Whiskey is one of the most favorite alcoholic drinks in the world.
Traditionally made in Scotland, whiskey has taken the market by storm thanks to its superb taste and quality.
Today the majority of whiskey producers are the distilling companies in northern Scotland, where they are experienced in performing the task.
However, some people are curious to find out how hard it would be to produce their whiskey at home.
Distilling whiskey is a complex process that requires time, space, and knowledge.
If you have all three prerequisites, you may still not be successful.
Let’s see all the stages of whiskey production, and then you can decide if whiskey distilling is for you.
Big whiskey distilleries will not reveal all their secrets, but the process is generally the same for every whiskey distiller.
Finding the Best Crops is the First Stage
The very first step for a great whiskey would be to find the raw materials. Get in touch with local farmers.
You need to find the wheat and barley that will become the initial material to start the wart.
Suppose you have free access to spring water, then you can begin with the wart mixing.
When you get the crops in a large area, you need to broil them and then add the water.
That is something that small-scale producers cannot easily do.
It’s impressive to know that most distilleries rent nearby barns to perform the whole process after they have made some modifications to the place.
You Need to Have a Big Barn For Crops Brewing
A barn is necessary to have the crops there and start increasing the temperature.
All crops should be laid on the floor and start gradually increasing the temperature.
Some barns have modified their floors to allow users to enter charcoal fire underneath.
That steeply increases the floor surface and broils the crops.
When you have roasted crops, it’s time for you to allow spring water to pass inside.
That will make the whiskey wart that is the first stage of whiskey production.
The next steps that go closer to the distilling of whiskey are even harder and more complex, so you better pay attention.
When The Wart Is Ready, It’s Necessary to Remove the Water
Removing the excessive water from the wart can be achieved through boiling.
That’s the time to pass the wart to big metallic containers and ensure that the boiling will continue.
As a result, you need a protective place where you will have the wart pots and the fire.
If you fail to do so, the enzymes inside the wart will not get activated, and you will only have a useless water mix that looks like whiskey.
After you have successfully passed that process, you will be ready to transfer the wart to the original distilling containers and start the distillation process.
Boiling the Mixture in Great Stainless Steel Containers is Next
The next step is one of the hardest ones. You need to have your chemist by your side to ensure that you have the right temperature and the wart is activated.
When you are ready, you need to enter the activated wart into the traditional metallic containers where the distillation process begins.
As the whiskey matures, barley and wheat start the fermentation process to produce alcohol.
You need not pass the 40% ABV for whiskey that is mandatory to have a legal drink. Otherwise, there is no whiskey, and your efforts would be in vain.
Distilling Whiskey Will Require a Four-Month Process
When you are ready to start the distillation process, you will need to wait patiently for at least four months.
The wart transforms into whiskey gradually, and you need to check the alcoholic grades on a daily basis.
Sometimes you need to add some water to ensure that the alcohol concentration gets down.
However, it’s one of the hardest processes, and it’s quite difficult to have the distilling containers at home.
These containers usually are made of copper, which is the traditional type of distilling container in Scotland.
However, stainless steel containers would be fine, and you could check the mixture regularly to find any irregularities and fix them on the spot.
Checking All the Alcohol Concentrations is Necessary
One of the most critical tasks you have as a whiskey distiller would be to extract a small specimen and check the alcohol concentration.
Big distilleries do so automatically since they have some indicators of alcohol deep inside the containers.
However, these mechanisms cost a lot and need some fine-tuning from expert chemists to ensure they are accurate.
You need to get the specimen and have it passed to the local chemist to ensure that it has the right ABV.
It’s not rare to have to wait more than four months to get a matured whiskey, and that could delay your whole process.
Monitoring the Distilling Process and Placing Whiskey in Barrels is Hard
The final step after distilling would be to place the mixture in the traditional wooden barrels to let it mature for three years at least.
That’s mandatory to ensure that the alcoholic beverage you have is an actual whiskey.
Having the barrels in low temperatures and without any sunshine contact is hard.
You need to find a place that has all these criteria, and as a private distiller, you have limited resources.
The maturation process could last for more than three years if you want your whiskey to take the cask taste and aromas.
So, you need to wait for a longer time to enjoy your favorite whiskey after the distillation time.
Final Words
Distilling whiskey is a hard process. As you may understand, when you are a sole distiller, you may fall into critical mistakes anytime and have the process ruined.
That’s why distilling should be the task for professionals if you want to have a whiskey product that will be easy to consume and safe at the same time.
Whiskey rules, but its distillation process needs extra care and knowledge.
