About Whisky
What is Whisky?
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor 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 casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.
(ref. from wikipedia)
Single Malt
Single malt whisky is whisky from a single distillery made from a mash that uses only one particular malted grain. Unless the whisky is described as single-cask, it contains whisky from many casks, and different years, so the blender can achieve a taste recognisable as typical of the distillery. In most cases, single malts bear the name of the distillery, with an age statement and perhaps some indication of some special treatments, such as maturation in a port wine cask.
(ref. from wikipedia)
– HIGHLAND PARK DISTILLERY
The basic process at Highland Park is similar to that at other distilleries.
However, there are somekey differences that make Highland Park unique in the world of single malts.
Highland Park is theonly distillery in the world to use peat from Orkney.
Exposed to the elements and poundedrelentlessly by gale-force winds,few trees survive Orkney’s harsh conditions.
In absence of trees, the peat the distillery burns to smoke its hand-malted barley is densely compacted heather dating back 4,000-9,000 years.
This peat burns slowly, delivering the distinctive aromatic smoke thedistillery is known for.
Temperate weather
Although rainy and windy, the islands of Orkney are a blessed with a surprisinglytemperate climate, providing the perfect environment for whisky casks to quietly mature at an evenpace, without being exposed to extremes in temperature.
Sherry-seasoned oak casks
Between 60-80%of a whisky’s flavor comes the cask in which itmatures.
Highland Park uses casks made of either American or European oak.
These are built byhand in Spain, filled with Oloroso Sherry and left to season for two years.
The casks are thenemptied and sent to Orkney where they are filled with the new make spirit and left to mature for atleast a decade-and up a to five in the case of
Highland Park 50 Year Old.