Your Whiskey Questions, Answered

At Brother Justus, our team of distillers and staff are experts in their craft. That’s why we’re bringing you answers to some of the most common questions we receive about whiskey.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Whiskey 101

 

  • Whiskey is a fermented grain beverage, known as “distiller’s beer” or “mash”, that is distilled into a spirit and aged in oak barrels.

  • The type of whiskey depends on the type of grain used to make the beer, whether the barrel is new, and where the whiskey was distilled. It can also depend on the type of whiskey still used to make it, or even where the whiskey was distilled. Commonly known types of whiskey include Bourbon, Rye, Blended and Single Malt. Many whiskeys are known by the country they're made in, like American, Scotch, Irish, Canadian, and Japanese.

    Malt whiskeys are made from 100% malted barley. Irish whiskey is typically 100% malted barley whiskey distilled in Ireland and aged in used bourbon barrels. Scotch whisky is typically 100% malted barley whiskey distilled in Scotland and aged in used bourbon barrels. Japanese whiskey is typically 100% malted barley distilled in Japan and aged in a variety of white oak casks. American Single Malt is 100% malted barley whiskey distilled in America and aged in new, charred American white oak barrels.

    Bourbon is made from at least 51% corn. Bourbon is a corn-based whiskey distilled anywhere in America (not just Bourbon County, Kentucky), and aged in new, charred American white oak barrels.

    Rye from at least 51% rye. Rye is rye-based whiskey distilled anywhere in America and aged in new, charred American white oak barrels.

    Blended whiskey is whiskey purchased from multiple distilleries and blended together in huge vats. Single malt whiskey is whiskey distilled from 100% malted barley by a single distillery (not from a single barrel; that's "single barrel"). Single grain whiskey is whiskey distilled from a single type of grain other than malted barley by a single distillery. Canadian whisky is rye-based whiskey distilled in Canada and aged in new, charred white oak barrels.

  • Whiskey was invented by monks in Ireland around 1,000 years ago. They encountered distilled wine, brandy, while on pilgrimage in the Mediterranean and the Middle East and liked what they found! They brought the distilling arts back to Ireland. But grapes didn’t grow in Ireland's northern climate; barley did. So, they distilled their spirit from barley beer instead of grape wine and called the creation aqua vitae, or the “water of life.” The monks originally used whiskey as a medicine, since for them, being healthy wasn’t different from feeling good.

  • “Whiskey” literally means “water of life.” The early Irish monks who invented whiskey gave it the Latin name aqua vitae for its life-giving powers. They brought the aqua vitae with them when they founded new monasteries, and monastery distilleries, in Scotland. Latin-educated Scottish kings and nobles were their principal customers. (The first written reference to aqua vitae is in a letter from the steward of the Scottish King James I to the monks of Lindares Abbey ordering barrels of whiskey for delivery—which proves everyone has always wanted their alcohol delivered to their doorstep.) When the English King Henry VIII ordered the destruction of monasteries across Britain in the 16th Century, displaced monks were forced into secular life in surrounding towns. Some of them opened little distilleries to make a living. The common folk who were their customers didn’t speak Latin. Instead, they referred to the “water of life” into their native Gaelic, uisce beatha, pronounced “whiskey bay.”

  • Brother Justus was a Prohibition-era monk in central Minnesota who taught local farmers how to distill good clean whiskey on stills he built himself, so they could support themselves and their families.

  • Between 40% and 60%, depending on the style and batch.

  • Like beer that's died and gone to heaven.

  • Both the FDA and a consensus of celiac disease experts have determined that whiskey is gluten-free.

    The reason is that the gluten proteins do not evaporate and therefore, do not make it through the distillation process into the final product.

  • Just an "e." Whiskey distilled in Ireland and the United States is spelled with an "e." Whiskey distilled in Scotland, Japan, and Canada is spelled without it.

  • The way you like it best. Neat. With a drop of pure spring water. On a rock of clear ice. In a spirit-forward built cocktail like an Old Fashioned or Sazerac. Or in a summery cocktail like the Brother Justus Orange Dream. We'll look the other way if you mix it with pop, but we can't officially sign off on it.

    If you're drinking neat, swirl the glass. Position your nose an inch or so from the rim of your glass. Breathe in slowly. Move the glass so your nose is positioned near the bottom and then near the top of the rim, so you can pick up the different aromas of the whiskey. Nosing helps warm up your brain and your senses for an intensely flavored, densely alcoholic experience.

    When you drink, breathe out and take a small sip. Don't inhale unless you want to whiskey wash your sinuses. "Chew" the whiskey to move it around your mouth so it comes into contact with your full palate and makes your cheeks go tingly in that somewhat painful, totally pleasurable way that it's totally okay to like. Swallow, and then exhale through your nose. Your olfactories will "taste" the full spectrum of the whiskey for you.

