GLOSSARY

Types of Whiskey:

• Blended Whiskey: This is a mix that includes at least 20% straight whiskey, which is very strong. The rest of the mix can include other types of whiskey or grain spirits. It’s usually sold at a lower strength.
• Bonded Bourbon Whiskey: This is a special type of Bourbon Whiskey that follows strict rules. It’s not mixed with anything else, and it’s stored in wooden barrels for at least four years. It’s made by the same person, at the same place, and in the same year. It’s then labeled as “bottled in bond”.
• Bourbon Whiskey: This is a unique American drink. It’s made from a mix that includes at least 51% corn. It’s made at a certain strength, stored in new charred oak barrels, and sold at a certain minimum strength.
• Canadian Whiskey: This is a special whiskey from Canada, which includes a high percentage of rye, along with barley, corn, and wheat. It’s lighter than American whiskey and is at least four years old.
• Corn Whiskey: This is a whiskey made from a mix that is at least 80% corn. It may or may not be aged.
• Irish Whiskey: This is a special whiskey from Ireland. It’s usually a mix of several whiskeys of different ages. It uses malted barley, unmalted barley, and other grains like rye and corn. It’s heavier than Scotch and usually stronger.
• Malt Whiskey: This is a whiskey made only from malted barley.
• Moonshine: This is a spirit made illegally without a license or paying taxes. It’s often not aged and can be made from anything that will ferment. It’s often dangerous to drink.
• Organic Whiskey: This is made from grain grown without using chemical fertilizers, weed killers, and bug killers.
• Rye Whiskey: This is a whiskey made from at least 51% rye grain. It’s made in a similar way to bourbon.
• Scotch Whisky: This is a special whisky from Scotland. Single Malt Scotches are made only from malted barley and come from a single distillery. Blended Scotch Whiskies are a mix of several different malt whiskys and grain whisky. It gets its smoky flavor from drying malted barley over peat fires. It’s at least four years old and usually sold at a certain strength.
• Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey: This is a type of bourbon whiskey that comes from a single barrel.
• Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey: This is a type of bourbon whiskey that comes from a small number of specially chosen barrels. This is done to make sure the flavor and character are consistent.
• Straight Whiskey: This is a whiskey that is made from grain, not mixed with anything else, and aged in a charred oak barrel for at least two years.
• Sour Mash Whiskey: This is a type of whiskey where some of the old mix is added to the new mix to help improve the flavor and smoothness.
• Tennessee Whiskey: This is a type of straight whiskey made in Tennessee from a mix that includes at least 51% corn. It’s filtered through maple charcoal before aging. It’s not bourbon.
• Wheated Bourbon: This is a type of Bourbon that is made from a mix that includes wheat instead of rye grain.

Other Whiskey Terms

• Age: This is often used to measure how good a whiskey is. But it’s not always reliable because the ingredients used also matter.
• Aging: This is when whiskey is left to get better in oak barrels. The whiskey picks up extra flavors from the wood. Once it’s put in a bottle, it doesn’t age anymore.
• Angels’ Share: This is a term used in whiskey and wine making. Some of the spirit stored in a barrel evaporates through the wood. About 2% of each barrel is lost this way, and most of it is alcohol.
• Backset: This is the liquid left at the bottom of the still after distillation. It doesn’t have any alcohol in it. It’s added to the mash tub and fermenter to stop bacteria from growing.
• Beer: Also known as wash. This is the alcoholic liquid that goes into the still.
• Brewing: This is the process of mashing grain in hot water and fermenting the result with yeast to produce wash or beer.
• Charring: This is when the inside surfaces of new barrels are exposed to flames. This charring changes the flavor and color of the spirit aged in the barrel. New charred barrels are only used once for bourbon. Other whiskies reuse their barrels or buy used bourbon barrels.
• Column Still: This was invented in the 19th century to keep up with demand. It was a cheaper and faster alternative to the pot still.
• Congeners: These are chemical compounds produced during fermentation and maturation. They are the natural flavor parts in spirits. They are traces of oils, esters, and acids that get through the distillation process and into the distillate. Spirits distilled at lower proofs have the most congeners. High proof neutral spirits almost don’t have any congeners. Their presence in the final spirit must be carefully judged; too many would make it undrinkable.
• Distillation: This is the process of separating the parts in a liquid by heating it until it turns into vapor, then cooling it so it turns back into a purified liquid.
• Distiller’s Beer: This is the fermented mash that is moved from the fermenter to the beer still for the first distillation.
• Doubler: This is a large copper still that looks a bit like a small water tank with an upturned funnel on top. It’s used to distill high wines or new spirit from low wines.
• Fermentation: This is the process by which tiny organisms eat and convert carbohydrates to a liquid and a gas.
• Fermenter: This is the container in which the mash is distilled into alcoholic liquid, or wash.
• Grain: These are the seeds of a cereal crop like corn, rye, wheat, barley, etc.
• Grain Neutral Spirits: This is alcohol distilled from grain at a very high proof. It doesn’t have any noticeable smell, flavor, or character.
• Mash: This is the liquid mass of fermenting grains from which spirits are distilled.
• Mash bill: This is the recipe for the amounts and types of grains used in the mash.
• Master Distiller: This is the person who decides the recipe for the distilled spirit and oversees its production.
• New-Make Spirit: This is the spirit just off the still, before aging. It’s also called “white dog”.
• Pot Still: These are stills used for batch distillation. In pot still distillation the liquid is distilled usually twice, sometimes three times, first in a wash still and then in a spirit still.
• Prohibition: This was a time in the U.S. from January, 1919 through December 5, 1933. During that time, beverage alcohol couldn’t be legally made, moved, or sold. The only exceptions were for medical purposes.
• Proof: This is a statement of alcohol content. Proof is two times the percentage of alcohol by volume. For example, 100 proof equals 50% alcohol.
• Rackhouse: This is the building where whiskey is aged. It’s also called the warehouse or rickhouse.
• Ricks: These are the wooden structures on which barrels of whiskey rest during aging.
• Sour Mash: This is like sourdough bread that uses a “starter” from the previous day’s dough. This process makes sure bourbon production is uniform. A portion of the previous day’s mash is added to new mash to make sure the quality and character are consistent.
• Still: This is the container in which the distiller’s beer is purified by heating the liquid to at least 176 degrees Fahrenheit, but less than 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Because alcohol boils at a temperature lower than water, the alcohol can be evaporated, collected, and condensed.
• White Dog: This is the colorless unaged distillate, just as it comes from the still and before it goes into the barrel for aging. It’s sometimes called “green whiskey” or “high wine” or “new-make”.

