Distilling

Products made from distillates and rectified spirits

Distillation is widely used to produce alcoholic beverages from fermented fruit, grain and sugar-based raw materials. Some of the best-known examples include:

• Grappa — produced by distilling grape pomace. The production process is similar to that used for chacha.
  
• Whisky — made by distilling fermented grain mash. Whisky is aged in oak casks for at least three years.
  
• Brandy — produced by distilling fermented fruit juice. Cognac is a specific type of brandy made from designated grape varieties in the Cognac region of France.
  
• Rum — produced from fermented sugarcane juice or molasses.
  
• Tequila — a distilled spirit made from agave.
  

Infusing botanicals or fruit in alcohol, followed by further processing, is also used to produce various alcoholic beverages, including:

• Absinthe — an alcoholic beverage flavoured with botanicals, particularly anise, fennel and wormwood.
  
• Liqueurs — alcoholic beverages made by infusing or extracting flavours from berries, fruits and other ingredients, usually with the addition of sugar.
  

Whisky

Whisky is a distilled spirit made from fermented grain mash. Common raw materials include barley, corn, rye and wheat. In Brittany, France, whisky is also produced from buckwheat.
After distillation, whisky is aged in wooden casks for at least three years, subject to the applicable requirements for the relevant whisky category and market.

Distillates

Distillates are produced by distilling fermented grain, fruit or sugar-based raw materials. One or more distillation stages may be used, depending on the desired characteristics of the finished product.
Distillation concentrates alcohol and volatile flavour compounds from the fermented wash. Unlike highly rectified spirit, a distillate typically retains more of the aroma and flavour characteristics of its original raw materials. For example, an apple-based distillate may retain distinctive fruity notes, while a grain-based distillate can express the characteristic aroma of malt.

Raw Materials for Whisky Production

Malt whisky is produced from malted grain, typically malted barley. The dry malt is cleaned to remove impurities, milled and mixed with hot water in a mash tun. The mash is heated according to a controlled temperature schedule, allowing enzymes to convert starch into sugars that yeast can ferment.

Malt range for whisky and distilled spirits

Grainrus offers a selection of malts suitable for whisky and other grain-based distilled spirits.
Specialty malts

• Whisky Malt: a specialised malt designed to support high fermentability and the production of grain distillates with the desired flavour profile.
  
• Peated Malt: ideal for producing whisky with a pronounced smoky character and distinctive peaty and earthy notes.
  
• Beech-Smoked Malt: used in various whisky styles, imparting a distinctive smoky character
  

Base malts

• Vienna malt
• Pilsner malt
• Pale ale malt