I’ve been within the whisky biz now for greater than a decade, and due to that, I wish to suppose I’m fairly clued up in terms of tendencies and preferences. One factor I’ve been seeing increasingly these days, is a rising curiosity in new make spirit.
Within the very early days of our whisky adventures, we’re speaking pre-GreatDrams right here, not an important deal was recognized about new make spirit outdoors of the spirits business. To be sincere, not a lot has modified. There are a number of myths and misconceptions surrounding new make spirit, which, for my part, is massively underappreciated. The excellent news, as I stated earlier than, is the truth that extra persons are speaking about it and regularly starting to see its potential.
By no means one to shrink back from a rising whisky pattern, I believed for at the moment’s weblog I’d perform a little extra digging and take a look at new make spirit in additional element, so you possibly can see simply how priceless it may be.
What Precisely is New Make Spirit?
First off, earlier than I am going any additional, I ought to in all probability inform you precisely what new make spirit is.
Very merely put, new make spirit is pre-whisky. It’s the liquid that turns into whisky after being saved in oak barrels for a minimum of 3 years.
When whisky comes off the nonetheless following distillation, it’s a clear, colourless liquid that’s very excessive in alcohol, normally round 68% – 70% ABV. Following distillation, the brand new make spirit is then saved in oak barrels and left to age and mature. It’s right here the place it begins its transformation in whisky.
The time period ‘new make’ is basically related to Scotch, as Stateside, they name it ‘moonshine’, ‘hooch’, ‘white lightning’ (not the terrible cider we used to get drunk on as youngsters on Friday nights) and even ‘white canine’ in some components of the nation. In Eire, some distilleries will discuss with it as ‘new make’ whereas others name it ‘poitin’, although there are some refined variations.
What Does New Make Spirit Style Like?
As soon as distillation is full, after the liquid leaves the nonetheless it might look identical to water. Take it from me, although, it actually doesn’t style prefer it.
New make spirit may be very excessive in alcohol, but opposite to fashionable perception, it doesn’t style of pure ethanol. Don’t get me mistaken, a sip would positively put hairs in your chest, nevertheless it wouldn’t go away you feeling such as you’d taken a shot of molten lava both.
A lot of whisky’s remaining flavour, notes, and traits are taken on within the cask. Like I preserve saying, it’s the place that outdated oak knowledge comes from, because the casks assist to impart not solely flavour and aromas, but additionally color, and even mouthfeel as effectively.
So, does this imply that new make spirit tastes like pure alcohol and nothing else? Completely not.
Throughout distillation, new make spirit can truly tackle a wide range of completely different flavours. It will probably go away the nonetheless tasting floral, fruity, and even spicy. Additionally, let’s not neglect that, with peated whisky, the spirit will get that smoky peat flavour from the malted grains which have been dried and malted with the assistance of burning peat. That implies that the brand new make spirit will go away the nonetheless already possessing lots of the earthy, smoky, medicinal notes you’d come to anticipate from a peated dram, and that’s earlier than it even enters the casks.
Why is New Make Spirit Taking Off?
Regardless of new make spirit having some flavour to it, it’s nonetheless mild years away from the whisky everyone knows and love. Regardless of this, increasingly distilleries are actually promoting new make spirit. Why?
Properly, there are literally loads of causes. To start with, if distilleries imagine there’s a marketplace for their new make, it implies that they get to promote some spirit as quickly because it comes off the nonetheless. As you recognize, earlier than whisky can legally be bought as Scotch, it must have aged in oak barrels for a minimum of 3 years. That implies that distilleries want to attend a minimum of 3 years earlier than they’ll promote their whisky.
With new make spirit, there isn’t any authorized maturation interval required, to allow them to promote it immediately and get a fast money injection, which they’ll put again into their enterprise. It implies that they’ll get an earnings whereas they wait for his or her prime whisky inventory to age and mature over the course of a number of years.
Another excuse why it’s gaining popularity is as a result of it permits unbiased bottlers comparable to ourselves, together with craft distilleries, and whisky lovers to be taught extra a couple of whisky’s “genetics” and do their very own factor with it. It permits for extra creativity and experimentation, as they’ll take it and get creative with the growing old course of, utilizing a number of completely different casks and maturation strategies.
I additionally imagine that new make spirit is essential as a result of it helps increase the whisky enterprise. Think about experimenting by shopping for a small quantity of latest make from a longtime distillery, growing old it in a cask not generally utilized in whisky making, and sampling it three years later, solely to find that it tastes like pure heaven in a bottle?
Now you possibly can recreate this course of on a a lot bigger scale and produce bigger quantities of a very distinctive dram. Extra scrumptious, premium-quality whisky in the marketplace must be an excellent factor, proper? I actually suppose so, and I’m certain you’re feeling the identical.
Should you’d wish to be taught extra about your favorite whiskies, or just deal with your self to a dram or two within the course of, be sure you head on over to GreatDrams.com and try the various number of distinctive whiskies we presently have in inventory.
With a powerful number of limited-edition, uncommon, and award-winning whisky, in addition to heaps of whisky data on our weblog, it’s the right spot for any whisky lovers on the market.
