Variety is the Spice of Whiskey

A great article of the influences the grain has on the end product.

From Growler Magazine by John Garland

Whiskey aficionados know which grains they like in their spirit. They can distinguish between the sweet softness of corn, the mellow creaminess of wheat, and the sharp grassiness of rye.

But do they know which kind of corn or rye they like best? Probably not. But this might be the direction that craft whiskey is headed.

Drinkers already understand varietal flavors. In the wine world, there’s one species of grape, Vitis vinifera, and its many varieties, from jammy merlot to steely chardonnay, are renowned for their distinctions. Michael Swanson, distiller at Far North Spirits in Hallock, Minnesota, wondered, does the same hold true for whiskeys made from different varieties of the same grain?

“Our hypothesis was that there would be a difference between the varieties [of rye] in flavor, based on how differently they act in the field,” he explains. “We were prepared for the null hypothesis to be true, that there would be no difference in flavor, and that would be a result in and of itself. What we found is that’s not true at all. There are a lot of differences.”

Read the whole story here: https://growlermag.com/variety-is-the-spice-of-whiskey/

photo by Tj Turner