GRAIN & RYE WHISKY

The term grain whisky supports that the whisky has been distilled from grain, without specifying which type.

Corn (maize) is a characteristic style of American grain whisky and Balcones Distilling made its debut in 2009.

Other corn whiskies include Bain’s Cape Mountain grain whisky, distilled in South Africa from local yellow maize, which adds sweetness, pineapple, banana and liquorice notes. 

In Scotland, grain whisky is distilled either from maize (corn), the traditional choice, or from wheat, which has been more usual since the 1980s. Using a continuous still produces a relatively light, elegant spirit aged in oak casks for at least three years.

Bottlings of Scottish grain whisky have been increasing since 2010. Single-grain whiskies are the product of a single distillery, sold using the distillery name or a brand name. A prime example of blended grain whisky that is the product of more than one distillery is Hedonism, produced by Compass Box and delivering vanilla, toffee and coconut. 

A growing range of multi-grain whiskies comprehends Goldlys (malted barley, maize, rye and wheat), distilled since 2007 by Filliers in Belgium.

During the 1990s, rye whisky could only watch from the sidelines as Scottish malts and Bourbon were applauded around the world.

Around 2010, rye, famous as a full-bodied style with a core of fruit and spice, also began to happen. The more examples of rye whiskies there are, the more there is to experience and discuss in terms of flavour and provenance of rye whisky. 

Rye whisky is an established style in the USA, with Buffalo Trace in Kentucky. In other countries, rye whisky is a more recent arrival. 

In Japan, Hakushu sold a four-year-old rye whisky aged in first-fill Bourbon barrels in 2017. 

The London Distillery bottled a single cask of four-year-old rye whisky, distilled from English rye that was floor malted at Warminster Maltings. The delicate fruity sweetness of the distillery character gained cocoa, banana, banoffee pie and a hint of Earl Grey team from the cask, made of a virgin English oak barrique.