A Saladin box is an instrument used for malting barley. It consists of a large rectangular container about 50 meters in length, and a set of vertical screws attached to a crossbar. The crossbar moves horizontally across the length of the container while the motion of the screws raises the barley from the bottom to the top. Combined with mechanical air flow across the barley for cooling, this allows for beds of barley between 60 cm (24 in) and 80 cm (31 in) deep to be turned over two or three times a day. [1] The screws are moved and turned by a system of pulleys and belts. [1]
The Saladin box was invented by French engineer Charles Saladin in the late 1800s to overcome the problem where the roots of the malting barley would become entangled if not regularly turned by hand, forming large mats unusable for further processing, as encountered in the earlier system that used artificial air flow to cool the barley in deeper beds designed by Galland. [1]
The first U.S. brewery to use the Saladin system was John A. Huck Brewery in Chicago, Illinois. [2]
Modern malting devices use a similar systems of screws as those invented by Saladin, but use ribbon screws rather than closed screws, perforated floors for aeration and cooling, and circular vessels instead of rectangular boxes [1]
In Scotland there's only one distillery that still uses the Saladin box: Tamdhu. [3] This distillery uses two such boxes to fill the kiln, and two steeps to fill the box. Tamdhu was, incidentally, also one of the first Scottish distilleries to install a Saladin box. [4]
Scotch whisky is malt whisky or grain whisky, made in Scotland.
Speyside single malts are single malt Scotch whiskies, distilled in Strathspey, the area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern Scotland.
Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery.
Glenmorangie is a distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery is owned by The Glenmorangie Company Ltd, whose main product is the range of Glenmorangie single malt whisky. Glenmorangie is categorised as a Highland distillery and boasts the tallest stills in Scotland. It is available in Original, 18-, and 25-year-old bottlings, special cask bottlings, cask finishes, extra matured bottlings, and a range of special edition bottlings.
Glenfiddich is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky produced by William Grant & Sons in the Scottish burgh of Dufftown in Moray. The name Glenfiddich derives from the Scottish Gaelic Gleann Fhiodhaich meaning "valley of the deer", which is reflected in Glenfiddich's stag logo.
Laphroaig distillery is an Islay single malt Scotch whisky distillery. It is named after the area of land at the head of Loch Laphroaig on the south coast of the island of Islay. The meaning of the toponym is unknown, but a commonly suggested etymology includes the elements "lag", "breid" and "vik", implying an original Gaelic form something like "Lag Bhròdhaig". The name may be related to a placename on the east coast of Islay, "Pròaig", again suggested as meaning "broad bay".
The Balvenie distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, owned by William Grant & Sons.
The Springbank distillery is a family-owned single malt whisky distillery on the Kintyre Peninsula in western Scotland. It is owned by J & A Mitchell & Company, which also owns the Glengyle distillery, the oldest independent bottler, William Cadenheads, and several blended scotch labels. Licensed in 1828, Springbank is one of the last surviving producers of single malt whiskies in Campbeltown, an area that once had over thirty active distilleries. The distillery produces three types of peated and unpeated malt whisky that it bottles under three distinct brands. The majority of its distillate is bottled as a single malt, with a small percentage sold to larger blenders or ending up in one of J&A Mitchell's own blended scotch labels, such as Campbeltown Loch.
The Kilchoman Distillery is a distillery that produces single malt Scotch whisky on Islay, an island of the Inner Hebrides. Kilchoman Distillery is in the northwest of the island, close to Machir Bay. Kilchoman was founded by Anthony Wills and remains an independent, family run distillery. It is the smallest on the island but since obtaining Rockside Farm in 2015, is in the process of expanding.
Tamdhu distillery is a single malt Scotch Speyside whisky distillery, located in the village of Knockando in Banffshire, Scotland. Tamdhu comes from Gaelic for "little dark hill".
A malt house, malt barn, or maltings, is a building where cereal grain is converted into malt by soaking it in water, allowing it to sprout and then drying it to stop further growth. The malt is used in brewing beer, whisky and in certain foods. The traditional malt house was largely phased out during the twentieth century in favour of more mechanised production. Many malt houses have been converted to other uses, such as Snape Maltings, England, which is now a concert hall.
The Singleton of Glen Ord is a whisky distillery in the Scottish Highlands and is the only remaining single malt scotch whisky distillery on the Black Isle. They produce a 12 year old, 15 year old and 18 year old single malt that's available for export only to Southeast Asia. The distillery won awards for the best single malt at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in 1994 and 1996, and at the Monde Selection in 1996 and 1997. However, IWSC and Monde Selection awards are non-competitive and only products that pay to enter are judged.
The Glenturret Distillery is two miles northwest of Crieff in Perthshire, Scotland. on the banks of the Turret River. The distillery is hidden in the glen and its secluded location may have contributed to its early history as the site of several illicit bothy stills. The high hills to either side of the distillery were thought to act as lookout points for the smugglers. When Alfred Barnard visited the distillery he described the glen as "a perfect paradise to artists, who come in great numbers to transfer some of its transcendent beauties to canvas". The distillery is located in the parish of Monzievaird and Strowan.
English whisky is whisky produced in England. At least eight distilleries currently produce it, and there are 26 whisky distilleries across England in various stages of development. Though England is not well known for whisky, distillers operated in London, Liverpool and Bristol until the late 19th century, after which production of English single malt whisky ceased until 2003. Since then, English whisky has experienced a resurgence in production.
Malting is the process of steeping, germinating and drying grain to convert it into malt. The malt is mainly used for brewing or whisky making, but can also be used to make malt vinegar or malt extract. Various grains are used for malting, most often barley, sorghum, wheat or rye.
Benrinnes is a malt whisky distillery in Aberlour producing an eponymous whisky. It was founded in 1826, and is still active. The distillery employed a unique partial triple distillation process until 2007.
Wolfburn Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. After ceasing production in the 1860s, a new distillery of the same name opened in 2013.
A Lomond still is a type of still that was sometimes used for whisky distillation, invented in 1955 by Alistair Cunningham of Hiram Walker. It is used for batch distillation like a pot still, but has three perforated plates which can be cooled independently, controlling the reflux through the apparatus in a manner similar to coffey stills. This allows the distiller to produce different kinds of whisky in the same still. Lomond stills were installed at the Loch Lomond distillery for which it was initially designed, and the Glenburgie, Miltonduff, Inverleven and Scapa distilleries. For a time, the only remaining Lomond still was in the Scapa distillery, where it is used as a wash still, in combination with a traditional pot still. In 2010, Bruichladdich distillery installed the original still salvaged from the demolished Inverleven distillery. In 2015 new Lomond stills were installed at InchDairnie distillery. Loch Lomond Distillery has Lomond Stills installed, though it is unknown how long they have been there.
Amrut is a brand of Indian single malt whisky, manufactured by Amrut Distilleries. It is the first single malt whisky to be made in India. Amrut (अमृत) or amrit is a Sanskrit word which can be translated as "nectar of the gods", "nectar of life", or "drink of the gods". The company translates it as "Elixir of Life". The brand became famous after whisky connoisseur Jim Murray gave it a rating of 82 out of 100 in 2005 and 2010. In 2010 Murray named Amrut Fusion single malt whisky as the third best in the world. John Hansell, editor of American magazine Whisky Advocate, wrote that "India's Amrut distillery changed the way many think of Indian whisky – that it was, in the past, just cheap Scotch whisky blended with who knows what and sold as Indian whisky. Amrut is making whisky, and it's very good".
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky: