Dr. James Phillips, our Spirits buyer, offers a deep dive into the world of whisky below.

All whisky starts in a field somewhere. With single malt scotch, that is barley of various varieties grown throughout the UK, continental Europe, and North America. It is always strange to think that the beginning of Scotland’s ongoing gift to the world largely started elsewhere. But, that is the dichotomy of the whisky industry, where the charm and lore of distilleries often bely the sheer scale and magnitude of production that made it such a popular beverage worldwide. Scotland is a small country with relatively few places suited to grow barley. As such, it has to be sourced elsewhere.

In many ways, the scale of whisky production in Scotland is difficult to fathom; not just the millions of hectolitres of whisky produced, but the extraordinary scale of ingredients that go into producing the world’s best beverage. To put this into context, there is capacity to produce a shade over 400 million litres of whisky in Scotland. It takes roughly 1 tonne of malted barley to produce 400 litres of pure alcohol. More importantly, it takes anywhere from 20-50 litres of water to produce one litre of pure alcohol.

To put all of this in context, Bordeaux produced 411 million litres of wine in 2022. The Scotch whisky industry is an absolute powerhouse of the beverage world.

Despite the monstrous volumes, giant distilleries, and immense marketing power of the big brands, there is a huge amount of space in which smaller producers can play. Although “play” is a misleading sentiment because it is tough out there. For all the water, barley and yeast that goes into producing new make spirit, time is arguably the most important ingredient—and one that is frustrating as it is necessary. New make spirit is the freshly distilled, clear and unaged alcohol, which serves as the base before aging to become whisky. Maturation for a minimum of three years and one day is required by law, with few whiskies ready for consumption at that point. Wooden casks—typically American and European oak that previously held Bourbon and Sherry—help to pull out sulphur compounds in the spirit, toning down the harshness and smoothing out the whisky. For accountants, waiting 10 years for a product to go to market is absurd.

Once bottled, the challenge is getting people to care. Putting “liquid to lips” is the most critical part of the whisky once released to the market. We all have preconceived ideas as to what something will taste like and, often, sticking to familiar products is the safest option. However, what makes whisky and booze in general interesting, is the excitement of finding something new and thrilling.

At Jeroboams, we work with the biggest brands and the smallest producers. Whatever the scale of operation and the fancy marketing, it has to taste good. We have a lot of tremendous whiskies on offer in September, all of which will give you an immensely delicious and rewarding experience—guaranteed.