The Whisky Affair (Raymond Armstrong Series) Read Online Free Page A

“Well, turn the lever.”
    “Me?”
    “Yes, go ahead.”
    “You do realize I will take all the credit for this batch – being the one that performed the middle cut on this run.”
    “You may have to wait twelve years, but you can have the credit.” They both laughed.
    “Actually, all the work involved in producing this fine spirit has already been done,” Raymond reasoned. He’d read taking the middle cut was not so much a science as a feel: the right touch in the hands of the stillman.
    “So what are you waiting for?”
    “Just thinking about all this…and how I’ll explain this experience to the whisky club members at our next tasting.”
    “Why do so many of you enthusiasts over-think all this? If we all did the exact same things and told you all our little secrets what would whisky be like? Boring, I imagine.”
    “Look, let me explain this in layman’s terms so you’ll have it right when you explain,” said Willy. “Within every distillation, the distillate is divided into three cuts. Only the second cut, the heart of the spirit run, will be used. The first cut – sometimes called foreshots – and the last cut – known as tails or feints – are sub-standard and will be redistilled with the next batch.
    “The middle cut, containing few impurities, is what we are all after. On average, the middle cut is twenty-four percent of the total distillation. We capture the middle cut in a cabinet with this viewing window…” He pointed, then opened the small door. “We take a sample from here to nose and look at the appearance. We are looking for a clear spirit, close to 70 % alcohol by volume.” Willy smiled and held up a sample, then continued: “Macallan Distillery only takes 16 % as the middle cut.
    “In other words, we are all different, Raymond. Do you understand? All the talk in the industry about regions and shoppers buying by region is ridiculous and outdated. When you are hosting the club tastings focus on explaining that each distillery in Scotland has their own brand, their way of expressing their individuality.”
    “Okay.” Raymond was in awe of the older man and scrambling to remember the details to write down later.
    “Now, I have my middle cut, and have added my pure water to it. It’s crystal clear and ready to go into casks. Smell it.” Willy handed a small glass of clear spirit to Raymond who kept his nose well way from the glass.
    “Interesting, it smells of fruit, maybe pears. I always thought it would smell more like pure alcohol or a hospital,” Raymond said, perplexed.
    “Aye, some of those fruit esters can influence the whisky.”

 
     
     
CHAPTER 5
     
     
    Raymond had learned a lot from this whisky icon.
    He now had a better understanding of the middle cut, or head of the spirit and realized it’s impossible to generalize about the production of single malt scotch. If you picked up a book claiming the ‘how to’ of making scotch, and took that generalization to a distillery and chatted with a guy like Willy… Enough said: you’d have a different story. Reading about the prescribed shape of stills and their influence was another perfect example, one that could be so misleading.
    If the longest stills in the world were at Glenmorangie and the shortest were at Edradour, then obviously, a creamy malt would come from a short still and light and fruity whisky from a tall one. He’d learned Bruichladdich stills were quite short but with long necks and they used the trickle distillation technique, so that theory is blown. Therefore, you can’t generalize in whisky making. He decided that while he was there with Willy, one of the best in the industry, he might as well get baffled again and ask another question.
    But before that, he had to turn the lever and take the middle cut. Raymond grasped the small lever positioned on the front of the spirit safe. He moved it, watching the spirit make its way to the awaiting casks. It would be ten years or more before this