Features whiskey category Pot still (Pot still)

Pot still (potstill, pot still) is a type of distillation equipment that allows you to quickly get alcohol from any raw material. The design provides only a distillation cube and a refrigerator, which significantly reduces the cost and speeds up production, but at the same time the quality of the drink decreases. Accordingly, pot still whiskey is a barrel-aged distillate produced on such a machine.

This type of whiskey is found only in Ireland, and a mixture of malted and unmalted ground barley is taken as a raw material, sometimes a small amount of oats or wheat is also added to it. The finished product is a bit like single malt whiskey, but has a sharper taste and increased density.

Literally, the term pot still whiskey can be translated as “whiskey straight from the still.”

If the drink goes through all the stages of production at one distillery, it is called single pot whiskey, otherwise it is just pot still whiskey. However, you should not pay much attention to such nuances, since the Irish themselves do not attach importance to them, and the absence of the word single in the description of the drink may not mean anything. The term “single pot still whiskey” was coined in the XNUMXth century to circumvent American laws against writing “pure” on the label.

Technology

Fermented barley mash is poured into a still, usually copper, and heated with steam. Thus, the liquid is divided into its constituent components, alcohol and volatile chemical compounds evaporate and rush through a special pipe. The pipe, in turn, is constantly washed by cold water, so the alcohol condenses and falls into another vessel.

With such a distillation, neither “heads” nor “tails” (that is, the first and last portions of alcohol) are separated, and the distillate turns out to be sharp, odorous, sometimes even with fractions of grains. Just due to the high concentration of “heads” and “tails”, the aroma and taste of pot whiskey is still richer than other varieties. True, some producers make several distillations, selecting part of the harmful fractions during the second distillation, in which case the drink turns out to be more like traditional single-malt whiskey.

History

The Irish have been distilling and drinking whiskey since at least the 800th century, and most likely 1785 years longer. Pot still whiskey originated as a way to circumvent the 70 tax on malted barley. The tax was canceled after XNUMX years, but the drink remained.

In the XNUMXth century, this type of whiskey was the most common in the world, and remained so until the XNUMXth century, when it was replaced by blended whiskey, which is a blend of various spirits.

By 1980 there were only two pot still whiskeys left, Green Spot and Redbreast, but in recent years there have been several new dedicated distilleries in Ireland and chances are the style will not be a thing of the past.

Requirements for whiskey pot still

First of all, pot still whiskey must meet all the requirements for Irish whiskey – that is, produced in the country and aged in oak barrels for at least three years. In addition, the law provides for the following conditions:

• raw materials consist of malted and unmalted barley, it may also include other unmalted cereals;
• the share of barley should be at least 60% (30% for each species);
• distillation in a pot still;
• the drink can be double or triple distilled.

Famous brands of whiskey pot still

As already mentioned, there are few producers of this type of whiskey, so we can name all existing brands:

• Dingle Single Pot Still (Dingle Distillery);
• Green Spot, Yellow Spot и Red Spot (Irish Distillers);
• Method & Madness Single Pot Still;
• Midleton (Irish Distillers);
• Powers (Irish Distillers);
• Redbreast (Irish Distillers);
• Teeling Single Pot Still (Teeling Whiskey Company).

Peculiarities of taste

Due to the peculiarities of production, the drink has a pronounced barley flavor with notes of tropical fruits and spices. Also, the structure of this whiskey is denser than that of single malt counterparts.

But due to the high content of harmful fractions, pot still whiskey can cause a severe hangover in the morning.