bourbon or straight.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grain Whisky Whisky Grain industry of the United States

Definition

See also

References