I remember the first time I ever tasted whisky. It was like drinking lava! Never before had I tried something quite so unique and potent, and I immediately hated it. However over the years I became accustomed to its taste, first merely accepting that it no longer made my face contort as if I was sucking the pips out of a lemon, to now, where I love it. It’s my favourite tipple by far and as my relationship with it developed, so did my curiosity. What’s the difference between each brand? Why do they all taste slightly different? How is it made? Well a recent whisky tasting event in one of my favourite Shoreditch bars gave me the answers.

Warehouse – When whisky is stored it loses around 1% of its alcohol potency per year. This is known as the angels share, conjuring up images of tipsy angels falling off their clouds and some very out of tune harp playing! But the atmosphere in the warehouse affects this evaporation process. If it’s dry then mainly water will evaporate leaving a whisky with a higher alcohol content. If damp, then the alcohol tends to evaporate quicker leaving a lower alcohol content with a smoother finish.

Casks – To give whisky much (some say up to 90%) of its flavour, the type of cask that is used to store the whisky is paramount. Used casks are always used and the barrels previous occupants will leave their mark on the ageing process. Many different types of casks are used ranging from Bourbon, Port, Sherry and in some cases even wine. The whisky can also be transferred from one cask to another to finish it off, hence people often talking about the “finish” of a whisky. Casks have a usage of around 60 years and the price of a bottle of whisky can be determined by the rarity of the empty casks available.

Germination – The germination of a barley grain can be triggered by heat and the grain is sometimes dried over a fire. These fires are often heated by peat and it’s this smoke that’s generated by the fire that’s responsible for giving certain whisky’s its smoky finish.

Type of grain – As you would expect the type of grain used influences the final outcome of a whisky. These can include barley, malted barley (used in single malts), rye (Jim Beam), wheat and corn. Blended whisky uses a combination of both malt whisky and grain whisky and account for around 90% of all production in Scotland.

Quality of the air – Even the air plays a part in the final finish. Whisky that is aged in casks stored in warehouses close to the sea, will often have a different flavour to those stored inland. For example Glenmorangie Cellar 13 is stored close to the sea and the salt air is reflected in the final finish.

So there you have it, the more I learn about whisky the more I can appreciate its complexity and the subtle variations in its flavour. However I know what happens in practice, we all throw lemonade or coke in it on a Friday night and use it to help fuel are strange and unusual dance moves. All I’m saying is the next time you find yourself with a nice whisky and 30 seconds to spare, try to remember to time, effort and thought that goes into making one of the worlds’ finest drinks.