Wine, Whisky and Terroir

Terroir is a French term that is often used in reference to wine. In this context it refers to a vineyard’s location (latitude), elevation, climate, soil and the wine’s expression of these elements. If grapes can express terroir in wine, then can barley express terroir in Scotch?

Scotch is essentially made from water, barley and yeast. In terms of barley, some of the barley that goes into Scotch whisky is imported, as Scotland is unable to completely satisfy the barley demands of the Scotch industry. Can where the barley is grown change the taste of the whisky? There are those in the whisky industry who believe it can.^[1]

When I think about terroir and Scotch, two distilleries come to mind and both are located on the beautiful island of Islay (pronounced Eye-la) in the northwest of Scotland. The two distilleries that I am thinking of are Bruichladdich (pronounced Brook-laddie) and Kilchoman (pronounced kill-ho-man). 

Bruichladdich was built in 1881 and it remained opened until 1994. In 2001 Bruichladdich reopened after being purchased by a group of private investors. When they reopened, it was with the use of 100% Scottish barley and the statement “we believe terroir matters.” 

Kilchoman is one of the newest distilleries on Islay. It is an independent, farm distillery, which opened in 2005. Kilchoman is proud to offer a whisky range that is made completely on Islay, from barley-to-bottle.

Recently another whisky, made entirely on Scottish soil, was brought to my attention. The Cadboll Estate is Glenmorangie’s (pronounced glen-MORR-en-jee) first whisky made only from barley grown in the fields surrounding their highland home on the Cadboll Estate in Tain. The Cadboll Estate was distilled at Glenmorangie, in Scotland’s tallest pot stills, and was aged in ex-bourbon casks for a minimum of 15 years. 

Glenmorangie The Cadboll Estate 15-Year-Old $134.99 

This whisky is the rich colour of marmalade.  It has aromas of tangerine, dried apricot, white chocolate, old libraries, resin, mincemeat, cream soda and honeycomb cereal. The palate is sweet and warming. It offers flavours of tangerine, warm ginger-like spice, creamy nuttiness, toasted marshmallow smokiness and créme brûlée, with peach on the lingering finish.

This is a lovely whisky to savour on its own, but it also pairs quite nicely with breakfast.

Footnotes

^[1] Micallef, J. (February 2, 2019). The Search for Whisky Terroir: A Round Table Discussion. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemicallef/2019/02/02/the-search-for-whisky-terroir-a-round-table-discussion/#63ae27957891