Whisky: Technology, Production and Marketing explains in technical terms the science and technology of producing whisky, combined with information from industry experts on successfully marketing the product. World experts in Scotch whisky provide detailed insight into whisky production, from the processing of raw materials to the fermentation, distillation, maturation, blending, production of co-products, and quality testing, as well as important information on the methodology used for packaging and marketing whisky in the twenty-first century. No other book covers the entire whisky process from raw material to delivery to market in such a comprehensive manner and with such a high level of technical detail.

Key Features

• Only available work to cover the entire whisky process from raw material to delivery to the market in such a comprehensive manner

• Includes a chapter on marketing and selling whisky

• Foreword written by Alan Rutherford, former Chairman and Managing Director of United Malt and Grain Distillers Ltd

Whisky: Technology, Production and Marketing, Second Edition

About the authors
Foreword
Preface

Chapter 1: An introduction to whisk(e)y and the development of Scotch whisky

Early days
Effects of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions
Controls, taxation, and amalgamation
The future

Chapter 2: Irish whiskey

History and commercial development
Pot still whiskey production
Malt whiskey production
Grain whiskey production
Maturation
The future

Chapter 3: Japanese whisky

Introduction
History
Production processes
Research and development
Final thoughts

Chapter 4: Indian whiskies

History of alcoholic beverages in India
The Indian alcoholic beverage market
Indian whisky
Raw materials
Indian whisky production
Flavour profiling of whiskies
Drinking patterns in India
Worldwide ranking of Indian whiskies

Chapter 5: North American whiskies: a story of evolution, experience, and an ongoing entrepreneurial spirit

Introduction
Development and differentiation of North American whiskies
The craft distilling revolution
A bright future—and the need for education

Chapter 6: Scotch whisky: raw material selection and processing

Introduction
Supply chain sustainability
Raw materials
Cereal breeding
Raw materials for malt distilling
Raw materials for grain distilling
Cereals processing
Malt distillery processing
Principles of milling
Grain distillery processing and principles
The conventional cooking process
Conversion
Water as a raw material
Future trends

Chapter 7: Distilling yeast and fermentation

Introduction
Sourcing the yeast
Yeast nomenclature
Understanding the structure of the yeast cell
Carbohydrate metabolic pathways
What happens inside of the yeast cell under aerobic conditions?
Yeast and nitrogen metabolism
Distiller’s yeast and oxygen
The commercial cultivation of distiller’s yeast
How much yeast is needed to pitch a distilling fermentation?
Fermentation congeners
Wort fermentation
Sugar uptake from a distiller’s wort

Chapter 8: Contamination: bacteria and wild yeasts in a whisky fermentation

Potential contaminants
Homolactic and heterolactic fermentation
Evolution and growth of the LAB population throughout
Microbial profile of a typical distillery fermentation

Chapter 9: Batch distillation

Introduction
History
Distillery design
Wash still operation
Spirit still operation
Product quality
Efficiency and production yield
Triple distillation
Dealing with distillation problems
The role of copper in the quality of new whisky
The future

Chapter 10: Grain whisky distillation

Introduction
Feedstock for distillation
Theory of continuous distillation
Continuous still design and operation
Distillation design
Operation
Plate and tray design
Thermocompressor operation
Development of flavour
Energy and utilities

Chapter 11: Maturation

Introduction
Cooperage oak wood
Structure of wood
Cask manufacture
Cask regeneration
Warehousing
Wood policy

Chapter 12: Blending

The role of the blender
Scotch whisky
Blended Scotch whisky
The blending process
The blenders’ challenge
New product development and innovation

Chapter 13: Sensory analysis

Whisky flavour and other sensory characteristics
Evaluation of sensory characteristics
Benefits of sensory evaluation

Chapter 14: Whisky analysis

Introduction
Whiskies of the world and their regulatory definitions
Composition and analysis of whisky
Quality assurance and analysis in the whisky production process
Whisky authenticity
Recent issues

Chapter 15: Co-products

Introduction
Animal Feeds
Energy from co-products
Other co-products
Conclusions

Chapter 16: Water: an essential raw material for whisk(e)y production

Process water
Water treatment
Treatment of copper in the effluent
Water conservation and the future

Chapter 17: Designing for cleanliness in the distillery

Introduction
Cleaning basics
Cleaning in whisky production
Cleaning chemistry
Cleaning validation
Sanitary design
CIP systems

Chapter 18: Whisky global packaging developments

Introduction
Aims of packaging
Preparation of whisky for packaging
Packaging materials—“dry goods”
The whisky bottling line
Assessment of packaging line performance
Spirit and packaging material losses
Packaging and the environment
Cost

Chapter 19: Marketing Scotch whisky in the 21st century and previously

Introduction: The marketing continuum for Scotch whisky
Phases of the continuum
Foundations: Creation of the Scotch whisky market
Rise and fall: The vital importance of equilibrium
Return to form
The marketing challenge of the future
Themes
Conclusion

Chapter 20: Marketing Scotch whisky

Introduction
The origins of demand
Economics of the whisky industry – The value chain
Branding
Routes to market
The product
Managing price
Advertising and promotion
Market research
General conclusions

Appendix

Index