Glossary
Quick definitions of the words you'll meet on labels, in tasting notes and on distillery tours.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ABV | Alcohol by volume, the percentage of pure alcohol |
| Angel's share | Whisky lost to evaporation through the cask each year |
| Blended malt | Single malts from more than one distillery, no grain whisky |
| Butt | A large cask, about 500 litres, often ex-sherry |
| Cask strength | Bottled undiluted, straight from the cask |
| Chill filtration | Cooling and filtering whisky so it won't go hazy when cold |
| Cut | The part of the spirit run kept for maturation (the heart) |
| Draff | Spent grain from the mash tun, used as cattle feed |
| Dunnage | Traditional low, earth-floored warehouse |
| E150a | Plain caramel colouring, the only colouring allowed in Scotch |
| Feints | The last, heavier part of the spirit run, redistilled |
| Finish | A second, shorter maturation in a different cask; also the flavour that lingers after swallowing |
| First-fill | A cask used for Scotch for the first time |
| Foreshots | The first, volatile part of the spirit run, redistilled |
| Grist | Milled malt ready for mashing |
| Hogshead | A cask of about 250 litres |
| Kiln | Where germinated barley is dried, sometimes over peat smoke |
| Low wines | The spirit from the first (wash) distillation, around 20–25% ABV |
| Lyne arm | The pipe from the top of the still to the condenser |
| Mash tun | The vessel where grist and hot water make wort |
| NAS | No age statement |
| New make | Fresh spirit straight from the still, before maturation |
| PPM | Phenol parts per million in peated malt |
| Quaich | A shallow two-handled Scottish drinking cup |
| Reflux | Vapour condensing and falling back in the still, lightening the spirit |
| Single cask | Bottled from one individual cask |
| Single malt | 100% malted barley, pot-distilled at one distillery |
| Sláinte mhath | "Good health" — the Gaelic toast |
| Uisge beatha | Gaelic, "water of life", the origin of "whisky" |
| Valinch | A long pipette for drawing whisky from a cask |
| Wash | The fermented liquid (about 8% ABV) that goes to the stills |
| Washback | The fermentation vessel |
| Worm tub | A coiled copper condenser in a tub of cold water |
| Wort | The sweet liquid drained from the mash |