Terroir-ism (Part 2)

More on the topic of "terroir".

I asked:

Perhaps "terroir" is not a concept that fits exactly with Scotch? Perhaps we need a new term that represents the "soul" of a distillery - including distillery location, still shape, warehouse location, water source, etc.

Perhaps that's just a romantic notion now given that barley is rarely local, maltings are rarely local and even maturation isn't always local?

Opinions?

And they answered:

Ronnie Cox, The Glenrothes

How do you describe terroir? In my view: Mother Nature.

But unlike the French understanding of "terroir", in the malt whisky world, we wouldn't talk about Mother Nature without also talking about Father Time. These two are inseparable in our world (and, if the truth be told, in theirs as well) but whereas the drinking of great wine is largely a case of trial and error (will it get better with time?) great malt whiskies cut out that element of chance. The time of perfect maturation is left to the maker - not the consumer.  Easy - and (luckily) not dependant on sunshine.

But if terroir is all about Mother Nature, we in Scotland would say that we have learned to tame many of her idiosyncrasies.

We, on the distilling side of the industry, look to science - not the serendipity of terroir to improve excellence in every factor which contributes to malt whisky.

Yet, in spite of our very considerable knowledge of distilling, we're still a long ways from understanding more than 60% of the organic chemistry in maturation. Until that 40% gap in our knowledge is adequately filled - its still "magic" to me.

Dave "Robbo" Robertson, JMR Easy Drinking Whisky

I love the idea of the "soul of a malt" - Flavour could be a function of its soul....

Soul could cover attitude, location, raw materials, process conditions, wood type, etc each element of which will contribute to the flavour...

John Glaser, Compass Box Whisky

No, I don't believe Scotch whisky has "terroir" in the same way that wine is thought to have it.  (That, in itself, is a big debate in the world of wine!)

Dr. Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie

There is no doubt that some of David's claims are true, and if I really wanted to make an 'Islay' style whisky at Tain, for example, I could. But it wouldn't do me any good, really!

What I do believe, however, is that we don't fully understand all the factors which contribute to a whisky's character, and there is no doubt that the (by no means exhaustive) factors you mention must all contribute in some way.  I still believe, however, that apart from the huge influence that peating of malt has on a whisky's character, the 2 main influencers are the distillation regime (size, shape, cut size, reflux etc. etc.) and the wood quality.

Dr. David Wishart, Author, Whisky Classified

Knowing where a distillery is located doesn't tell you how its whisky will taste. Today, the cask is king, and regional styles are largely redundant.

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Terroir-ism (Part 1)