from a blend of varieties, some too sour or bitter for eating The apples are slowly fermented into cider over the course of several cool weeks in the autumn, and the cider is then distilled in either pot or column stills, depending on the district The distillate is then matured in old barrels for a minimum of two years Slivovitz, a Balkan plum alcohol, is also barrel-aged Whiskies and Whiskeys Whiskies (United Kingdom) and whiskeys (elsewhere) are spirits that have been distilled from fermented grains, mainly barley, maize, rye, and wheat, and then aged in barrels The term comes from a barley distillate of medieval Britain, but is now applied to largely maize distillates in the United States and Canada, and mixed grain distillates in many countries Scotch and Irish Whiskies There are three kinds of Scotch whisky One, malt whisky, is made in the Highlands and islands entirely from malted barley It’s distilled twice in pot stills to about 70% alcohol, and has a strong, distinctive flavor Another, grain whisky, is less flavorful and less costly; it is made in the lowlands from various cereals and just a small portion (10–15%) of malted barley to convert their starches into sugars, and distilled in a continuous still to a neutral 95% alcohol The third and most common is a blend of malt and grain whiskies, with grain whisky accounting for 40–70% Such blending began in the 1860s for economic reasons, and turned out to produce a milder, more widely appealing drink just in time to replace brandy when the insect scourge phylloxera devastated European vineyards in the 1870s and 1880s This is when Scotch developed its international reputation Today, Scotch connoisseurs prize the distinctive “singlemalt” whiskies produced by the few remaining small distillers of all-malt whisky Whisky makers produce beer, omitting the ... stills to about 70% alcohol, and has a strong, distinctive flavor Another, grain whisky, is less flavorful and less costly; it is made in the lowlands from various cereals and just a small portion (1 0–15%) of malted barley to convert... portion (1 0–15%) of malted barley to convert their starches into sugars, and distilled in a continuous still to a neutral 95% alcohol The third and most common is a blend of malt and grain whiskies, with... European vineyards in the 1870s and 1880s This is when Scotch developed its international reputation Today, Scotch connoisseurs prize the distinctive “singlemalt” whiskies produced by the few remaining small distillers of all-malt whisky