  • Whatever you like. A drop of spring water. A cube of clear pure ice. Simple syrup or wetted sugar cube muddled with bitters or fresh mint leaves. A simple syrup infused with fruits, herbs, or spices. A squeeze of fresh citrus and honey. Just keep experimenting from there!

  • Whiskey can be enjoyed in every season any time of year--Summer is no exception. Brother Justus over a glass of ice is sweet, refreshing, and smooth. Cocktails like Mint Juleps are specially designed Summer cocktails for barrel-aged whiskey. Brother Justus Silver can replace any clear spirit in summery beach cocktails like margaritas, Pina Coladas, and daiquiris.

Whiskey Making

 

  • Whiskey is distilled from beer, which is fermented grain. In fact, Brother Justus founder Phil Steger calls it "beer rain." The grain could be barley, corn, rye, wheat, or oats. We guess there could be spelt or qinoa whiskey too. Malt whiskeys, like Brother Justus, are distilled from 100% malted barley beer called "distiller's beer." Bourbon is distilled from a beer made of at least 51% corn blended with other grains. The beer used to make bourbon is called a "mash." The blend of grains that make up the mash is called the "mash bill."

  • In the pure, traditional sense we do it at Brother Justus, whiskey is made by crushing whole grain (in our case malted barley), stirring it in a huge pot of very hot water, straining the sugary, nutrition-rich liquid (called "wort") off the whole grain, cooling the wort to around room temperature, adding yeast to ferment the wort's sugars into alcohol and its other nutrition into delicious flavors and smooth textures (called "distiller's beer"), transferring the distiller's beer to our still, heating the beer to the boiling point of alcohol (which is cooler than the boiling point of water), using our still's column to isolate the alcohol and delicious flavor and texture components, cooling the organized and isolated vapor back into liquid, cutting out all the impure, bad-tasting liquids, capturing all the pure alcohol and flavor and texture-rich drops into our pure whiskey (called "new make").

  • Whiskey begins clear as rain. Its color comes from absorbing the caramelized sugars present in the charred, white oak whiskey barrels in which they are aged. The color may range from dark amber, like maple syrup, to straw-colored, like honey, depending on whether the whiskey was aged in a new, charred barrel or a barrel that had already aged whiskey in it.

  • Brother Justus American Single Malts.

  • Barrels made from white oak are full of tiny capillaries full of crystallized sugar. Charring the barrels melts and caramelizes this sugar like the top of a Crème Brûlée. Whiskey absorbs flavor and color from that caramelized sugar layer when it ages in a barrel.

    Enough time in a barrel can also "clean up" whiskey that maybe wasn't very well made when it went in. The charcoal layer can filter and absorb impurities. More volatile chemicals in the whiskey can evaporate through the barrel pores. And chemical reactions inside the barrels can modify and modify harshness and blend flavors that might start off out-of-balance.

    Whiskey that's distilled clean, well-made, and well-balanced in flavor and texture (the way we make it at Brother Justus) does not rely on the cleaning effects of the barrel, but instead utilizes the barrel primarily for its flavor contributions and does not need as long to age.

  • Blended whiskey is whiskey that is purchased from multiple distilleries and mixed together in a vat.

Whiskey Tasting Notes

 

  • All bourbons are whiskeys, but not all whiskeys are bourbons. Bourbon is a type of whiskey distilled in America from at least 50% corn and aged in a new, charred American white oak barrel.

  • All Scotch is whiskey, but not whiskey is Scotch. Scotch is a type of whiskey distilled in Scotland, usually from 100% malted barley and typically aged in used bourbon barrels.

  • Rye whiskey is distilled from a mash, or beer, consisting of at least 51% rye.

  • Cognac is a type of brandy named after Cognac, France, and produced in Charente and Charente-Maritime. Whereas whiskey is a spirit that is distilled from fermented grain or beer, brandy is a spirit that is distilled from fermented fruit or wine.

  • It’s as simple as whiskey made and distilled in Ireland versus whiskey made and distilled in Scotland. Both are distilled from malted barley and aged in oak casks but tend to prioritize different features. Irish whiskeys are typically distilled several times to prioritize smoothness. Scotch is typically distilled fewer times to preserve flavor and complexity.

    Brother Justus single malts are specially crafted to produce the best of both worlds in smoothness and flavor. We brew and distill each batch only one time, but with precise cuts and exquisite attention to detail, to produce a balance of exciting stone fruit and baking spice complexity with creamy, palate-pleasing sweetness.

  • American single malt whiskey is whiskey distilled in the United States from 100% malted barley and aged in new, charred, American white oak barrels.