Grain whisky

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grain whisky is whisky which contains grains such as wheat and maize (corn) and is typically distilled in a continuous column still, known as a patent or Coffey still, the latter after Aeneas Coffey who refined the column still in 1831.

Some grain whisky also contain malted barley, however malt whisky never contains other grains.

Due to the higher alcohol yield from a patent still, grain whisky is generally accepted to have a lighter and less complex flavour than malt whisky, which is produced in a pot still. It nonetheless plays a very important role in the production of Scotch whisky as it is used to create blended whiskies.

In Scotland, pure grain whisky is seldom bottled and instead is manufactured explicitly for blending with malt whisky. Their comparative lightness is used to smooth out the often harsh characteristics of single malts. Occasionally well-aged grain whiskies are released as 'single grain whisky'. The best of these are almost indistiguishible in flavour from the best single malts.