Drinking Whiskey Terms:

• Ball of Malt: This is what a glass of whiskey is called in Ireland.
• Dram: This is what a glass of whiskey is called in Scotland.
• Cordial glass: This is a fancier version of a shot glass. It sometimes has a stem and can hold 1 to 1.5 oz. of liquid.
• Highball: This is a tall version of a rocks or lowball glass. It’s great for serving bourbon with a lot of mixer, if you want to.
• Jigger: This is a measure of spirit that equals 1.5 fl. oz.
• Manhattan: This is a classic American whiskey cocktail invented in NYC at the end of the 19th century. It contains sweet or dry vermouth, bitters, and a cherry.
• Martini glass: This is shaped like an upside-down umbrella on a stem. It’s the best glass for a Manhattan.
• Mint Julep: This is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby. It’s made with Kentucky bourbon, simple syrup, and fresh mint leaves (muddled, crushed, or whole).
• Muddle: This is when you mash or crush ingredients with a spoon or muddler (a rod with a flattened end).
• Neat: This term refers to liquor that is drunk without being diluted by ice, water, or mixers.
• Nose: This is the aroma and bouquet of a whiskey.
• On The Rocks: This is a beverage served over ice without adding water or other mixers.
• Rickey: This is a drink made with lime, cracked ice, soda or any carbonated beverage, and whiskey, gin, rum, or brandy. It’s served with the rind of lime. It’s similar to a collins or sour.
• Rocks glass: This is a blocky, straight-sided glass that can usually hold 12 oz. It’s best for serving bourbon with a splash of water, with or without ice. It’s also called a lowball glass.
• Shot: This is a small amount of alcohol and a term for quickly drinking or ‘shooting”. (Bourbon is not commonly “shot”, but rather sipped and savored).
• Shot glass: This is a glass-shaped container in which one serving of spirits is measured or served. It’s perfect for serving bourbon neat.
• Simple Syrup: This can be made in a saucepan, by gradually stirring one pound granulated sugar into 13 oz. hot water to make 16 oz. simple/sugar syrup. It’s used as a mixer/sweetener for drinks.
• Snifter: This is a short-stemmed, pear-shaped glass that is larger at the bottom than at the top. It’s perfect for sipping bourbon.
• Sour: This is a cocktail made by combining liquor with lemon juice and a little sugar.
• Straight Up: This term is used to describe cocktails that are served up without ice.
• Smashes: These are small juleps, served in old-fashioned glasses. They’re made with muddled sugar, ice cubes, whiskey, gin, rum or brandy, and soda. They’re garnished with sprigs of mint and fruit.
• Toddies: These are often used as a cold remedy! They can be served hot or cold. They’re made with a lump or teaspoon of sugar dissolved in a little hot water, with liquor (preferably bourbon), ice or hot water added and stirred. They’re served with nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, or lemon peel.