- #1
barryj
- 853
- 51
My understanding is that whisky is a distilled product. The "mash" is made of corn, barley, cactus, or other material that is allowed to ferment into ethyl alcohol. Then the mixture is distilled to separate the alcohol from the rest of the mixture. After the alcohol is removed, I believe almost pure ethyl alcohol, the alcohol is stored in kegs for flavor and then mixed with water to make the required "proof". So, if I am correct here, then it seems that the only difference between all of these whiskys is the barrels they are allowed to soak up the flavor, and the time in the barrels. Is this the case? If so, can the distilled alcohol be made into any of the whiskies depending on the barrels they are stored in? Is the difference merely how the alcohol is stored and for how long? Does the flavor pass through the distillation process?