Tasting grain whisky
Grain whisky is often treated as the cheap part of a blend. Tasted alone, especially after long ageing, it shows a soft, sweet character that many malt drinkers have never met. Here is how it is made and how to taste it with attention.
How grain whisky is made
In Scotland, grain whisky is made from cereals such as wheat or maize, together with some malted barley to supply the enzymes that turn starch into sugar. The wash is distilled in a column still rather than a pot still. Scotch grain whisky must be distilled to less than 94.8% ABV and matured at least three years in oak casks in Scotland.
The column still, also called a continuous or Coffey still after Aeneas Coffey's 1830 patent, runs without stopping. Wash goes in at the top of one column, steam rises from below and spirit comes off at a high, steady strength. Our guide to how a Coffey still makes grain whisky walks through the plates and columns.
Why grain whisky tastes light
Distilling to a high strength strips out much of the heavier flavour compounds that a pot still keeps. The result is a cleaner, lighter new make with less fruit and fewer heavy notes than malt spirit. Maize and wheat also give softer, sweeter flavours than malted barley.
That lightness is the point. In a blend, grain whisky carries the malts and smooths the whole. On its own, the lighter spirit leaves room for the cask to speak clearly, so the oak plays a larger part in what you taste.
The flavours to look for
Young grain whisky tends towards:
- Sweet cereal. Cornflakes, sweetcorn, porridge.
- Vanilla and custard. From ex-bourbon casks, the usual home for grain whisky.
- Light fruit. Banana, pear, a touch of citrus.
- Soft texture. Smooth, sometimes creamy, with little bite.
Older grain whisky, after 20 years or more, can change dramatically. Expect toffee, coconut, tropical fruit and polished wood. Long aged grain is where many tasters change their minds about the style.
Single grain and blended grain
Single grain Scotch is grain whisky from one distillery. Blended grain combines grain whiskies from more than one. Both are bottled without malt. They are less common than single malts but appear from distillery owners and independent bottlers alike.
Grain whisky is not only Scottish. Irish single grain, Japanese grain whisky and many Canadian whiskies are made in a similar way. American bourbon is distilled in columns too, though to a lower strength and matured in new charred oak, so it keeps much more grain and cask character. Our guide to malt, grain and blended whisky shows how the categories fit together.
A flight that shows what grain adds
The most useful grain whisky tasting is a three glass flight:
- A single grain whisky.
- A single malt, unpeated, ideally ex-bourbon matured.
- A blended Scotch.
Pour 15 ml of each at similar strength into identical tulip glasses. Taste the grain first, then the malt, then the blend. Ask what the blend took from each. Usually the grain gives it softness and sweetness; the malt gives fruit, body and length. The skill of tasting a blend lies in pulling those threads apart.
Why grain is hard to describe
Light spirits are harder to taste than loud ones. With a heavily sherried or peated malt, the big flavours announce themselves. With grain whisky, you have to work. The differences between two grain whiskies are small: a little more cereal here, more vanilla there, a softer or firmer texture.
That makes grain whisky an excellent training tool. If you can describe a grain whisky well, you can describe almost anything. It is the same reason beer judges practise on light lagers: there is nowhere for a fault, or a vague note, to hide.
Grain whisky in hot weather
Grain whisky's softness makes it good in a highball. With plenty of ice and cold soda in an Indian summer, a single grain becomes a light, sweet, refreshing long drink. Neat, at room temperature around 30 °C, it can taste sweeter and hotter than in a cool room, so a few drops of water or a single ice cube helps.
Grain whisky also suits food that a heavy malt would overwhelm. Its gentle sweetness sits well with lightly spiced dishes such as a coconut based Kerala stew or grilled fish, where a smoky or sherried malt would shout over the plate.
As with any tasting, keep pours small, drink water alongside and never drive afterwards.
Your first step
Find one single grain whisky and taste 15 ml neat beside the blend you usually drink. Write down three words for the grain. Then look for those same three notes in the blend. When you find them, you have tasted the part of the blend most people never notice.
Common questions
What is grain whisky made from?
In Scotland, mainly wheat or maize with some malted barley, distilled in a column still to less than 94.8% ABV and matured at least three years in oak.
Why does grain whisky taste lighter than malt?
Column stills distil to a much higher strength, removing many heavier flavour compounds. Wheat and maize also give softer flavours than malted barley.
Is grain whisky only used in blends?
Most of it is, but single grain and blended grain whiskies are bottled on their own and can be excellent, especially with long ageing.
