Hospitality World

How's whisky made ? Just three basic ingredients are needed - water, barley and yeast. Technology now aids production, but traditionally there are five stages to the process - malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation. Here I'll go through and explain each of these important stages. Step 1 - Malting Barley contains starch and it is this starch which needs to be converted into soluble sugars to make alcohol. For this to occur, the barley must undergo germination and this first part of the process is called 'malting'. The barley is soaked for 2-3 days in warm water and then traditionally spread on the floor of a building called a malting house. It is turned regularly to maintain a constant temperature. The malting floor at Springbank When the barley has started to shoot, the germination has to be stopped by drying it in a kiln. Traditionally peat is used to power the kiln and it is at this point where the type of peat used and lengt...

The tiki gods have answered your prayers. Now you can get a Guernsey wiki tiki, made with fresh Strawberries or a up side down vale with fresh mango mixed up with Demarara Rums. Smugglers Restaurant unveiled a brand new drink menu this week, The "Tiki Cocktails" made with great quality rums, fresh juices, house-made syrups and mixers. "It's what you really think a tiki drink should be: sweet but not too sweet or fake sweet and with a ton of rum," says Elvio. Smugglers new favourite is the "Torteval's Frozen Tiki Tini" Blended, not stired ! Sckiters Vodka, lemon juice, orange syrup, Triple sec

Beer, One of my best (Favourite) subjects ! Man has been making beer for 7,000 years. Although many techniques have changed since our loincloth days (including better hygiene practices), the basic process is the same. Interestingly enough most beers are made out of the same few ingredients. The manner in which they are made dictates what the beer will taste like, from dark ales to light beers. Water, yeast, malt and hops are the main four ingredients, but rice, other cereals are also needed, even some fruits have been added Beer, How is it made 1. Mashing Mashing takes place in a vessel called the mash tun. This is where grains known as malted barley (or “malt”) are soaked in hot water for about an hour in order to release the sugars contained in the grains. No sugar means no alcohol, which means no beer. In addition to contributing fermentable sugars, the malt also adds flavour aroma, and body. Sweetness comes from malt. You often hear people refer to a sweet tasting ...

Vermouth, the flavoured wine. Vermouth got its start in Northern Italy in the 16th century, as a medicinal drink, created to cure many ailments of the time. Over the centuries, the basic formula has changed little, although the making of vermouth has kept step with the technological advances of wine-making and distillation. Vermouth is officially classified as an “flavoured fortified wine,” a tongue-twisting term meaning a base white wine fortified to a minimum of 16 percent alcohol and infused with a proprietary recipe of as many as 40 different plants, barks, seeds, and fruit peels, collectively known as botanical, While the infusion gives vermouth its unique flavour and aroma, it is precisely that character that causes some people to dismiss vermouth as being “medicinal.” The main types of Vermouth are Dry Vermouth and Sweet Vermouth. Dry Vermouth is white, approx. 18 % alcohol (36 proof). The original Vermouth, "Sweet Vermouth" is also available in white (b...

Madeira wine Madeira was first shipped to Europe in 1515, to the court of King Francis I of France. Shippers found that the mere act of shipping the wine through the equator helped its ageing process. So they filled pipes with the wine and purposefully used it as ballast on ships, to let it age! Because of this, Madeira became known as vinho da roda, or "wine of the round voyage." Madeira was highly in demand in young America, being enjoyed by Benjamin Franklin and by many Colonial Americans. Even now is quite popular, and often is a key ingredient in delicious recipes. Madeira is made with four varieties of grapes, and a bottle of Madeira should be labelled according to which were used in it. These are: sercial, a very dry taste, light colour verdelho, medium dry, golden colour bual, medium sweet, velvety, dark gold to brown malmsey, the original grape, sweet, chestnut-brown Madeira is often made in the "refreshed" manner - a batch is made,...

Port is a fortified, full-bodied sweet red wine made by adding brandy to fermenting wine. The high alcohol content of brandy causes fermentation to stop, killing all yeast activity, and therefore sugar is no longer converted into alcohol. Brandy also raises the final alcohol level of the wine. The result is a sweet wine in perfect balance with the alcohol content, usually in the 18-20% alcohol by volume range with 100 g/L or more of residual sugar. Port, also known as porto, derives its name from the Portuguese city of Oporto, in the Douro Valley, where it originated more than three centuries ago.   The Douro Valley Port is produced from a blend of many different dark-skinned grape varieties, up to 20 or more, often harvested from multiple vineyards, each imparting a different characteristic to the final wine. Dark-skinned grapes are used to give port its deep colour. Among these varieties, Touriga Nacional and Tempranillo are the most popular. STYLES of PORT Variou...

Tequila is the heart and soul of Mexico. It’s the national drink and it has been unfairly branded throughout history -- even after the conquistadors introduced distillation to mezcal in 1530. Tequila has a bad reputation and it’s because we've all been there, lured by its ritualistic methods of consumption and its promise to take us to a higher level of consciousness, but in the end we’re left with a vague recollection of the night’s proceedings. Tequila is one of the tastiest liquors ever made. It is produced from a mexican plant called agave, specifically, from blue agave. These plants grow in the sandy soil of Jalisco, Mexico, and have spiky leaves growing from a "piña" (Spanish for pineapple). This piña or core is the raw material for making tequila. When the plant is ripe, leaves are chopped away by someone known as a "jimador". It is quite a demanding job since the plant must be cut in the precise moment. If the plant is too young, it won't ...

Juniper Berries The dictionary definition of gin is that of a neutral grain spirit re-distilled with botanical's with a predominant juniper flavour The only thing all gins must have in common is the juniper berry, but gins come by that distinctive pine-y flavour in a variety of ways. There’s no prescribed ratio, there’s no amount of juniper that is required by law; the definition merely states “predominant flavour of juniper.” Other common gin botanical's include coriander, citrus peels (bitter orange, lemon, grapefruit), angelica root and seed, licorice, orris root, bitter almonds, nutmeg, cinnamon and anise, to name a few. Origins of gin Most people, history buffs and booze nerds excepted, would never guess gin’s humble origins. Most of us only know it as a very aromatic, supremely English (and therefore proper) lawn party drink in G&T’s (gin and tonics) or in an elegant dry Martini Classic and classy. But until recently, gin was distilled — and consumed — in ...

Ever wondered how they make that magical liquid that when drunk moderately makes your night better and in excess your morning worse? Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugar-cane by-products such as molasses and sugar-cane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak and other barrels. The last part is what imparts the traditional colour and flavour to the rum, the longer its aged the deeper the colour and the more pronounced is the flavour. As for its origins, early distillers weren't always the best record keepers, but it's surmised that somewhere in the Caribbean (probably Barbados) the first heady dram was conceived. Today it's produced everywhere from Panama and Trinidad to Alameda, California and Puerto Rico and exported just about everywhere else. Light Rum: The Mild Stuff Aged or un-aged, white rum is the clear stuff most commonly used as the base for a daiquiri or mojito, t...

Some people approached me with really good questions and one was actually really good; "Is it better if we know how the drinks are made and their flavours ?" I think it's the best idea! At the catering school you start to lear n how the drinks are made and their flavours b efore you get to mix them and make cocktails.