What Is The Difference Between Malt Whisky & Grain Whisky?
Malt whisky, at least in the conventional sense, is made of exclusively malted barley, and almost always distilled in a copper pot still.
Grain whiskey can be just about anything. It can be a blend of malted and un-malted barley. It can be both of those with malted rye, un-malted rye, wheat, corn, you name it. While most grain whiskeys are distilled in a Patent still, they can be pot-stilled as well, as per Woodford Reserve bourbon…
27cfr5 (the BATF regs) has categories for both Malt Whisky and Rye Malt whiskey. There is no legal definition of Grain Whisky. However if you consider it to be just Whisky then it can be distilled to no more than 190 proof, whereas the named types (Bourbon, Rye, Wheat, Corn, Malt, Rye Malt) are limited to 160 proof off the still.
The term isn’t used much in the U.S.; it’s more common in Scotland, England and Ireland, being used to refer to whiskeys other than Malt Whiskey. So, grain whisky (no “e”) is made from other cereal grains: corn (or maize), wheat, whatever. I think unmalted barley may be so designated too, but I’m not sure. Second, it’s unmalted. (Keep in mind, at least a small amount of malted grain has to be added to provide the necessary enzyme for converting the starch.) And third, it’s distilled in a continuous still (as is bourbon), not a pot still like malt whisky. The result is a milder, more neutral flavored whisky.
Grain whisky is combined with malt whisky to make blended scotches. However, there are a few producers who bottle straight grain whiskys in Scotland and Ireland, some of whom have received favorable reviews.
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Sep 9th 2010 • 00:09
by merrick7
Malt whisky, at least in the conventional sense, is made of exclusively malted barley, and almost always distilled in a copper pot still.
Grain whiskey can be just about anything. It can be a blend of malted and un-malted barley. It can be both of those with malted rye, un-malted rye, wheat, corn, you name it. While most grain whiskeys are distilled in a Patent still, they can be pot-stilled as well, as per Woodford Reserve bourbon…
27cfr5 (the BATF regs) has categories for both Malt Whisky and Rye Malt whiskey. There is no legal definition of Grain Whisky. However if you consider it to be just Whisky then it can be distilled to no more than 190 proof, whereas the named types (Bourbon, Rye, Wheat, Corn, Malt, Rye Malt) are limited to 160 proof off the still.
The term isn’t used much in the U.S.; it’s more common in Scotland, England and Ireland, being used to refer to whiskeys other than Malt Whiskey. So, grain whisky (no “e”) is made from other cereal grains: corn (or maize), wheat, whatever. I think unmalted barley may be so designated too, but I’m not sure. Second, it’s unmalted. (Keep in mind, at least a small amount of malted grain has to be added to provide the necessary enzyme for converting the starch.) And third, it’s distilled in a continuous still (as is bourbon), not a pot still like malt whisky. The result is a milder, more neutral flavored whisky.
Grain whisky is combined with malt whisky to make blended scotches. However, there are a few producers who bottle straight grain whiskys in Scotland and Ireland, some of whom have received favorable reviews.
Sep 9th 2010 • 02:09
by nylunarl
Grain whisky is any whisky made from at least some grains other than barley, such as wheat and maize (corn). Some grain whisky also contain malted barley. (Whisky made from only barley is called malt whisky. This can be confusing: both malt whisky and grain whisky are made from grain malt.) The term is especially used in reference to Scotch whisky.
Grain whisky is typically distilled in a continuous column still, also known as a patent or Coffey still, the latter after Aeneas Coffey, who refined the column still in 1831.
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.
Sep 9th 2010 • 08:09
by Mark Backhouse
The explanation given to explain the difference between grain and malt whisky is incredibly poor. A blend of malted and unmalted barley and distilled in a copper pot still is known as pure potstill whiskey and not a grain whisky. Any bourbon worth it’s salt, distilled in a copper pot still is not a grain whiskey but a bourbon. Perhaps you are thinking of a Tennessee whiskey. If you are ignorant on a subject – research.