What is Barley Whiskey?

The last of the four whisky grains I want to cover is Barley Whiskey.  Typically when you look this up through other sources you will immediately be referred to Scotch.  However, there is an important distinction that needs to be made; All Scotches are Barley whiskies, but not all Barley whiskies are Scotch.

For the sake of simplicity I will be limiting the post to whiskies made up from a mash of at least 51% Barley, at least 40% ABV, and not produced in Scotland.  Even with this distinction, there is a large selection to choose from. 

Essentially, many other countries produce a whisky that if produced in Scotland, would be considered a Scotch.  Yamazaki, a very reputable Japanese single malt whisky, can trace its origins to back to 1920, when Masataka Taketsuru was the distillery executive. Taketsuru had studied the art of distilling in Scotland, and brought this knowledge back to Japan.  St. George Spirits in Alameda, CA produces a single malt whisky that has characteristics unique to the USA.  Penderyn Distillery in Wales, UK produces a select group of single malt whiskeys.   Last, but certainly not least, Ireland produces some world class whiskeys of their own like Jameson’s and Bushmill’s just to name two.

Since a great many of my future posts will involve whisky made from germinated or “malted” barley (as well as the few I mentioned above,) I won’t bore you any longer with semantics and press on to the good stuff.